Are You Ready for Some Football?

I absolutely can't believe it is football season already!!  It's not possible to for me to allow this season to kickoff without recounting my Hall of Fame experience.  Despite the actual game being cancelled, the weekend itself was truly a special one.  My brother, Jordan, made the trek up to Canton to join me for my final NFL work trip.  I was glad to have him there for all the festivities - the Tim McGraw concert, the longest parade I've ever witnessed, and the enshrinement.

I had high hopes for the Tim McGraw concert, but he turned out to be mediocre.  I guess I didn't realize he had new music.  He totally killed it on the older songs, but lost me pretty quickly when he switched gears into his current "hits".  We had an interesting array of folks surrounding us so we ended up having lots of laughs throughout the evening regardless of the song choices.

The next day, we were able to check out the parade through downtown Canton.  It was a bit of a mix of Macy's Day meets small town 4th of July.  There was an enormous show of patriotism and more school bands that I can recall with a number of large and small balloon characters throughout.  It lasted well over an hour.  They sold tickets so everyone had an assigned seat.  All the Hall of Fame Enshrinees and several current Hall of Famers rode in fancy cars between the floats and performers. It truly was a site to behold.  The only thing we were missing was donuts.  Apparently, it's an annual tradition there.  Don't worry...we tracked them down before we left town!

The Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremony proved remarkable.  I didn't have high expectations going into the event, but I managed to leave with an unforgettable feeling in my heart. Hearing the speeches in person was a truly impactful experience.  Having previously worked with the Colts, I really enjoyed listening to both Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy speak.  Eddie Debartlo, Jr. had a wonderful message as well.  I could feel the love in his voice as he spoke about his experience with the 49ers.  Kevin Greene, Orlando Pace, and Brett Favre all exhibited such passion and emotion.  It was truly a wonderful night.  If you have a favorite player that has the honor of being inducted, I highly recommend making the trip to Canton for their Enshrinement.  It is definitely a worthwhile experience.

Who is your favorite football team or player?

Have you ever been to a really fantastic parade?

Andrea :)