| Authored by Jeff Risdon - 10th August, 2009 - 2:39 pm
 I made the pilgrimage to Canton over the weekend for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, the second year I’ve been back to football’s epicenter. The irony that I now live 450 miles away and have been there twice, while I used to live 30 miles away and never went, weighed on me as I made the drive. How come I never saw the need to make the short jaunt, and now I felt obligated to go? It’s not like I have a great connection to any of the inductees this year.
The events Saturday helped me realize the importance of the game, but also the importance of football beyond the field. One of the things that struck me was how all the inductees were so respected as men, not just as football players. Every interview I saw being conducted, every former teammate or opponent that I talked to, they all centered on the inductees being truly great men. I had a five minute conversation with Marty Schottenheimer, and was a fly on the wall for another 15 minutes, and none of the talk about Derrick Thomas ever mentioned one thing he did on the field. It was all about how gregarious the late Thomas was, about how much he enjoyed life and how he brightened the lives of all who knew him.
It was the same story with Ralph Wilson. About 75% of the crowd was Bills faithful, and these people were basking in the greatness of their beloved owner. Wilson’s accomplishments are well-documented (I encourage you to look them up), but every single person talked about his loyalty and devotion to the city of Buffalo and the fans. These fans are acutely aware that the only reason the Bills have existed so long, and continue to remain in Buffalo, is Ralph Wilson.
I’m not going to give you the omnipresent fluff pieces on the inductees. I will cop to being a big Rod Woodson fan from the day my father and I, devout Buckeye fans, went to Purdue and watched this skinny, fast kid named Woodson dominate the field. And I think back to my days in Virginia and how much people there loved Bruce Smith, even when his final experience in Washington proved not so great. What struck me this weekend in Canton was how much these players impacted the lives of teammates, coaches, broadcasters, and common fans. It was sincere, it was joyous, it was powerful, and I won’t soon forget it. Driving down here with my family, I kept thinking “why”--we could have gone to a beach house or a big city or myriad other things for our vacation. Now I know we’ll be back next year, no matter whether my two personal favorites for enshrinement next year--Shannon Sharpe and Rickey Jackson--get in or not. If you care at all about football, I encourage you to join me. The people of Canton truly go all out and make it a celebration of football.
Seen, heard, and experienced around Canton
-- The crowd this year was much smaller than last year, and several people told me this was the lowest attendance to the actual ceremony they could remember. Twenty minutes prior to starting time, event officials were escorting people from the “cheap seats” down to field level to help fill in holes and make it look better for television. The weather was humid, rainy, and breezy most of the day, though the sun broke through at the exact moment host Rich Eisen took the stage.
-- Just five days after I wrote how he won’t be missed, I got to meet John Madden. I swear I’m not saying this with any sort of maliciousness, but the man did not look good physically.
-- I asked a prominent national writer who is also a HOF voter if he card to comment on my assertion that in the last two years, the voters have inducted two of the least-deserving members in Charlie Sanders and Bob Hayes. He vociferously defended Hayes for his overall impact on the game and on the Cowboys success during his time there. I asked once again about Sanders, and he quickly wormed into a conversation with someone else. No offense, Mr. Sanders, but not even some of the voters can defend your “surprise” election last year.
-- Neil Smith looks as if he could head to Kansas City, spend three weeks in camp, and solve their nose tackle problems. It was wonderful to see him honor his late friend and teammate by wearing Thomas’ Pro Bowl jersey, a trend I hope to see more of in the future.
-- Differences in generations: when Forrest Gregg walked on stage, the man next to me (hi Dino!) talked about how great he was playing tackle for the Packers. I countered that my memories of Gregg were him not doing a very good job of coaching the Bengals. Yes, older Cheeseheads, I do know better!
-- Note to western New Yorkers: when the sign says “Speed Limit 65”, that’s not in kilometers per hour. The drive up I-77 from Canton to the Ohio Turnpike should not take just under an hour, not even with the golf tournament in Akron.
-- I’m still trying to ascertain why Elvis would dress up as a Chiefs fan, or why Elvira would vamp it up for the Cowboys. It’s one thing to wear your team’s colors proudly, even painted on your face. But dressing up as a celebrity that just doesn’t fit with football or the city is asinine.
-- Love the commemorative golf towels, and real savvy to do them in Bills colors.
-- The actual game itself made me feel much better about my cloud-filled forecast for the Bills. And the fake punt by the Titans was yet another reason why Jeff Fisher is a great coach; letting a local kid (AJ Trapasso) with little chance of making any team score a touchdown on the first drive of preseason is just awesome. It also runs counter to what most coaches do in the preseason. Fisher has played the card and shown the play, and now opponents must devote time and attention to worrying about it and trying to stop it. Most coaches keep a great play like that in their pocket for just the right instance and pray it gets executed properly, and it rarely does. Fisher has shown they can pull it off.
-- Browns fans never forget.. When Woodson mentioned Art Modell and Hall of Fame in the same breath, every single person not wearing Bills or Vikings gear booed--including Steelers fans. Over every Ohioans dead body, Art--and I’m one of the very few who empathize with the reason behind your decision.
-- Not HOF-related, but the news that Browns Coach Eric Mangini cut DT Shaun Smith after the veteran dogged it in practice and showed up a coach spread like wildfire around Canton and was almost universally viewed as a huge positive for the team that plays at the end of I-77. Romeo Crennel would never have had the nerve to do something like that, and the Browns are better for it.
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