SAN FRANCISCO — With less than 24 hours until one of the (potentially) most important nights of Luke Kuechly's life, the former linebacker wasn't at a swanky party preemptively celebrating. He wasn't hidden in his hotel room, succumbing to nerves. He wasn't even pursuing the shows at Radio Row, sitting for interview after interview for which he would be greatly welcomed and would extol his virtues as a Hall of Famer for hours on end.

Instead, Luke Kuechly was on the bottom floor of the San Francisco Moscone Center, standing behind a massive free-standing Super Bowl logo in a Lowe's activation trailer that was set up in the middle of the Super Bowl fan experience. For an hour, he smiled as fan after fan filtered in for pictures and a moment with one of their favorite players.

Early in the line, a man in a Seattle Seahawks jersey bounded to the corner where Kuechly stood, arms extended as he practically shouted, "Can I get my hug, man?" A quick snap of the cell phone, and the man, who is a fan of the team that produced the Legion of Boom, made sure to turn back to Kuechly once more before exiting to tell him, "You're my favorite linebacker of all time."

With each kid who entered, some shy, some excited because their parents were excited, some just excited to see the flashy lights, the All-Pro linebacker made sure to lean down, ask their name, and make them feel comfortable in an overstimulating situation. When one in particular told Kuechly he was in eighth grade, the middle school football coach immediately launched into a recruiting pitch, asking the tall tight end if he'd be willing to move to Charlotte to play for the team Kuechly coaches with Greg Olsen and Jonathan Stewart.

And when a fan in a Broncos jersey threw a quip as he walked out the door, good naturally smirking as he told Kuechly, "sorry we beat you" (referring to Super Bowl 50 here in the Bay Area 10 years ago), he wasn't prepared for the former defensive rookie of the year and defensive player of the year to launch into a diatribe about why he should be wary about his beloved Broncos future.

After about two-and-a-half minutes, Kuechly finally released the Broncos fan from his lecture with a laugh and a promise to debate about football at any time.

The stats and years of accolades will be what eventually get Kuechly into the Hall of Fame, whether it's tonight or years from now. But that hour in the Lowe's trailer, meeting fans, shaking hands, and discussing the nuances of a team's future offensive ceiling is why Kuechly has always been a favorite amongst not just Panthers fans, but NFL fans worldwide.

"I am one of Luke Kuechly's biggest fans," praised former NFL punter and ESPN personality Pat McAfee on Radio Row Wednesday.

And in typical Kuechly fashion, he became one of McAfee's favorites not because of what all he was able to do on the field en route to making seven Pro Bowls, but because of who he was off of it.

"So me as a punter, thank God, never had to battle against Luke Kuechly," joked McAfee. "But the first time I made the Pro Bowl, we were out in Arizona, and we're in a gift shop. I had to pick up something, maybe it was like toothpaste or something from the hotel, and there was a guy in there with just like a hoodie on, just like casually walking around, sandals, I think, shorts.

"Nobody really was saying anything, and he walks up to me, and he goes like, 'Hey, Pat, big fan,' or whatever, and I turn, and it's (expletive) Luke Kuechly. And I'm like, 'Oh my God, because he looks just like a normal human right there.'

"Then obviously as soon as games start, he flips the switch and becomes one of the greatest football players of all time, a madman, an actual madman. And I think from that moment of seeing Clark Kent before being Superman, to being Superman, made me just have so much respect for who he is as a person."

Whether or not Kuechly made the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility will be revealed tonight, during NFL Honors. Regardless of the result, though, whether he receives that Hall of Fame honorific this year or in the coming years, the way the NFL world views Luke Kuechly likely won't change, because the title—even the potential of it—doesn't seem to have changed Luke Kuechly.

But the proper reward will be appreciated by all involved.

"Obviously an incredible representative of ball as a whole," said McAfee, "but an absolute monster on the football field, and yeah, he's a special talent. We're lucky to have him. Hopefully, he does get in the Hall of Fame. He deserves it."