The hero of Canton?

You would only know the title of the post,if you were a fan of the
TV show Firefly ,but for one special Father's Day-Cherie and Rachel indeed did make me feel like the "Hero of Canton".

Since we were going home and since it was Father's Day,the ladies that care and take care of your humble author decided to take me to the renovated Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton,Ohio.
The Hall has undergone several renovations through the years that Cherie and I have been together,not to mention the first visit that I made as a child in 1976.
I've always thought the best way to handle the HOF is to go through every handful of years or so,usually when they do an upgrade of some type,although there have been many times that we stop by as we were driving through the area for a gift shop run.
The HOF never charged for that,which was smart to install that policy as I'm sure that they made lots of money off that decision!

First off,for those of you that have been here before,the upgrades are dazzling!
Those of you that know me know of my love of older things,but sometimes old can mean rundown and even though the HOF was not that,these make it simply a much more fun visit!
The entrance is different than the traditional entrance at the Domed Oval seen at the upper left of the picture and I sort of miss that,but it really is much more visual and exciting to enter now than before.
Also,the design and items inside the oval are totally revamped and as much I'll miss the old oval and its layout,you can make a real case for a renovation as that part was basically untouched since my visit as a child in 1976!

I'm not going to get into too much detail as you need to go yourself,but I will add a few things.
The store is now twice as big as previously and there is loads of stuff from every team,albeit some overpriced!

A few areas of the HOF weren't changed much and that's nice.
My favorite area is untouched with the leagues that challenged the NFL,including my beloved USFL,but nothing that was truly outdated is still there.
A few new exhibits are very cool including a life size bench of player sculptures of NFL greats.
Care to bet who we picked for a snapshot?

There is also a 50 yard field beside the parking lot now to throw the ball around and its painted nicely to resemble a real field.

However,the most fun thing that the HOF has added is now a walk through Fawcett Stadium next door.
Fawcett is not only the home of the Hall of Fame game every season,it also hosts the most rabid high school rivalry in the country between Canton McKinley's Bulldogs and the Tigers of Massillon.

The HOF has several markers on the turf that mark exactly where famous NFL plays occurred and a fellow talks about the plays.
That stuff I knew about,but it was so fun looking at things from a different perspective on the field.
Often we look at things as they look on TV,so this was a great touch along with just being on such a famous field,I was thrilled.
After that,the group got some free time,just to toss the ball around and another thrill was getting to throw the football to the ladies.
I'll never forget that and I wish that they offered this before so that I could have shared that with Ryan.
That would have been another memorable experience.

The ladies weren't finished with me though as they finished my Father's Day gifts with a metal sign for the house with Brownie the Elf embossed on it.
Earlier in the trip at the Duck Tape Festival,I had almost purchased the sign,but it was on the other end of the facility from where we parked and I reluctantly passed.
Fortunately,the same sign was available and for the same price as well and the ladies insisted on buying it for me!
Off to lunch and that will be covered later this week.

It was a great day and I thank the ladies for everything,.
It's good to be a husband & father and good to be loved along with being appreciated.
Both of my ladies do just that.

I would recommend the new HOF very highly and if you are in the area stop by.
Canton isn't quite the same experience as Cooperstown,but I'm not sure it's supposed to be.
Enjoy it for what it brings to the table...

I hope to wrap up the trip with the drive home (and pictures) with another post later this week.

AND if you are still wondering about the title-here is your explanation!