Hall of Fame Game

[02Rover]

Didnt the Hall of Fame game used to be AFC v NFC?? I never remember them having an all NFC matchup or an all AFC matchup. Why the change for this year?? I know they usually like to have one of the teams repsented with the current HoF being inducted, and they got that with Willie Roaf and the Saints this year. But wasnt there an AFC team available?? There were (2) Steelers elected, a guy who was a Jet and a Patriot, etc....

Just curious if there was a reason why it is all NFC this year?

[Billy B]

It's usually been AFC vs. NFC but it's not a rule. I think last year was supposed to be Bears/Rams before it got cancelled.

[oddball]

This from Wiki:

From 1971 to 2008, and again in 2010, the opponents were one AFC team vs. one NFC team. In 2009, as recognition of the 50th season of the charter members of the American Football League, the game paired two of the 'original eight' franchises of that league, the Tennessee Titans (dressed as their previous incarnation, the Houston Oilers) and the Buffalo Bills, whose owner (Ralph Wilson) was inducted into the Hall that year. The two teams were chosen because Wilson and the Oilers'/Titans' owner, Bud Adams, were the last surviving original AFL owners still alive and owning their teams.

With the exception of 2009, this year is the only year that they have purposely had a team (Saints) that had something to do with an someone going into the Hall of Fame.

[STL FANATIC]

I'm curious if that last part is true, about lining it up with a team having members inducted.

In 2001, Jack Youngblood and Jackie Slater were inducted and the Rams were in the game. And last year (2011), Marshall Faulk was inducted and the Rams were scheduled to play.

Both could be coincidence, but I was under the impression it was normal to try and line up the teams with the newly inducted members.

[illwauk]

I'm curious if that last part is true, about lining it up with a team having members inducted.

In 2001, Jack Youngblood and Jackie Slater were inducted and the Rams were in the game. And last year (2011), Marshall Faulk was inducted and the Rams were scheduled to play.

Both could be coincidence, but I was under the impression it was normal to try and line up the teams with the newly inducted members.

Actually, IIRC, they used to choose the teams a few years in advance, and for some reason, I remember some type of rule that limited teams to one appearance per a certain number of years.

[ADW77]

I'm curious if that last part is true, about lining it up with a team having members inducted.

In 2001, Jack Youngblood and Jackie Slater were inducted and the Rams were in the game. And last year (2011), Marshall Faulk was inducted and the Rams were scheduled to play.

Both could be coincidence, but I was under the impression it was normal to try and line up the teams with the newly inducted members.

In 2004 John Elway was inducted and the Broncos played the Redskins in the HOF game.

[fuzzy510]

It could be a coincidence, but 2002 and 2007 are the only two years since 2000 that there hasn't been a significant connection from either team that played in the game and the players inducted.

[MJWalker45]

It's usually been AFC vs. NFC but it's not a rule. I think last year was supposed to be Bears/Rams before it got cancelled.

It actually used to be called the AFC-NFC Hall of Fame game. I think the NFL has decided that they want teams with buzz as opposed to the standard format they used for so long. I also wish they required one home game for each team be held at a stadium other than their regular stadium. That was a cool aspect of the exhibition season that almost all the teams have gone away from.