Time to fire up the Time Machine again everyone! This time, we take you back to August of 2006, in Canton Ohio. I was just ten years old but the experience I am going to tell you about today remains one of the best sporting experiences I’ve ever had. While the proceedings took place on August 5th, the experience was about so much more than just one day. This fabulous weekend would mark my first and only trip to the hallowed halls of the Pro Football Hall of Fame!

My father is not only an avid sports fan who helped mold my supporting habits, but he perhaps the biggest football fan at all levels I know. He loves his Dallas Cowboys, he loves The Fighting Irish. But he’ll watch just about game in the NFL or college and even loves to attend a local high school game. There is something about the game that animates him beyond his usual personality. Which in essence is what being a fan is all about, loving a team so much you don’t care to show your passion.

So with that said, a trip to Canton had long been on his list of things to do. When the class of 2006 was revealed to feature his favorite player of all time, Cowboys QB Troy Aikman, there was no way we could miss the induction. An added bonus became that all time great Giant Harry Carson would be going in with Aikman, meaning his long time friend Harry, a passionate fan of Big Blue himself, would join us on the trip.

I of course already being an old man in a 10 year olds body couldn’t wait to go to the Hall and absorb the history of the league. I can remember being over the moon about going despite not having my team represented by the inductees. Why you ask? Because I felt so spoiled to see the overall class we got, perhaps the best of all time in my opinion. Joining Aikman and Carson, was Cowboy great Rayfield Wright, Houston Oilers gunslinger, the legendary Warren Moon, the sadly deceased defensive game breaker Reggie White, and last but not least, elite coach and broadcaster, John Madden. (as pictured in our featured image)

Before I continue about the induction itself, let’s talk about what makes the Pro Football Hall of Fame special. The league does a wonderful job of boosting the Hall’s profile and making the induction process the celebration it should be. Sports are built on their legacies and history, they make the bedrock of the game strong and extend the lore for generations. A Hall of Fame and its voters job is to preserve that bedrock, and as flawed as that process can be, it’s very special. As I mentioned earlier, the presentation of the Hall is always fun, and a big part of that was David Baker and “the knock.” Baker was President and CEO of the Hall of Fame, a job which had him overseeing the voting process and he gained the added responsibility and honor of telling the inductee’s they made it in. “The Knock” videos became a viral sensation to the point that despite Baker’s retirement, the tradition continues with the inductees former teammates informing them.

Now back to the induction weekend I attended. We left early on Friday morning, before it was even light out. We weren’t going to waste a single moment in Canton and after a quick breakfast, the six hour journey to Ohio was underway. My father and his friend did the usual banter routine on the drive, while I laughed along in the backseat. We arrived in Canton mid-day dropped our bags off, and went right to the Hall. I can remember the excitement I felt as we pulled into park and headed through the doors. The experience was nothing short of incredible for a sports crazy ten-year old like myself. From historical footage, to special exhibits and the Hall of Busts…it just couldn’t possibly get better.

Leaving the Hall on day one wouldn’t have been complete without a stop in the gift shop, where I got my collection of infamous “mini helmets.” If you’ve been over my house anytime in the last 15 years you have seen them in action, as they documented the standings and their changes on a weekly basis. They lasted an awfully long time, until they were replaced when I bought another set at a Giants preseason game in 2023, much to the dismay of Ms. Breakdown. But enough helmets, let’s get back to our journey through 2006. With a full day of activities in the rear-view mirror, we went to dinner and then back to the hotel, where I blew Harry’s mind by intently watching and enjoying the Indians and Tigers game played that night in Detroit. Baseball is my other true love as you all know already, so catching game in the midst of my football trip was nothing out of the norm.

As we move to Saturday, induction day, we got up bright and early and headed to the Hall of Fame. In bizarre twist, there is a real lack of parking, so local residents allow sell parking on their lawns, and while I can’t remember how much, I remember a kind gentleman helping us park in front of house and get on our way to the red-carpet Hall of Fame parade. We got a spot on the railing and helped greet a who’s who of NFL legends ranging from Howie Long to Jerry Jones and so many in between.

With the parade concluded we made our way inside Tom Benson Stadium, which started hosting the induction ceremony in the early 2000’s due to increased demand for tickets. It’s still it’s home to this day but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a bigger crowd for the ceremony than it did that day, mostly because the teams represented by the players had massive fan bases. As the speeches got underway my football education only deepened as Carson, Aikman Moon and the rest shared their stories from High School to that very day in Canton, OH. There was laughter, tears, and thank you’s to their families, teammates and coaches. But the highlight was John Madden who talked about his lifelong journey through the game from coaching to television to video games. He was larger than life and a joy to listen to from start to finish in the blazing hot summer day. Our story only gets better as a result of Madden’s presence as the inductees were joined by their former colleagues and teammates, their literal brothers in battle one might call them. So with Madden in the house, the place was crawling with his former Raider players, many of whom were signing autographs and meeting fans on the side of the stage, including this mountain of a man.

The defensive monster pictured above is Otis Sistrunk, who sported the number 60 for Madden’s Super Bowl winning Raiders in the 70’s. The six foot four, 265-pound giant still had all his intimidating size when a ten-year-old me talked up to him for a picture. My Dad and Harry couldn’t believe the three of us were meeting a host of iconic players, Sistrunk included, and to Otis credit his gargantuan size was dwarfed by his massive personality. After greeting me and getting ready to pose for a picture, he looked at my dad and said “hey Dad, can he try on a Super Bowl ring.” My father answered, “of course he can!” and so off came Otis 1977 championship ring he earned by dominating the Vikings at the Rose Bowl, and onto my hand it went…and then my hand fell from the sheer weight of it. I remember the incredible feeling of standing there at ten with a Super Bowl ring on my finger like it was yesterday, I was like a kid in a football candy store living every sports fans dreams. I wish we kept the photo, but it’s lost on some old, outdated blackberry my dad used to have back in the day.

Induction Saturday came to a close we headed back to the hotel, where would rest up after a long day to prepare for another long one ahead of us. That Sunday August 6th saw us attend the Hall of Fame game back at the Stadium, played between the Eagles and the Raiders, on behalf of Reggie White and John Madden. We had great seats down in the front behind the Raiders bench to the first football game of the new season. The game was played on NBC and featured Randy Moss in Raider uniform…that’s about all that was remarkable from your typical preseason snoozer.

The trip had come to a close as drove home on Monday with a car full of memory and treasures. We felt and still do to this day that we witnessed the single greatest Hall of Fame class of all time enter the Hall. These men helped forge the game we love to this day and remain torchbearers of its legacy. I’m proud to have seen them be inducted in person and I always will remember the occasion with my commemorative Hall of Fame ball and John Madden figure which I keep on display to this day…two of the best pieces of memorabilia I own!

I can’t recommend the Hall of Fame enough to any Football fan or sports fan in general. Everyone should see it and if you can afford to attend it on an induction weekend, you’ll really get it at its best. We’re close to finding out who is going to Canton this summer and we’ve already found out how stupid the voters are for leaving out Bill Belichick and Eli Manning, but that’s a story for a different day. Enjoy the Super Bowl everyone!

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.