Not being a big tech guy I don't track how things suddenly appear in our life via the in box. Happily I seem to have retriggered Pro-Footballball Hall Of fame emails and its lead to some interesting info about the Hall Of Fame I didn't know. They have an education department and online events to watch. Checkout the http://profootballhof.com site if you are into what I am doing with NFL since 1970! The site has much to become familiar with what for those that love the game with a passion...
I should have blogged about my trip to the Pro Football Hall Of Fame much sooner than this. It was 1992 and I was traveling from Rochester NY back home to Littleton CO in my Grandfather's 1981 Malibu Classic. He had passed away in '87 and I was taking ownership of a car I had wanted for a while(If you know me you know I have unusual taste in cars). I wish I would have asked my Grandfather what it was like having a Pro-Football team in his city from age 15 to 20. Those Rochester Jeffersons were over .500 at 8-6-2 in their first 2 seasons combined but from 1922 until the end of the team's run in 1925 they went winless. That may have been a factor in his silence on the subject despite all the time I spent at his place as a budding NFL fanatic. It's funny how people are seemingly born into poor, mediocre or stellar sports team environments/eras. Email me with thoughts of which you think you were divinely placed into. Grandpa Bess had the 1964 & '65 AFL Champ Buffalo Bills as his highlight.
It was a perfect summer day that I ventured south off my long I-80 journey and the rust laden old Chevy was holding up great as I took the exit off route 77 to head to the Hall. I was excited even thought I had no expectations of being all that thrilled by a Bronco deprived football museum. A little background...it was that mid '78 to Early 1981 timeframe while living in Rochester I became an NFL fan. Instigated almost entirely on the work of NFL Film's footage of slow motion coupled with heart pounding orchestral music on HBO's Inside the NFL I became that fanatic pre-teen. For reasons I can't determine, after the easy question was answered of which team was #1 in my heart (Bills or Broncos), I made the call to dislike all the teams that had enjoyed great success the prior decade and really pull for the teams that had been left in the dust by those bullies of the football field. I think I picked up on the year 1970 being a dividing line of old and new era pretty quick as a young fan. I know this to be the reason I am a Green Bay Packer, New York Jet, New Orleans Saint, Arizona Cardinal, Cincinnati Bengal, Seattle Seahawk, Detroit Lion, Philadelphia Eagle, Buffalo Bill, Tampa Bay Buccaneer and to a lesser extent Los Angeles Ram & Charger, Kansas City Chief, Cleveland Brown, San Francisco 49er and Atlanta Falcon fan. The Minnesota Vikings could be in this list... overcoming the success of 3 NFC titles in the 70's & the handing of the Super Bowl trophy to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for Hershel Walker. Based on the fact January 1977 was the last attempt to lose the goose egg in the win column of all-time Super Bowl standings & their needy fan base that really is vast they have moved up my personal hierarchy of teams. The Miami Dolphins have climbed to near fan status in that I recently became OK with their success...the Dolphin's last appearance in the Super Bowl is the same huge number of years ago that I ended High School (35). The fact that they stayed #1 in NFL Since 1970 for 14 years after Don Shula retired, despite all the bland football played post-Dan Marino, makes Don a true rival to the Bill Belichick label of G.O.A.T.
All that to say I knew I would enjoy my visit to Canton no matter what because the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Redskins, New York Giants (this because I am a Jets fan), Indianapolis Colts, and Chicago Bears could not be the only teams with players and artifacts worth seeing! (Ok the Bears along with the New England Patriots are slightly higher than this list now and were much higher back in 1992).
Getting back on track with my train of thought... I was driving down the tree lined exit as it curved to the east and what should lie in wait for me at the stoplight? The Raider organization had taken over the huge billboard to proclaim the greatness of Al Davis as he was to be inducted later that summer. Not a great start to the visit as the Raiders are, by a wide margin, my least favorite team in all of sports. Once inside It was just an awe- inspiring trip down memory lane of the 10+ years I had been a huge fan. This visit was prior to at least two major expansions at the site and much closer to how the place looked when it opened in 1963 than it does today. I think the highlight had to be both the room with the busts and seeing up-close the game worn items that were part of historic events in the best sport's history. I can't wait to see the fine Bronco representation in the current Hall but maybe I'll also be rewarded upon a return with the bust of Randy Gradishar, Louis Wright, Tom Jackson &/or Billy Thompson. An added touch would be a nice Bronco Billboard framed by lush trees at the end of the off ramp! Go see for yourself what a fun place it is. God Bless!
