HOF Game

[Harlan Huckleby]

Who do you think hired the painters? Do you really think the NFL has the HoF prep its field?

The NFL is responsible in a "buck stops here" sense, but I don't blame them. They didn't act unreasonably. They either got screwed by a contractor's bad choice of a wrong paint. Or everybody involved, including the contractor, are caught in a "shit happens" situation. We still don't know if the contractor used the wrong paint.

Once it was obvious that the paint was a disaster, I can't blame the contractor for trying desperation measures - the turpentine, the heating of the surface to dry it out, the chanting of incantations, .... WTF - might as well try.

I can't agree at all with gripers blaming the NFL. Ya, they are accountable, but it was not unreasonable for the NFL to trust the contractor.

The contractor might have been a bozo. But if used the right paint (we still don't know) all of us would have ended up looking bad if we were in his shoes.

[Guiness]

The NFL is responsible in a "buck stops here" sense, but I don't blame them. They didn't act unreasonably. They either got screwed by a contractor's bad choice of a wrong paint. Or everybody involved, including the contractor, are caught in a "shit happens" situation. We still don't know if the contractor used the wrong paint.

Once it was obvious that the paint was a disaster, I can't blame the contractor for trying desperation measures - the turpentine, the heating of the surface to dry it out, the chanting of incantations, .... WTF - might as well try.

I can't agree at all with gripers blaming the NFL. Ya, they are accountable, but it was not unreasonable for the NFL to trust the contractor.

The contractor might have been a bozo. But if used the right paint (we still don't know) all of us would have ended up looking bad if we were in his shoes.

I'm trying to decide if you're playing devil's advocate, or are a project manager in real life.

The field wasn't ready, so they used old Field Turf from the SuperDome! For a billion dollar organization, they sure act like a nickel and dime operation at times. This was the NFL's fault, beginning to end.

Wrong paint? So 5 minutes of searching brought me to this

http://www.fieldturf.com/sites/fieldturf/assets/FT_Maintenance%20Guidelines.pdf

From the document:

it is imperative that you contact Fieldturf’s customer service department for guidance on specific types of paint to use,

The attempts to remove the paint?

(only approved removers should be used based on the paint manufacturer’s recommendations – contact Fieldturf customer service if you are unsure)

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!

Time to dry: Preferably overnight; otherwise 6 to 8 hours at 70°F and 50% humidity.

What I've read says they had decking on the field, and paint was applied after the decking came off...so they allowed what, 2-3 to dry?

I'm also pretty damn sure that if the league thought for a minute is could've gotten away with sending the players out onto a dangerous field, they would've done so. (see Suisham, Shaun)

[Harlan Huckleby]

The field wasn't ready, so they used old Field Turf from the SuperDome! For a billion dollar organization,

BFD

Wrong paint? So 5 minutes of searching brought me to this

http://www.fieldturf.com/sites/fieldturf/assets/FT_Maintenance%20Guidelines.pdf

From the document:

That's quite an insight you uncovered there: the right paint should be used.

If the contractor used the wrong paint, the contractor should be blamed, and severely.

I'm also pretty damn sure that if the league thought for a minute is could've gotten away with sending the players out onto a dangerous field, they would've done so. (see Suisham, Shaun)

I don't think you'd make a very fair judge.

[Guiness]

I don't think you'd make a very fair judge.

So my son said when I asked him how he knew I had a beer in my travel mug "Previous experience and behavior"

[Harlan Huckleby]

The acorn doesn't fall very far from the tree.

[pbmax]

If you find the right paint and varnish, that acorn will roll for quite a long way.

[Zool]

The HOf was responsible for the field. Troy Vincent said he was responsible for making sure it was proper. He took the blame because who the fuck cares? Defending g the morons that have been doing this game for 500 years and can't get a field right is idiotic. They fucked up the field and it cost them millions. You think the NFL is going to eat that cost or the HOf?

[pbmax]

No mention of the contractor or the HoF. Weird. I am sure the NFL will have this dismissed as they had no control over the event.

ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk 7h7 hours ago
NFL receives settlement offer in HOF lawsuit: $450 per ticketholder, with no fees or other payment to the lawyers

I mean, c'mon, think about this logically. The Super Bowl, for instance, is really run at a Stadium that is not owned or leased to the NFL. An individual team or Stadium Corp owns that asset. The NFL doesn't hire the contractors that install seating and they really aren't in control of the event. I bet the only service they provide is selling tickets and collecting money.

Appearing last week on PFT Live, Avenatti said that the league already has spent more than $20 million to defend itself in the Super Bowl XLV ticket fiasco litigation.

[Guiness]

No mention of the contractor or the HoF. Weird. I am sure the NFL will have this dismissed as they had no control over the event.

ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk 7h7 hours ago
NFL receives settlement offer in HOF lawsuit: $450 per ticketholder, with no fees or other payment to the lawyers

I mean, c'mon, think about this logically. The Super Bowl, for instance, is really run at a Stadium that is not owned or leased to the NFL. An individual team or Stadium Corp owns that asset. The NFL doesn't hire the contractors that install seating and they really aren't in control of the event. I bet the only service they provide is selling tickets and collecting money.

On the surface it seems reasonable for them to accept this offer - PFT's math said it would cost them $10 million. However, I suspect they don't want to let that genie out of the bottle, prefering instead to defend the limiting of their liability to the price of the ticket.

[Harlan Huckleby]

My sarcasm detector started beeping when I read pbmax's post. Could just be indigestion.

There's a difference (to me) in someone being legally accountable and responsible when things go bad, and that party being personally incompetent. In my own career, I captained a couple fiascos where delays were caused by factors outside my control, but of course somebody has to get blamed. I'd want to hear the contractor's side of the story before executing him; and I'm very skeptical that anybody here would have been wiser than the NFL dude who fell on his sword. Probably the contractor had done good work in the past.

[Patler]

There's a difference (to me) in someone being legally accountable and responsible when things go bad, and that party being personally incompetent. In my own career, I captained a couple fiascos where delays were caused by factors outside my control, but of course somebody has to get blamed.

I'm not trying to let you off the hook here, HH; but, fiascos often happen from each of several people making only small errors, with the collective result being a disaster.

That said, we see you solidly behind door #2.

[pbmax]

The press release, which gratuitously points out that the Hall of Fame is a “501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation” (so was the league office until recently), says that ticketholders will receive the face value of their tickets along with “all processing, shipping and handling fees, pre-paid parking purchased through the Hall of Fame, pre-sale reservation fees, and one night of hotel accommodations to eligible fans, subject to appropriate review, approval, and verification.”

In Harlan's corner, the HOF is making this offer directly, not the NFL.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/18/hall-of-fame-sweetens-the-pot-for-customers-who-attended-canceled-game/

The lawyer who offered the $450 deal said that the customers deserve what Goodell gets, cash, rather than photos.

[Carolina_Packer]

A lawyer is claiming the NFL defrauded fans by letting them in the gate to purchase concessions, merchandise, etc., knowing that they were going to cancel the game:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/22/hall-of-fame-game-lawyer-claims-league-defrauded-fans/

What a claim.

[red]

Well they did

They showed the huge lines on TV while they were talking about how the game was cancelled

[Carolina_Packer]

Who knows, they might be able to blame David Baker if he was ultimately in charge of the readiness of the facility and the communications. He may have been told by a person who has since lost their job that they were going to be ready to go. You'd think there would be some protocol about these things to say if it's not ready x number of hours before the gates are opened then cancel the game. If Baker was in charge and was given bad (over-confident) information by the head of the grounds crew, then Baker was just passing on the same info to the NFL to make their decision. Again, the NFL should be in charge of their product both from a facilities stand-point and a broadcast standpoint to know when the field must be declared fit for a game. I know most NFL games are not preceded by a ceremony in the same space the night before, thus creating a smaller window of opportunity to prepare the field. I think the surface is field turf, so my question is, why couldn't they have the grounds ready before the HOF ceremony and just cover it up with a tarp on the field the day/night before? Why worry about field prep. after Saturday night's ceremony? Obviously, nobody expects a screw up of those proportions, but like kicking a field goal on third down, at least you are planning for a bad snap and can still call time out.