I wrote this for wheretogousa.com. Thought I'd share it. Traversing the exhibits at the Pro Football Hall of Fame is like pulling a light chain of great memories. You’ll lose count the number of times you hear or say, “I remember..” and “That reminds me of…” Occasionally, you’ll find yourself transfixed to a time when everyone was huddled around the television in the living room on a Sunday afternoon: Mom rushing off to make snacks during commercials; Dad spouting the wisdom of Vince Lombardi; and you in your oversized Baltimore Colts jersey, wondering if Johnny U. could pull it off one more time.
The immaculate reception, The Heidi Bowl, The Packer Dynasty, Jim Brown, Jim Thorpe, The Steel Curtain, America’s Team, Dan Marino, and The Drive, each display and interactive feature is like an electric jolt to momentous times of joy, excitement and yes, even disappointment. Opened in 1963 and expanded three times since, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is 83,000 square feet of memorabilia and multimedia excitement.
- The GameDay Stadium, where pro football action is presented in a turntable theater featuring a 20’x42’ Cinemascope screen.
- The Pro Football Today display, where the history of each of the 32 NFL teams is presented in colorful, dramatic form.
- The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Hall of Fame Gallery, where each Hall of Fame member is honored with his bronzed likeness, recently received a complete facelift.
- The expanded Enshrinee Mementos Room dominates the fourth building and the Super Bowl exhibition fills the upper level of the fifth building near the ramp leading to the GameDay Stadium entrance.
- As fans leave the GameDay Stadium, they go to the ground level of the fifth building where a variety of exhibits are displayed, including the Hall’s interactive displays such as Hall of Fame Teletrivia and QB-1 Call-the-Play-Theater. Tailgating snack bar is also located in this area offering stadium-style food and refreshments.
- In the NFL Films Theater, a different NFL action film is shown every hour. A few feet down the hall is the museum store and the Archives and Information Center (AIC) houses the world’s most comprehensive collection on professional football.
Don’t be surprised if, after your visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, you suddenly have an overwhelming need to go out in the backyard and toss around the pigskin as you mix simulated crowd noises with your mock play-by-play action: “He’s at the twenty, the ten, the five, touchdown!” Ah, memories.