Former Arizona Cardinals running back Edgerrin James was quick to defend that the way he ended his Hall of Fame speech was with the best line ever.

The Hall of Famer joined Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta when it was brought up that the line — “My career started with gold teeth and ended with this gold jacket” — was top-three all-time.

“So who’s one or two?” James asked.

Without a firm answer, it seems as though James takes the cake.

“It was a great (way) to cap it off with something that’s memorable,” James said. “My kids got a chance to kind of go through memory lane with myself because, you know, they were younger and they didn’t get a chance to really enjoy the whole process.”

The line was a bit of a metaphor for James, who saw it as a way to describe his career path.

“Gold teeth to gold jacket was kind of my journey,” he said. “I’ve always been myself. I’ve seen too many people try to conform and then they lose themselves, and I never want to lose myself in anything that I’m doing because you are who you are.”

BUILDING UP ARIZONA

After a long and successful tenure with the Indianapolis Colts, which included four Pro Bowls, James came to Arizona in 2006 after the Cardinals experienced a 5-11 season the year prior. It was the first season the Cardinals played in State Farm Stadium, then called University of Phoenix Stadium.

“When you decide to go to Arizona, you think ‘I’m going to defy the odds,'” he said.

James helped turn the franchise around and that he did, posting two consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns in 2006-07.

In his third season with the franchise, James led the Cardinals to a 9-7 record and a Super Bowl appearance against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“You always want to leave things better than you found it,” James said.

He played one more year in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks before retiring.

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