Pro Football Hall of Fame refunding money for tickets

The NFL Hall of Fame Game between the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers will not be played. Instead, the money will be refunded to those who were there to watch the game.

Additionally, the players from both teams and new Hall of Famers will be honored in another ceremony.

Well, that’s something. At least the Hall of Fame is taking some steps to rectify a mistake. Unfortunately, it’s a mistake that even in the gaffe-heavy world of the NFL is hard to believe.

It’s difficult to imagine an incident where so many people collectively dropped the ball.

For the grounds crew at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, it’s an embarrassment. This weekend is really the annual showcase event for the city of Canton. Being sure that the field is in playable shape is, by far, the most important part of that besides the actual enshrinement ceremony. When Hall of Fame weekend rolls around, it had better be in good condition.

This is nothing less than a debacle (pics here).

The same can be said for the NFL, a multi-billion dollar organization. The condition of the playing field is an important, yet seemingly basic aspect of the game. Still, time and time again it seems to be a problem.

Remember, the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers were slipping and sliding around the Levi’s Stadium field during Super Bowl 50. In January of 2013, Robert Griffin III’s career was significantly derailed thanks to terrible field conditions at Washington’s FedEx Field. Kicker Shaun Suisham’s NFL career came to a crashing halt because of poor field conditions during last year’s Hall of Fame Game.

There are countless other examples of this same issue.

An occasional problem is one thing, but this is a consistent issue with the NFL. Given that the league is primarily in the football business, one would think that it would be more proactive on making sure the football fields are safe.

Football is a dangerous enough game when the conditions are perfect. The things that should be safe need to be safe.

Lastly, of course, the Hall of Fame messed this one up.

Much like the NFL, the Hall of Fame needs to oversee the conditions of their field. But once the decision is made, it’s the Hall of Fame’s responsibility to be sure that the people in Canton know.

ESPN made the announcement on its Twitter Page at 6:58. Ten minutes later, the NFL followed suit. Yet, at 7:37 people in the stadium were still not aware of the decision.

Fortunately, the Hall of Fame eventually made the announcement. Unfortunately, it came at the end of an embarrassing all-around day.