Last night I flew from South Florida to Los Angeles through the most God forsaken city in America. My stopover in Detroit was due to problems in Atlanta. Today I drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. Just before 2pm I am speaking at a ginormous rally put on by Doctors Against Obamacare. Then in the evening in San Diego I am the undercard for Evan Sayet and his Right to Laugh comedy series. The tomorrow I am off to North Carolina.
Yet today is about a city I am sadly not in, Canton, Ohio. Canton remains the greatest city in America, especially today. Today is the 2010 NFL Hall of Fame weekend. After 6 months, the National Football League returns.
(This post will be updated with links after the inductees give their enshrinement speeches.)
http://tbfiles.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/when-all-you-want-is-football/
The greatest receiver, Jerry Rice, enters the Hall. So does the leading running back of all time, Emmitt Smith. Bygone era running back Floyd Little enters, and I highly recommend the Sports Illustrated article about Little and his biggest fan. It is one of the finest football articles I have ever read, and that says a lot given my contempt for all that is Denver.
Russ Grimm was a part of one of the greatest offensive lines in history, the Hogs. Rickey Jackson played on one of the best defensive lines of all time. Dick Lebeau brought the NFL the Zone Blitz Defense. He is going in as a player but he easily could go in as a defensive coordinator.
Yet for pure fun, I am thrilled for John “Big Dog” Randle. Football is a game, and he made it entertaining. He was a great player and one of the all time great characters. If not for a broken leg in the NFC Title Game, the 1998 Vikings may have had Super Bowl rings at the end of the season.
All football players start out as young puppies. Hall of Fame weekend is about my favorite quote from John Randall.
“This is when the big dogs come out.”
Congratulations Mr. Randall. You’re one of the biggest dogs now. Thank you for combining great play with great commentary.
Speaking of great commentary, my favorite induction speech in terms of inspiration comes from Michael Irvin.
My favorite comment comes from…who else…the greatest commentator…John Madden.
“I don’t plan on making a whole hell of a lot of sense and I don’t care.”
Hall of Fame weekend is special because it does not cater to casual fans. The Super Bowl tries to appeal to people with commercials and halftime shows.
This weekend is for leatherheads who simply love the game of football.
The NFL is the best sports league, and this weekend celebrates the very best players of the very best game.
I made it to Canton in 2006 with a friend of mine. I went to see Madden. He as a Giants fan went to see Harry Carson, the godfather of the Gatorade dumping.
I cannot say much more since I will get faclempt in the ghanecticazoid.
I will just quote the title and subtitle of John Gruden’s book.
“Do you love football!?!”
Well? Do you?!”
Hell yes I do.
At 8pm Eastern time the Bengals play the Dallas Cowboys. Terrell Owens goes against his old team. He and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson will play sparingly if at all, but it will still be fun.
Are you ready for some football!?!?!
NFL 2010 Hall of Fame weekend is here.
Let’s get it on!
eric
Oh man, you sure said it! Detroit is one scary city. Back in the mid-90’s I used to travel there once in a while. The streets were empty. I mean, scary empty. Like some kind of post-apocalypse movie scene. The only people on the streets were gang members – and these weren’t just any gangsters. These dudes wore full dress firiggin’ uniforms! We’re talking head-to-toe, color coordinated uniforms, hats, boots, shirts, pants and all! Wanna talk “Michigan Militia?” These guys are a friggin’ army!
I got to spend some time with one of these gangsters on a long bus trip one time. We became fast friends. Nice guy. Smart,. easy-going, funny. just a good guy. Life had just steered him in the direction he was on. I hope things worked out for him in the end. I know he wanted out. He had a girl in Boston he was in love with, and wanted to settle down with, and get away from everything. I hope he did. He deserved it. He seemed like a real Golden Rule kinda guy. But man ‘o man I wouldn’t want to mess with that guy! I’ve known hard-core Rangers and Green Berets and DEA men and such who were less intimidating than this guy. But his was not some rough bullying intimidation. It was just an innate healthy respect.
Ya’ know, I think Reagan et al made a big mistake with that whole “professional army” thing back in the 80’s. These gangsters would make one hell of a fighting force. I say bring back the old days of giving guys a second chance by having them join the military. I know it can seem – and be – a little classist and racist, but it beats having them run the streets of Detriot to a dead-end in life! Besides, they’re probably safer in some God forsaken middle eastern hell hole than they are in deindustrialized America!
Anyways, that’s enough depressing reflection on deindustrialized America – FOOTBALL IS BACK!!!! PRAISE THE LORD, FLIP THE COIN, AND LET”S GET IT ON!!!!!!!!
JMJ