“We are very disappointed for our fans, but player safety is our primary concern, and as a result, we could not play an National Football League game on this field tonight.” the statement said. But for the thousands of fans at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio, they had no idea.
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Before announcing to the fans that there would be no game, Baker was on the field talking to NFL Network about how things had gotten to this point. “I think this happened in Philadelphia one time, I think it happened one other time, they learned from it, we’ll learn from it”. He returned to the lineup to make 17 catches in a pair of postseason games. We’re disappointed, but at the same time being in the league for nearly a half a century, I’ve seen some of these things occur before.
How many football fields get painted every year in the United States?
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy has likely already gotten over the fact his team wasn’t forced to suit up for a fifth preseason game, and those not fighting for a roster spot would have hardly been devastated when the decision was made to abandon the game.
But at the end of the day, youve got to remember what theyre built for. For the 2016 edition, which was to feature the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts, the stadium was using the former field from the Superdome in New Orleans for this year’s contest before being torn out for a permanent field to be installed for next year’s contest.
Both teams were anxious about player safety as crews worked feverishly to spray solvent on the area around the midfield logo.
The issue came down to the paint used by grounds crews to paint the midfield logo and endzones for the game.
A Packers fan added: “I spent $65 on this food”, Liu says, gesturing to hot dogs and pizza and drinks he bought for his party of four.
How comforting it is to note that, apparently, no one struggled with the idea of playing a game on a field that had deteriorated into a tar-like substance at midfield and in the end zones. “Then the paint job that got put down led to a very unusual, sort of toxic situation that we didn’t want to take a risk on”. So I think that is what the focus is, and the National Football League is saying we are committed to this, too, the safety of our players. But it was the only decision that could be made. Colts owner Jim Irsay was clearly upset, and even though the Hall of Fame isn’t quite under the National Football League umbrella, people will be punished for this failure.
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The league and the NFL Players Association issued a joint statement Sunday expressing regret over the cancellation.
