This is exactly what happened after field conditions forced a Hall of Fame game between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
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The start of the National Football League pre-season was cancelled on Sunday night, as congealed paint caused unplayable conditions in the game between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts. Both teams walked onto the field at 8 p.m., moments before the game would have kicked off, and the players saluted the crowd. The Packers and Colts would be the only team using the field in Canton for it was planned to be replaced immediately because of more stadium renovation work in the coming year. All logos will be stitched into the surface so there will not be any issues like there were Sunday in which the field was deemed unfit for the Packers-Colts preseason opener.
Hall of Fame president/executive director David Baker told ESPN, “This is a very, very hard decision for us today, but we think it’s the only decision that can be made”.
That’s an issue, however, because the whole point of this game has to be revisited and either spiked or moved, perhaps to nearby Cleveland and a real professional football field. Favre received a huge ovation as he walked from one side of the field to the other, right between the two lines of players.
Baker said the decision to cancel the game was “difficult, ” but added it was an “easy, ethical decision”.
According to David Baker, the field was in excellent shape leading up to the Hall of Fame Game. Something to think about as the league congratulates itself for thinking about safety, for a change. Many were still filing into the stadium after it became evident that no game would be play.
Colts defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin tweeted that he was “juiced” for Sunday night’s game, but “safety is number 1”. “And we’re going to make sure this never happens again”.
Murphy said the “problem was the paint job” on the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo at midfield and the “Pro Football Hall of Fame” and “Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium” lettering in the end zones. Let’s just say a lot of concessions were purchased in that time. This weekend in Canton proved to be a pilgrimage for Packers fans and now it has been cut short. Fans will be refunded their ticket costs.
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“We’ll earn from this, without a doubt”, Baker told Salters. In 1980 (Packers vs. San Diego Chargers) and 2003 (Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs) the Hall of Fame game was called early because of lightning and heavy rain.
