Vincent’s review of the case mentioned that the decking which covered the artificial turf was supposed to be gone at 8 a.m., but wasn’t completed until 2:45 p.m.
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Worse, the officials didn’t inform the fans of what was happening until just moments before the game was supposed to start. Obviously, there were disappointed fans who were there and we were disappointed for the people of Canton who are tremendous hosts. “You just can’t do that with the way the National Football League has been set up”. All logos will be stitched into the surface so there will not be any issues like there were Sunday when the field was deemed unfit Sunday.
Sunday’s game was cancelled approximately one hour before kickoff.
A Green Bay Packers player is quoted as saying the field is “like cement”. However, the National Football League now does not plan to discuss moving the August contest out of Canton, Joe Scalzo of the Canton Repository reports.
Numerous thousands of Packers fans in Canton returned Sunday to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
NFL executive Troy Vincent accepted responsibility for the disaster, but until the league is also willing to accept responsibility for the travel costs those who meant to go to the game, it will have to deal with a group of unhappy fans. According to NFL.com, it’s possible that the wrong type of paint was used, and the paint didn’t dry quickly on the surface. The paint melted, and there were concern that players’ cleats would get stuck in the resulting mire. After walking on the surface, it was clear the potential for injury was significant. The paint had congealed and rubberized in those areas, making it very slippery. Rubber pellets used in the turf came loose and were scattered in several spots and needed to be removed. How can you say an “Unplanned” cancellation entitles someone to get their travel costs back? Not exactly conducive to players running or pushing large men around.
The NFL season didn’t kick off Sunday night after all.
There is no excuse for the National Football League to have this level of botched event. That’s why the game was called according to the Hall of Fame.
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“If something happens to somebody, then it’s like ‘Oh, they shouldn’t have played the game, ‘” Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones said.
