Last night’s National Football League preseason curtain raiser between the Packers and Colts, the annual Hall of Fame game, was canceled because of unsafe playing conditions. After all, the game was canceled as a result of human error – bad field conditions brought about by the way logo paint dried – not an act of God. According to Packers News, field conditions and the safety risk the poor conditions presented for the players was the main reason for the cancellation. The NFL preseason will now begin with six games on Thursday night.
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A huge number of Green Bay Packers fans came to Canton to see Brett Favre inducted on Saturday evening, and many has returned on the following night to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Baker told NFL Media, “We think we could make it playable, that it might be playable now, but if there is any concern, anything in the minds of players, we want to err on the side of player safety”.
Representatives of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and both NFL teams had a meeting for a several hours before the scheduled 8 P.M. kickoff time to discuss the turf, and the Green Bay and Indianapolis felt the field was not safe. “If we don’t have that integrity to respect our players and respect their safety, then we shouldn’t be doing this job”.
The NFL has drawn considerable heat from players, analysts and fans alike for the snafu.
Colts owner Jim Irsay told ESPN, “It was something that shouldn’t have occurred”.
Irsay added that he wanted to know “why there was incompetence”.
The field in Canton was largely criticized in last year’s contest as well.
The Hall of Fame Game is traditionally played the day after the induction ceremony for the hall’s latest class of players.
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This is a blow to Canton, Ohio home of the Hall of Fame, and a town that could use the revenue the game and festivities generate.
