Home Is Where The Haggis Is

Recently, my husband and I attended a dinner honoring NFL Hall of Fame members and future inductees.  This was my second time at the annual dinner and I was looking forward to meeting some of the players, enjoying some drinks and most of all, hearing some of their amazing stories.  Now, let me make it very clear that I am not a huge fan of watching football.  Maybe I will watch a play or two throughout the season, but I quickly lose interest and focus on something like Pinterest or checking the weather.  🙂  At this dinner it’s different because the player’s passion shines through and captures my attention.  We get to hear stories from their perspective when it’s 40 below zero up in Green Bay and how some of the words from the stadium carry over the field as they are about to make their play.  (Guess I better keep my voice down if I’m announcing a bathroom break or I’m ready for another beer at a game this fall. )

Sipping some Chardonnay.  They offered a scotch tasting station too.

Catching a shot of Anthony Munoz.   He was an offensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals for 13 seasons and has the injuries to prove it too.  Ouch!   Such a stand-up guy who lead the storytelling part of the evening.

A local artist from Artbeat Live painted while dinner was served.  He worked quickly and played music while he painted.  It was pretty interesting to watch him turn the painting upside down and right side up.  I wasn’t sure which way it went until the very end when it all came together. I think it took him less than 10 minutes to paint this work of art.

We were fortunate enough to be seated next to Marv Levy and his wonderful wife, Fran.  This man has led an incredible life from attending Harvard for graduate studies in English history to enlisting in the Army Air Forces during WW II.  He went into coaching in the early 1970s for the Canadian Football League and went on to coach the Kansas City Chiefs and The Buffalo Bills.  He spoke first at the banquet and talked very highly and eloquently about his teams and the individuals he coached.  We were almost rolling out of our seats when he made mention of the fans from the opposing team and receiving lots of middle fingers during an away game.  Was not expecting that from a man with his demeanor.

I learned that Marv recently wrote a book called, ‘Between The Lies.’  (Looking forward to reading it!)  He asked if I wrote and when I told him about my blog he encouraged me to stick with it.  That meant a lot and I will try to follow his advice.

Here’s a shot of some of the players above wearing their tan Hall of Fame blazers.  Starting from the right: Ted Hendricks, Chris Doleman, Randall McDaniel, John Randle and Richard Dent directly behind him.  Sorry for the poor camera angle.  We got caught up and missed the good photo opportunity.

Such a fun night with many words of wisdom spoken.