Football Hall of Fame a good experience for fans

It was all about seeing the busts.

I make no secret that my favorite Hall of Fame is the one stationed in Cooperstown – the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

On that note, I’ll also make note that I haven’t been to every other Hall of Fame, though I’ve been to many (boxing, basketball, pro wrestling before it left upstate New York etc.) and I’ve seen Hall of Fames that are pretty solid and others that aren’t so hot.

On a recent road trip, two more Hall of Fames were visited. This one is about the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And it was all about the busts.

Let me say this – though I don’t mind football, it’s by far not my favorite sport. I can’t just sit down and watch any old football game. It needs to have a team I have interest in involved, or I don’t enjoy it.

So I was a little mixed when it comes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. That being said, I was mixed on a stop at the Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this summer, so I was interested in the football hall.

At a minimum, I wanted to see the busts of the past inductees. It’s a unique way to show the Hall of Famers and I wanted to see them up close. The rest of the Hall of Fame was just a bonus.

While there’s no way of unseating the Baseball Hall of Fame, I will say the Football Hall was a solid experience. From interactive exhibits, to the historic pieces, the Hall was filled with the story of the game. There’s a lot I don’t know about football history as I’m not as big into the history as I am with baseball.

However, it’s pretty cool to look back at some of the older teams and how football in America grew. Some of the teams and how they weren’t around as long and the communities they were in etc.

It’s pretty cool.

Even more interesting is the advancement of equipment to what we see today. It always makes me wonder if the game wouldn’t be as violent if the older equipment was still used.

The interactive exhibits were pretty cool and they included being able to match your hand to the size of others, as well as things like being able to try out instant replay.

The room that showed the early years of the Super Bowl, as well as a Super Bowl Trophy was pretty interesting, too.

But the room with the Hall of Fame busts was very cool. I loved the look of the busts and the realism is pretty amazing My only complaint is that some of them are high up, so one might not always get a good look at them. It’s also darker in the room, which makes it harder to take photos of the busts (the complete opposite of the Baseball Hall’s plaque gallery, which is lit up very well), but outside of that, it was very cool looking at them and seeing all the players inducted.

Overall, I’m glad I had the chance to visit this Hall. It didn’t take too long to get through and a discount was offered if you paired that ticket with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which was done, as the hotel we stayed at was a couple blocks from the Rock and Roll Hall).

It’s well worth a trip if you are a football fan, or a fan of sports history in general.

You can see a full gallery of images I took at the Football Hall of Fame by visiting my album on Flickr.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!