A Must Visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

If one ever makes their way to the Midwest, a must stop is in the city of Canton, Ohio to see its prized jewel, the Professional Football Hall of Fame. The Pro Football Hall of Fame first opened its doors to the public on September 7, 1963, with more than seven million visitors having toured the museum. The museum itself is nearly 83,000 square feet and has been transformed by three expansions in the past 40 years. This museum serves as the shrine of professional football, in which professional football players, as well as many growing youths, set their goal of someday presenting an acceptance speech at its doorsteps. Professional football may still take a backseat to baseball as America’s pastime, but has taken over the sole title as America’s passion.

The newest feature of the Pro Football HOF is Football and America: The NFL Responds During Times of National Crises, an exclusive museum exhibit developed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the National Football League has been reinstalled in the Hall of Fame in time for this year’s enshrinement celebration . Initially designed to distinguish the role played by the NFL and its players during times of national crises and military conflicts from World War II through the terrorists’ attacks of September 11, 2002, the exhibit has been expanded to include the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Included in the exhibit is a special tribute to former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman who lost his life in Afghanistan while serving as a member of the U.S. Army Rangers. Tillman’s Cardinals jersey and his Ranger uniform are featured in the exhibit along with a video taped interview discussing his feelings after the September 11th attacks. This exhibit may be the most visited site in the museum due to the current circumstances in the Middle East.

The first noticeable feature of the Hall is the exterior dome, which is shaped as a football. As you walk through the entrance, the first exhibit you come to covers the 1st century of professional football. Presented in this display are game-worn jerseys, pictures of games, and other artifacts such as cleats, mouthpieces, helmets, and any other equipment related to football. You are not able to touch any of the artifacts sue to the glass cases and that the much of the display is roped off. The next exhibit that you come across is of the game of professional football as it seen today. The exhibit allows you to walk through (on Astroturf) and view the various standing mini-walls of pictures, which gives you the feeling that you are on an actual field. This exhibit I passed though quickly to get to my favorite room; the gallery.

The enshrinement gallery is an exhibit of busts of all the enshrined members of the Hall of Fame. Below each remarkably accurate bust is the name of the player and any accomplishments or factoids the Hall saw fit to inscribe. As you pass through the busts, you come to the exhibit celebrating the role of the African-American football player. This exhibit chronicles the great accomplishments to the game of the football by the African-American players. Also on the “upper level” is the Super Bowl room, covering each of the 38 Super Bowls played to date as well as “Gameday Stadium,” which is a surround sound IMAX theatre that makes you feel as if you were on the field during a game that you have may have watched at home on television. This is the biggest expansion of the Hall, taking place in 1996.

A statue of Jim Thorpe graces the lower level, which acts as the centerpiece of the Rotunda room. The lower level also has a large Museum store, where you can buy team merchandise and apparel that you cannot ordinarily find at any of the local stores (Unless you are a Browns fan). Another fun aspect of the lower level is the interactive displays. These displays include an EA Sports display (The maker of the ever-popular Madden games), the “Call the Play” game in which you act as the coach, the Monday Night Football Trivia display, and a large “Tailgating Snack Bar.” The directed audience for this museum is any person interested in professional football, or football in general. Anyone with a strong interest in football must take time and visit this shrine of the pigskin/cow skin.

The historical merit of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is quite respectable. Most if not all of the artifacts shown were game used and are usually presented to the Hall of Fame upon the end of their use. Examples are the shoes that Baltimore Raven star Ed Reed wore when he set the NFL record for the longest interception return (106 yards) in a game against Cleveland this year. This display, as well as others, offers concrete proof that historic merit is respected with the creation of the various displays in the museum. The displays show the untainted side of the football, free of large contracts, illegal drug use, and any other problems that have faced the game in its existence. The showing of the game in its purest state follows the mission of the Hall of Fame, as a showcase to the players, coaches and contributors to the wonderful game of football. I do not have any suggestions for better historical information because I am unsure of how one could improve the Hall of Fame as it stands.

The possibility of adding women in the future due in part to the survival of the Women’s Professional Football League may be an interesting display to see. The league currently has 17 teams, with 7 in the process of licensing in 2005. Whether interest will enthrall the mainstream media is anyone’s guess; however, the popularity of professional football has spread to both genders, proving that it is not just a male sport.