When Hubby and I were first dating I would endure football. I would come over to his parent's house and sit with them to watch the Sunday football games with my best I'm-totally-interested-in-this face. Once we had been together a few years, I slowly began to focus less of my attention on trying to understand the game, and more of it on watching the clock count down.
Pathetic, I know.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame was always on Hubby's list of places he wanted to go. Like most of Ohio though, Canton, Ohio has pretty much nothing else of note.* Since we were already driving ridiculously far away from our home through the most boring western Pennsylvanian expanse of land, we decided this was the best time to go there.
*Note: If you're into rock and roll, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is an hour away.
Second Stop: Pro Football Hall of Fame
Jonathan shares my sentiments towards football, though bless his heart, he always acts extremely interested for about 1.428798 minutes at the start of the game.
The museum can be enjoyed in about three hours--depending if you're one who likes to mosey around reading all the information about every single display, like Hubby. They also have a theater with Super Bowl highlights which we didn't watch. The video there is about an hour long.
After only ten minutes, I was already getting these sort of looks from Jonathan...
He had been warned though. His attitude at the Football Museum would reflect the fun we had later that night.
Fortunately, the museum had a few interactive displays...
and Jonathan perked right up.
There were even some displays that caught my interest.
Of course we see football players with varied weights, but never such varied heights. The shortest man to ever play professional football was Jack Shapiro at 5' 1/2". The tallest man was Richard Sligh at 7'.
I could tell Jonathan was reaching his max when he would look at me and say, "What's next?"
For Hubby's sake, we pressed on.
The Hall of Heads, as I like to call it, was awe inspiring. Not really knowing who any of the heads were, I found myself more interested in the art and perfection of their busts than anything else.
This closeup of Dan Marino is for my mother and father-in-law:
There was a glassed section after the hall of heads with displays of locker items of several retired football players.
This one was my favorite:
Curtis Martin read this passage in the book of Deuteronomy before every game.
How might this look painted on my foyer wall?
It would certainly be a conversation piece.
As someone who is not a football fan, I will admit the Football Hall of Fame was not a painful experience. However, if I was forced to stay much longer it might have been.
My absolute favorite part was the final room dedicated to the artwork of Ernie Barnes, a football player turned artist.
My favorite piece was titled "Sunday's Gladiators":
If you plan a trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, keep a few things in mind.
1. The location--I'm not kidding around when I say there isn't a whole lot to do in the area. Of course, this comes from a woman with shopper's blood. When I say there isn't anything to do, I mean the shopping is limited. If you are into art there is the Canton Museum of Art. If you are into history there is the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum. And, William McKinley's tomb.
2. The cost--For Jonathan and myself, the $23 entry fee was ridiculous, that's why I made sure to pay for his out of my own pocket. For someone who really loves football, I don't see it as a horrible price. It all depends on the value that such sights hold for you.
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