The NFL Hall of Fame Game was cancelled on August 7th, 2016. This was suppose to be the first preseason game of the year. The event didn't happen because of unsafe field conditions. This was the first time in 15 years that an NFL game was cancelled due to poor field conditions. Pro football hall of fame president David Baker said " I was notified at about 5:30 that there was a problem at midfield and in the end zones with some of the painting that it was kind of congealing and rubberized, which meant players might slip on it". They thought it was possible to make the field playable however, if the field conditions weren't 100% safe then the game wouldn't be played. Bottomline is the safety of the players comes before anything else. The painting of the logo was the major culprit because of it's rubberized surface. They attempted to put pellets on the surface to no avail.
At the end of the day the NFL made the right decision in my opinion. Safety should never be looked over especially in an already contact heavy sport. I think people will understand after that get over the initial shock of what happened. All fans who were attending the game will receive full refunds. Additionally, the fields turf at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium will be replaced before next years game. This will help to ensure that the field won't be the reason why a game is cancelled in the future. This game was just an extra preseason game for the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts. One coach summarized the entire ordeal as a disaster. The coaches weren't planning on playing to many starters in this game. The NFL will survive even though this event is cancelled. Fortunately, this game doesn’t take place until the end of the the Hall of Fame weekend. So most of the activities, ceremonies and speeches have already been done. Furthermore, most fans have already come to the city of Canton and spent money. Fans have already stayed at hotels, eaten at restaurants, and shopped local stores. This will give the city a nice boost in revenue.
However, the fans will be the ones most upset with the decision. Many fans have planned or taken time out of their schedule. Especially, all of the Brett Favre worshippers who wanted to thank the Hall of Fame inductee one last time. Some fans are their just to watch football while many others are attending to show their appreciation for the new Hall of Fame inductees. It amazes me that with all of the money the NFL makes and all of the experts they have one simple detail derailed the entire event. This has to be one of the more embarrassing reasons that I recall in recent memory for an event being cancelled. This bothers me because I love watching football even if it is in the preseason. I guess we will all just have to wait another week to watch preseason football.
