Feeling refreshed after a relaxing two nights in Pittsburgh with friends (check the Pittsburgh salad above), it was time to saddle up early ready for my next destination, Ann Arbor in Michigan (about 1 hour outside of Detroit) which is of course home to the University of Michigan and another cool college town to check out.
Before that however, I had the very important business of checking off another bucket list item in Canton Ohio (more or less on the way), which is of course “The Pro Football Hall of Fame”.
Being about two hours outside of Pittsburgh, I arrived in Canton after passing through parts of West Virginia (meh) and then back into Ohio (where I was fortunate to again see some of the Amish people doing their thing with horses and carts).
Overall it was a straightforward and scenic drive that set me up well for the Hall of Fame tour I was about to embark on.
Once again, I’m not the best at explaining museums / exhibits (a picture tells 1,000 words anyway right?), however I’ll give it a shot with the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The self-guided tour begins with Pro Football’s (not the sport but the inception of the professional era) humble beginnings with players being offered small amounts of money to appear for teams in what was the original NFL.
It then provides a timeline of particular rule changes to the game including the equipment to be used and standardised (e.g. the football, the helmet, pads, goalposts etc.), location and relocation of different teams in the NFL, through to the introduction of a “rival” league (the AFL) and subsequent merger of the two leagues that ultimately forms the NFL today (and of course the Super Bowl era).
It simply is a must see for both fans and non-fans of football alike, as it not only shows the imprint that football has had in American pop culture and on the psyche of the country, but also there are a lot of movies and interactive exhibits to enjoy which are a TON of fun (I ended up spending over three hours there).
Anyways, for a better description than I can write, check some of the pictures below (only a sample as I took about 1 million).
After leaving the Pro Football Hall Of Fame and refuelling both myself and the Nitro, I continued my drive West than a straight shot North to beautiful Ann Arbor Michigan.
My first port of call was of course Michigan Stadium aka. “The Big House”. Michigan Stadium is the home of the University of Michigan football team (note not “Pro”) and is amazingly the largest stadium in the United States (well not including Nascar). I had to sign up for a tour via email which was weird, so I’ve done that now and am hopeful of getting in there tomorrow to check it all out (I’ve included a Google image so you can get some scope of the enormity).
Following the stadium, I took my time walking around the awesome campus and checking out the vibe of the streets and nearby restaurants. Once again, College Towns continue to deliver with awesome people all about, a great vibe in the air and even a summer series concert on the main campus!
I’m writing this from Windsor Canada which is right over the river from Detroit after spending anther night in the “Casa del nitro”. It’s raining a little bit, but hopefully we still get some play in for game 17/30 when the Detroit Tigers take on the Oakland Athletics in a battle of two struggling teams who will be hoping to turn in around before the second half of the season begins.
Looking forward to exploring a new city and seeing what else this great state of Michigan and Canada has to offer.
Until then, have a good one.
Thirty before 30 