How I came to sit in the second row of seats in Fawcett Stadium, surrounded by the unruly mob that was Deion Sander’s family, furiously typing on my Blackberry to confirm my suspicion that the man walking past was in fact the rapper Ice-Cube (why does he always look so angry?), mere feet from the legendary Snoop-Dog, was the least interesting part of my foray to Canton, Ohio.
I was invited by my Uncle Steve Sabol to attend the Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend and all that entails to see his father, Ed Sabol, receive his gold jacket. The experience was fascinating, terrifying, incredible, and a little bit awkward all at the same time. Let me explain…
Everyone likes to feel important, and people spend their entire lives striving to become something that is meaningful. If I sound like your psychology professor, I apologize, but it’s true. When we don’t feel important, we feel threatened, secluded, and futile. It might be hard to notice or easy to deny, but it’s their; lurking somewhere. Trust me. The feeling was overwhelming at times over the weekend as I dined with industry giants such as Sal Paolantonio, Andrea Kramer, and Ray Didinger. Part of me was inspired—let’s says 45 percent—by breathing, eating, and listening to exactly the type of men and women I aspire to become. But the other 55 percent was consumed by, well, sheer terror.
How can you feel like you belong—or are even the least bit important—when the person to your left and right makes more money in a day than you in a year? That feeling, intermixed with admiration, was just part of the experience. At first it was disturbing, but then I realized it was natural and—dare I say—healthy. There isn’t anything wrong with a little bit of humble pie.
Some highlights of the trip…
-Watching Deion Sanders’ enormous family attempt to fit entirely in the first row of seating in Fawcett Stadium (where the enshrinement ceremony was held) and nearly incite violence. Also of note: All the Sanders’ offspring wore jerseys from the different teams Sander’s played for throughout his career. I found this fascinating.
-Ed Sabol’s induction speech. Short (less than three minutes), sweet, and to the point—just the way it should be. On the other hand, the other six enshrinee’s talked for roughly three hours. Note to future inductees: pretend you’re 94 years-old and plan your speech accordingly.
-Juking by Deion Sanders. I’m 100 percent sure he had no idea I did this, but I spun right around Sanders to get past a crowd of people. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t know, just that I can say I did it.
-When I say that the people of Canton Ohio LIVE for this weekend, I mean it. Some 150,000 folks lined the Saturday morning parade route and the majority of folks who “work” for the Hall of Fame over the weekend are in fact volunteers. Considering the amount we utilized the driver service, God bless them.
-Entourages. Holy crap, entourages. If you’re rich and famous, are you required to travel with an entourage?
Anyway, there it is. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures. So yeah, you only get 500 words about the weekend. Congratulations to all the inductees, and if you’re ever in Canton, try the chocolate. It’s delicious.
