Tribal Warfare
06-21-2008, 11:29 PM
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/06/20/dajuan_morgans_hof_blog__part_ii/
DaJuan Morgan's HOF Blog - Part II
Jun 20, 2008, 9:52:44 AM
Earlier this week, S DaJuan Morgan and the rest of the 2008 Chiefs Rookie Class spent a day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Morgan, the 82nd overall choice in this year’s draft, documented his experiences for kcchiefs.com. Here’s the second of his two-part blog detailing the rookie’s field trip to Canton, OH (if you missed the first part, click here):
Okay, when last I left you, it was just before the Chiefs rookies were led on a guided tour of the Hall of Fame. Here are my thoughts on the remainder of our trip to Canton…
Monday, June 16, 1:30 PM –
It’s finally time for us to start the tour. We begin in the lobby by a statue of Jim Thorpe. He was one of the most amazing athletes of his day. Not only did he play professional football but Major League Baseball and he won a pair of Olympic medals. It turns out that one of the reasons the Hall of Fame is in Canton is partially because of him. When he signed with the Canton Bulldogs in 1915 it helped legitimize the sport. Before that time, football was looked at as more of a sport for thugs. After he joined the Bulldogs, the sport was accepted and became more mainstream.
1:43 AM-
We’ve made our way up to the top level of the main lobby. This is where there’s a tremendous amount of history about the origins of the game. In one display case they have a leather helmet sitting next to the oldest football in the Hall. I can’t believe that they used to play with a ball shaped like that. I mean, it seriously looks closer to a basketball than a football. I guess that the forward pass wasn’t legal back when they played with that ball so it was more designed for the running game. And some of the apparel that they wore back in the day just blows my mind. I can’t imagine how they survived in those days with the equipment they had. As we continue around this display, the game evolves right before our very eyes to the present day.
1:59 PM-
We are now about to enter a room that contains busts of all of those enshrined into the Hall of Fame. I’m sitting here pinching myself that we are about to walk into this room and do so with four individuals that have been voted in themselves. That’s just amazing. As soon as I get in there, I have some players that I really want to track down. Obviously Ronnie Lott… Barry Sanders was also one of my favorites as a child. There are some older players that we just heard about that I’d like to check out too.
2:38 PM-
So here’s a fact that I didn’t realize. Growing up, I just assumed that Jackie Robinson was the first athlete to break the color barrier in the modern era when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers back in 1947. It turns out that the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns each signed a pair of African-Americans in 1946. That’s one year before baseball integrated and yet you never hear as much about that.
2:44 PM-
There’s a room in the Hall of Fame that pays homage to all of the rival leagues to the NFL. Needless to say, there’s a lot in there about Lamar Hunt. Although I didn’t get a chance to meet him physically, I still feel like he’s with each of us Chiefs players. I’ve kind of embraced his ideas myself. Everywhere we go we hear all the stories about how he was such a great person. Just to be able to come in here and see it with my own eyes, I can’t really explain the experience. He was truly a special individual.
2:57 PM-
We are now entering the “Pro Football Today” exhibit. The first thing that catches my eye is a display of Pat Tillman. What an amazing example he was. With each step I take I see something familiar to me. In one area there’s a display of my former high school teammate Devin Hester and in another there’s one of my current teammate Tony Gonzalez. Against the wall there’s a section that recognizes the last three individuals to hold the NFL rushing title, Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith. I just stood in awe of that. I mean, they are three giants of the game.
3:22 PM-
There is a display we just looked at that has all of the Super Bowl rings throughout history. It was funny to see how small the ring from the first Super Bowl looked in comparison to the last few rings. It was totally dwarfed by today’s versions. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my own ring with the Chiefs before I hang them up. I won’t care how big or small it is, I just want it!
3:39 PM-
The tour is nearly complete so we make our way back to the front of the Hall where we take a group photo on the main steps. Then we were free to check out the gift shop before we had to head back to the airport. I can’t believe our time here is nearly over with. It has just flown by this afternoon.
3:50 PM-
We are back in the gathering room and we have a few minutes to kill before our shuttles showed up to take us back to the airport. Most of us are getting autographs from the four Hall of Famers on different trinkets we purchased at the gift shop. Then the funniest thing happened… Bobbie Bell just asked who on the team has the quickest reflexes. Everyone said it was me so Mr. Bell asked me to come up in front of everyone and prove it. I noticed during lunch he was playing a game off to the side with some of my teammates and now it looks like he’s going to try and do it with me in front of everyone. He asks me to hold a coin flat in the palm of my hand and then he prepares to snatch it out before I can close my hand over the coin. He ended up with the coin in his hand but I still think he went before I told him I was ready. Len Dawson just kept laughing because this trick is apparently something that Mr. Bell is quite known for. I guess that’s a lesson learned… don’t play any games like that with Mr. Bell. We’re just told that the shuttles have arrived so it’s time to load back up again.
