A few weeks ago, Lapham, who played all five line positions during 140 games and 10 seasons in Cincinnati, went to Paycor Stadium on what was another day of work.
Until Bengals president Mike Brown summoned him to his office to tell him of the fan vote. The man who has unabashedly passed down his emotions to generations of Bengals fans quivered again.
"I very much appreciate their support," Lapham says. "It's been like a dream come true. It's been magical.
"As a kid, you hope that you get an opportunity to play at the highest level of the sport that you love the most, and then it happens, you get a chance, and you hope to capitalize on that chance and do the best you possibly can do, and do everything you possibly can do to have a successful run. And it all worked out that way. I can't believe how fortunate I feel. I don't know why the good Lord put his hand down on my shoulder and said, 'You're going to get what you're hoping for, son.'"
Brown put a call through to Parrish on the outskirts of Atlanta in Palmetto, Ga., to tell him the fans hadn't forgotten, even though his 105th and last Bengals game came in the Astrodome against the Oilers in 1977.
"He's one of our best players ever. A great cover man. Receivers just couldn't shake free of him," Mike Brown says. "As a punt returner, he was excellent. Probably the most exciting punt returner we ever had … I think he still has the highest average per attempt for us."
Indeed, Parrish's 18.8 yards per punt return in 1974 is not only the Bengals' single-season record, but the longest in the NFL in the 64 seasons since the first year of the John F. Kennedy administration.
Throw in a gold tooth and mink coat that foreshadowed the flamboyance of Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson and eight Pro Bowls that matched the flash and dash of Deion Sanders, and Parrish was well ahead of ESPN and Netflix.
Or not, when you tell him he was Deion before Deion.
"I came first. You have to compare Deion to me," Parrish says. "I'm not surprised (of the vote). Nothing surprises me anymore. It is what it is these days. I put up the numbers. It's up to them.
"This is something I lived for and trained for. I'm very pleased. I want to thank Mike and the fans for voting for me. I'm grateful and thankful."