Colts: Reactions to Hall of Fame Game Cancellation
By Kyle Nishida
The Hall of Fame game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Green Bay Packers was cancelled about an hour before the scheduled kickoff at 8 p.m. ET. Plenty of players and reporters had interesting reactions to the news.
The media firestorm started when multiple reporters noticed Hall of Fame officials and team officials talking at midfield about 100 minutes before kickoff.
Something is up with the turf here in Canton. Colts GM Ryan Grigson and Packers officials have a pow wow rt now. pic.twitter.com/73q9uzjK2r
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) August 7, 2016
The cancellation of the game came about 30 minutes after the meeting at midfield. The players were the first to be notified about the game’s cancellation. Some of Colts’ players, like punter Pat McAfee, shared their opinions with reporters and on Twitter.
Had no idea a cancellation was possible.. When it 1st got mentioned our entire locker room had the same reaction.. pic.twitter.com/920e2bXBOR
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 7, 2016
From Colts LB D'Qwell Jackson: 'It sucks but the conditions of the field weren't safe for any player on either roster.' @nflnetwork
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) August 7, 2016
It was an honor to get one helluva pre game warm up in Canton. #HallOfFameGame
— Matt Overton (@MattOverton_LS) August 7, 2016
Once the game was cancelled, the Twitter firestorm began raining down on the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL.
Thoughts:
— Peter King (@peter_king) August 7, 2016
1 What a bush league situation.
2 Kudos for not putting professionals in harm’s way.
3 Should never, ever, ever have happened.
Embarrassing night for the NFL. Fans traveled a long ways and paid good money to see this game, and league couldn't even have field ready.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 7, 2016
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 7, 2016
The Pro Football Hall of Fame was also criticized for not letting the people in attendance know about the game’s cancellation sooner. Numerous fans attending the game did not know the event had been cancelled until the scheduled kickoff time.
Scoreboard is still counting down to kickoff. Just hit 38 minutes. Now 37:58 ... 37:57 ...
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) August 7, 2016
This is preposterous. Some fans still don't know.
Fans are still pouring into the stadium here in Canton. They don't know. The ones who do know are walking past them, dumbfounded.
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) August 7, 2016
This is total B.S.: Colts players were told game was cancelled at 5:45 p.m.; fans here in Canton STILL haven't been told game is off.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 7, 2016
This situation was embarrassing. Basically, the whole country knew about the cancellation before the most of the live attendees knew. The Pro Football Hall of Fame should have let the attending fans know about the cancellation as a soon as possible.
This mishap was a sour end to a terrific Hall of Fame weekend. Eight NFL greats were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but a cancelled preseason game will be the major headline of this weekend.
Next: Indianapolis Colts: Hall of Fame Game Cancelled
The Indianapolis Colts will return to practice this week to prepare for their preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills on August 13.