Hard to believe the 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival will be over in less than 24 hours. This is the first in a series of posts recapping Enshrinement weekend, and what a fantastic jam-packed weekend it has been!
2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival Fashion Show Luncheon
The first event of the weekend I attended was the annual Fashion Show Luncheon on Friday afternoon at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. I’ve been going to the Fashion Show for seven years and this was by far my favorite show!
The fashions were great and there was a nice mix of fashion and entertainment including the American Commodore Tuxedo Dancers, live music by New Hollow (my tween nieces would have been in heaven) and zombies taking the stage to perform “Thriller.”
Here’s a short clip of New Hollow performing at the show.
2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner
After a short afternoon break and wardrobe swap, it was back to the Civic Center for the Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner. This was my first chance of the weekend to see the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012: Jack Butler, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Chris Martin, and Willie Roaf. They may not carry the star power of previous classes, but what an amazing group of men both on and off the field.
My favorite moments from the evening…
New Hollow performing the National Anthem with the Cleveland Recruiting Battalion Color Guard in the background.
The introduction of the returning Hall of Fame Enshrinees including Howie Long, John Madden, Mean Joe Greene, Lynn Swann, Michael Irving and many more!
The Gold Jacket Presentation. I love the moments during this ceremony when you see the human side of these football icons. The off-stage hug between Dermontti Dawson and his high school football coach after he received his gold jacket, Chris Doleman walking hand-in-hand triumphantly to stage with his son, and the lingering on-stage embrace between Willie Roaf and his father, and the younger members of the class congratulating Jack Butler as seen in the photo below. You become a part of this very personal moment of these six great men.
For more photos from Friday’s events check out our album on Facebook.
