Numerous thousands of Packers fans in Canton returned Sunday to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
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Not only was it applied last minute – it was the wrong type of paint entirely, Hall of Fame Director David Baker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
This was not the first cancellation of an National Football League exhibition game – the Hall of Game contest was not played in 2011 because of the lockout – but it was the most high-profile preseason match to be called off. The game was cancelled due to safety concerns with the condition of the playing surface.
At least the players are safe.
Packers great Brett Favre, who infamously spent a few forgettable seasons playing for the Vikings and the Jets, joked about making yet another return to the playing field, prompting a hilarious reaction from current Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.
That’s where the field hardened.
The NFL has canceled only three games in the past 21 years because of field conditions, but players routinely complain about surfaces at Chicago’s Soldier Field and Houston’s Reliant Stadium, among others. Perhaps the secret is to not mess with the field once it’s acceptable – or to not hold other events at the same stadium just hours earlier. Looking up close, there were clumps where red, white and blue paint had congealed with the turf pellets, creating patches that were both slick and rock-hard, an obvious safety concern. Workers were spraying around the logo and driving vehicles with what looked like street-cleaning brushes back and forth, in an apparent attempt to break up these clumps. It was an ugly scene.
Both teams were to compete in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. Pittsburgh kicker Shaun Suisham tore the ACL in his non-kicking knee during the contest and cited the conditions as the reason for his injury that ultimately led to his release by the Steelers.
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“When the field was put down – this was a brand-new field that had only been used one year at the Superdome in New Orleans – when it came here, it passed the safety tests”. There will likely be a short, walk-through-like practice on Thursday in advance of Friday’s preseason home opener against the Cleveland Browns. Packers.com The coach and president acknowledge that the young players fighting for roster spots are losing an opportunity to get some game action, but more critically, that fans who traveled to see a football game were left hanging.
