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Events and Attractions

NFL, Pro Football HOF Take Heavy Criticism For Issues That Led To Game Cancellation

The Packers-Colts Pro Football HOF game was canceled last night due to an issue with field preparation, and while some in the media gave the NFL and HOF credit for taking player safety into account, many slammed the organizations for not being prepared for the scenario. ESPN's Matt Hasselbeck said, “This is an embarrassment. This is an epic fail. This should not happen.” A Tim McGraw concert at the Tom Benson HOF Stadium was held Friday night, and Hasselbeck said of using that as an excuse for the field conditions, “That was Friday. This is Sunday, this is the NFL. That is a joke and if someone gave that as an excuse, that is awful, that's a lie, that’s a cover-up.” ESPN's Randy Moss added, "I said it before, somebody has to wear this; somebody has to lose their job over this. A lot of these fans paid their money, they came clear across the country to come and represent their team and now we're not going to get a game." ESPN's Charles Woodson also called the field conditions "unacceptable" ("Monday Night Countdown," ESPN, 8/7). ESPN's Mike Greenberg also called it a "startling embarrassment," while co-host Mike Golic said it was an "unbelievably horrific error" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 8/8). ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said the fact the game "didn't take place because some paint congealed at midfield or the end zone is disgraceful, period" (“First Take,” ESPN2, 8/8).

LOGISTICAL ISSUES: ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert wrote the "spin on player safety -- See, we treat our players well! -- shouldn't overshadow an embarrassing logistical gaffe on the part of a league that puts on hundreds of events per year." Colts Owner Jim Irsay "seemed to implicate the grounds crew." Seifert: "We are but one week into August and already the NFL must root out the source of a new ineptitude" (ESPN.com, 8/7). In Indianapolis, Keefer & Holder write the cancellation of the game in Canton was an "embarrassing night" for the NFL and HOF (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/8). Also in Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel writes of the timing of the announcement, "It was intentional. It was deceitful. It was the Pro Football Hall of Fame keeping alive the façade, using its scoreboard to show a countdown to an 8 p.m. kickoff that would never happen, because there was money to be made." But the news "wasn't bad for everybody," as vendors "made a killing." Last night was NFL fans being "tricked into staying more than an hour inside a football stadium where no football game was going to be played." Doyel: "This being the NFL, it was not unpredictable. It was not (expletive) unpredictable at all" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/8). 

TIME FOR A CHANGE? ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky noted Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy "didn't shoot down the idea" that the enshrinement ceremony and game "should be held at separate venues" on the HOF grounds. Murphy: "That's a question for later. When we get together at league meetings, I think we need to look at some of those issues" (ESPN.com, 8/7). In Milwaukee, Bob McGinn writes it "wouldn’t be a surprise to see some owners push to do away with the opening exhibition game." That would be "an awful mistake by a league that makes too many of them as it is." This game "always should be played, especially given that by next year the stadium and field will be in mint condition." What happened "was an honest mistake made during a transitional year at Canton" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 8/8). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote this "isn’t a Hall of Fame problem." Florio: "It’s an NFL problem. And it’s the NFL’s failure. The league needs to own it, make it right, and either commit the resources necessary to fixing the problem or ditch the game entirely" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/7). THE MMQB's Peter King writes it is "probably smart" to play the game at Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium on a "pristine field, rather than on a glorified high school field at the Hall of Fame in Canton" (MMQB.SI.com, 8/8). ESPN's Louis Riddick said, "Some people think we need to eliminate preseason. Last night Twitter was in an uproar over the fact that there was no football. Goes to show you the game's never been stronger" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 8/8). 

NOT WORTH THE RISK: NFL.com's Michael Silver writes playing the game "was not worth the risk." As "bitter a pill to swallow as this was for Baker, a giant of a man with an enormous heart who has done much to revitalize the Hall, he knew letting the show go on could have been a colossal mistake" (NFL.com, 8/8). In Houston, John McClain writes the NFL "wisely sacrificed revenue for player safety." This was a "sensible decision" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/8). In Green Bay, Pete Dougherty writes the NFL "had to call off this game" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 8/8).

TWITTER REAX: The MMQB's Albert Breer: "Cancelling the Hall of Fame game was the right and obvious call. That doesn't make the whole situation any less humiliating for the NFL." Pro Football Talk: "Maybe the broader takeaway is that they should just get rid of the Hall of Fame game." Cowboys WR Dez Bryant: "I was looking forward to watching the hall of fame game.... I'm going crazy... I miss football lmao!!!" Former NFLer Donte Stallworth: "How do you cancel the opening game of the season, the Hall of Fame game, due to field conditions? ... That's embarrassing."

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