The Colts-Packers Pro Football HOF Game last night was canceled due to a "problem with the field -- specifically the paint on the midfield logo congealing and turning into a rubber-like substance," according to a front-page piece by Josh Weir of the Canton REPOSITORY. HOF President & CEO David Baker addressed fans around 8:00pm ET and shortly after told game broadcaster ESPN, "We’re embarrassed and extremely disappointed. But ... I don’t know if you can control everything. We’re going to get it right, I can promise you." While ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced the cancellation of the 8:00pm game shortly before 7:00pm and the NFL "followed with an announcement shortly thereafter, fans inside the stadium were not told anything and were left to glean what they could through spotty cellphone reception or texts from friends and family." Baker: "Part of that was we thought at one point we might have a fan fest and let fans down on the field. ... But whatever we did had to have the integrity of the security involved in it. We didn’t want to make an unsafe situation compounded by making it unsafe again.” Packers fan John O'Neill: "I understand safety first. What I don't understand is the NFL likes to brag that they have almost 100 years under their belt, and they can't figure out how to keep a safe field in sunny weather" (Canton REPOSITORY, 8/8). Baker said that the call to cancel the game was made after meeting with Packers coach Mike McCarthy, Colts coach Chuck Pagano and NFL COO Tod Leiweke. He added that fans "will be refunded their money" (ESPN.com, 8/7).
FIELD OF BROKEN DREAMS? Schefter said players before the game "were unhappy about being out there to even warm up and, in fact, the teams cautioned that players don't warm up on the surface." There were some players "throwing and catching footballs, but nothing too strenuous because it would have been like running on a hot tar surface." Schefter said there "rarely has been a scene like the one that we saw pregame here tonight where there were executives, coaches, players from all teams, doctors, trainers all gathered today with Hall of Fame officials" (“Monday Night Countdown,” ESPN, 8/7). Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy said he was “surprised” when told there were field issues because “it's relatively unprecedented that the field conditions would be an issue." Colts Owner Jim Irsay said, “We found out about the problem roughly two hours before the game. We were hoping we were going to be able to fix it but we only had about 30 to 45 minutes at the most to try to correct the problem" (“Packers-Colts,” ESPN, 8/7).
SORTING THINGS OUT: In Akron, Michael Beaven notes both Packers and Colts players "respected Baker's decision." But Pro Football HOFer Brett Favre said, "I played on worse. I'll put it that way. ... But I understand. This is a preseason game." Baker said that the cancellation "would cost the hall" about $4M in lost revenue (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/8). NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said that the league "will work with the Packers and Colts to sort out their own financial reimbursement" (ESPN.com, 8/7). THE MMQB's Peter King notes the Tom Benson HOF Stadium turf was "installed earlier this summer," with the surface used in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for the Sugar Bowl. About 20,000 fans "sat on top of the playing surface" during Saturday night's enshrinement ceremony. The cover on the field "didn’t come off until Sunday morning, and the issue arose when areas of the turf were painted," including the HOF logo at midfield. There are "plenty of players and coaches who would like to see the game scrapped." That "probably won’t happen, but you can bet they’ll talk about switching venues" (MMQB.SI.com, 8/8). YAHOO SPORTS' Frank Schwab noted inside the stadium, the '16 HOF inductees "were introduced to the crowd, singer Lee Greenwood went on with a show that was meant for halftime, and players milled around for a while, seemingly unsure what to do without a game to play" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/7).
AVOIDABLE SITUATION? In Canton, Joe Scalzo writes the situation was "embarrassing, discouraging and -- most importantly -- preventable." Players said that the paint at midfield "felt like tar." Their cleats "couldn’t penetrate it," and the surface "felt uneven." Baker has "earned some benefit of the doubt, and he obviously has" the ear of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But the game is "too important to Canton to go elsewhere" (Canton REPOSITORY, 8/8). ESPN.com's Mike Wells wrote the "outrage, disappointment and frustration from fans was evident." Despite the ticket reimbursement, many "lost money in travel expenses" (ESPN.com, 8/7). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote along with ticket reimbursements, fans who "purchased hotel accommodations for Sunday night should be made whole in that regard, too" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/7). THE MMQB's King writes it is an "embarrassment of the highest order" and is a "ringing exclamation point to those who like to pile on Goodell" (MMQB.SI.com, 8/8). NFL Network's Sean O'Hara: "I don't know how they anticipated this game to go, being that they just put that field in two weeks ago. That should have been in months ago in order to make sure it was ready" ("NFL Total Access," NFL Network, 8/8).
DEAD AIR: YAHOO SPORTS' Schwab wrote ESPN "did its best to entertain fans that tuned in expecting to see football." It "wasn’t easy, especially considering Charles Woodson, Matt Hasselbeck and Randy Moss were on the 'Monday Night Countdown' set" with Chris Berman for the first time. All of a "sudden the entire ESPN team had a lot of air time to fill" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/7).
