The Game That Wasn’t

The Game That Wasn’t

by Mickey Clayton

Beyond a shadow of a doubt the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend is a very special event on so many levels. A statement of the obvious is the sharing of what is called by many of the inductees, “the pinnacle of their sport life” or “my greatest achievement.” It is an honor to be there to share your heroes greatest moment.

Not only is it special for that …. but to see the number of sport legends that return for the weekend is absolutely incredible. Every year more former players return to share the special occasion with their former teammates, rivals and now, as Hall of Fame brothers.

I have been involved with game operations at my alma mater for nearly a decade and it makes me look at things differently. I love how the citizens of Canton, Ohio do everything to be as hospitable as humanly possible. They take so much pride in making the event a great experience for each individual who visits, regardless of race, creed, color, or age.

Everyone in the city is selling something, from parking spaces on their well manicured yards to selling cold water or preparing barbecue.

Now some of the police seem annoyed and spent time mean mugging you …. but the people were really great!

While sitting on the field for the Hall of Fame enshrinement, I was admiring the new construction that had taken since my visit from 2015. I noticed the interlocking tiles placed on the field. It served as a cover for the thousand fans that were sitting and being a part of the on-field celebrations. There were numerous stands that held hundreds of media personnel and camera men.

The speeches went on forever, especially Brett Favre but that’s a story for another day. The point is, I was admiring how they must have one helluva grounds crew and a ka-zillion volunteers that would get the field ready for a NFL game in less than 24 hours.

I smiled at the amount of work they were going to have to do. The smile on face broadened with the fact that I was going to be sleeping and that I was not going to be involved in the process. At home, my game day generally starts with a 5 am wake up and arrive at the stadium no later than 7 am but usually by 6:30 peering into the twilight.

Early on game day, I was stunned to find the game was cancelled because the field had problems that would not allow for safe playing conditions. I was saddened by what happened because supposedly the NFL lost $11 million dollars and the Hall of Fame lost $4 million.

The loss of ticket money for fans was a small item of the losses incurred. People came from all over the country for the weekend. Travel costs, hotel costs, food, souvenirs and more. People lost a lot of money and many will be careful of doing it again ……

Things happen and this time, I’m glad I was not involved in the decision making process for this because I’m sure had it happened at my institution ….. the blame would have been completely placed at my feet.

I was at the game that wasn’t ……

I will still go again, it’s a great experience.

The writer, Mickey Clayton (@MickeyClaytonFL) has served for over forty years in athletics at Florida A&M University. He currently owns and operates an on-line sports talk show at www.INSiiGHTS.com (@INSiiGHTS)