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.
Advertisement
Numerous thousands of Packers fans in Canton returned Sunday to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Issues with the artificial turf field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium led to Hall of Fame President David Baker breaking the news to a mostly Green Bay Packer crowd.
Baker said Packers coach Mike McCarthy, Colts coach Chuck Pagano and National Football League chief operating officer Tod Leiweke were consulted before the choice was made to cancel the game.
When the Hall of Fame Game was cancelled on Sunday because of awful field conditions, everyone wanted to know what happened to the turf. According to Baker, fans will be refunded their money.
After a long deliberation that included Colts general manager Ryan Grigson and Packers general manager Ted Thompson, everyone was asked to leave the field around 6:30 p.m., roughly 90 minutes before kickoff. “A definite hazard to player safety”.
Earlier, McCarthy and Pagano were watching as workers attempted to clear thousands of rubber pellets off the field.
“In some respects it’s a hard decision because of the impacts it has, but it’s an easy ethical decision”, he said on ESPN. For the star players of both teams, it was just an extra meaningless exhibition game. Besides, it’s obvious from this latest incident that not even the league cares enough about it to make sure the field is properly prepared for the action. “Yes, we’re upset. We have to make it right to our fans and also get to the bottom of exactly who got this paint job done and why was there incompetence”. The Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham tore the ACL in his non-kicking knee during the game.
Advertisement
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.