4:30 PM-
We’ve made it back on our plane but we are waiting for the caterer to show up with the dinner for our flight home. It sounds like they’ll be here pretty soon though. Mr. Bell starts telling us jokes and stories about different times they had plane issues coming back from road games. After each one, Mr. Dawson smiles and nods in agreement. It sounds like they used to have a pretty crazy time traveling back in the day. Looks like the food is finally here… time to head back to Kansas City.
5:52 PM-
I should have mentioned this in the first part but Canton is in the Eastern Time Zone. So we gained an hour back on the flight home. As we get on the bus to go back to the Stadium I think we are all some combination of exhausted an in awe of what just happened. It’s going to be one of those things that we won’t quite grasp until we can sit down and reflect for a little about what we were able to do today.
6:36 PM-
Well, we made it to the parking lot and it’s time to head back to the hotel for some sleep. But before I do, there are a couple of more thoughts I wanted to share with you. I still can’t believe that we got to check out all those artifacts. Some of the things I saw on display and the feelings it gave me sitting in those rooms, it has all been a motivational experience for me. It will be beneficial down the road. If any of us are lucky enough to get elected to the Hall ourselves, we’ll be able to look back on this moment and talk about it. I just know if any of us make it we’ll feel the sense that this trip helped us get there.
Obviously, before any of us make it to the Hall of Fame, we’ve got to get out there and play in the NFL. That brings me to my last point. I can’t begin to tell you all how much I am looking forward to being a Kansas City Chief and starting my professional career. I want to focus on doing all the right things that I need to do to better myself and my future. I’m looking forward to the hard work and time I’ll put in on and off the field. One thing I hope you find out about me from the very start is that I’ll give it my all. I might not be the biggest or the strongest out there but I’ll always leave everything I have on the field.
Thanks so much for allowing me to introduce myself to you and share my thoughts on our trip to Canton. I look forward to meeting you all in the future… go Chiefs!
DaJuan Morgan's HOF Blog - Part II
Jun 20, 2008, 9:52:44 AM
Earlier this week, S DaJuan Morgan and the rest of the 2008 Chiefs Rookie Class spent a day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Morgan, the 82nd overall choice in this year’s draft, documented his experiences for kcchiefs.com. Here’s the second of his two-part blog detailing the rookie’s field trip to Canton, OH (if you missed the first part, click here):
Okay, when last I left you, it was just before the Chiefs rookies were led on a guided tour of the Hall of Fame. Here are my thoughts on the remainder of our trip to Canton…
Monday, June 16, 1:30 PM –
It’s finally time for us to start the tour. We begin in the lobby by a statue of Jim Thorpe. He was one of the most amazing athletes of his day. Not only did he play professional football but Major League Baseball and he won a pair of Olympic medals. It turns out that one of the reasons the Hall of Fame is in Canton is partially because of him. When he signed with the Canton Bulldogs in 1915 it helped legitimize the sport. Before that time, football was looked at as more of a sport for thugs. After he joined the Bulldogs, the sport was accepted and became more mainstream.
1:43 AM-
We’ve made our way up to the top level of the main lobby. This is where there’s a tremendous amount of history about the origins of the game. In one display case they have a leather helmet sitting next to the oldest football in the Hall. I can’t believe that they used to play with a ball shaped like that. I mean, it seriously looks closer to a basketball than a football. I guess that the forward pass wasn’t legal back when they played with that ball so it was more designed for the running game. And some of the apparel that they wore back in the day just blows my mind. I can’t imagine how they survived in those days with the equipment they had. As we continue around this display, the game evolves right before our very eyes to the present day.
1:59 PM-
We are now about to enter a room that contains busts of all of those enshrined into the Hall of Fame. I’m sitting here pinching myself that we are about to walk into this room and do so with four individuals that have been voted in themselves. That’s just amazing. As soon as I get in there, I have some players that I really want to track down. Obviously Ronnie Lott… Barry Sanders was also one of my favorites as a child. There are some older players that we just heard about that I’d like to check out too.
2:38 PM-
So here’s a fact that I didn’t realize. Growing up, I just assumed that Jackie Robinson was the first athlete to break the color barrier in the modern era when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers back in 1947. It turns out that the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns each signed a pair of African-Americans in 1946. That’s one year before baseball integrated and yet you never hear as much about that.
2:44 PM-
There’s a room in the Hall of Fame that pays homage to all of the rival leagues to the NFL. Needless to say, there’s a lot in there about Lamar Hunt. Although I didn’t get a chance to meet him physically, I still feel like he’s with each of us Chiefs players. I’ve kind of embraced his ideas myself. Everywhere we go we hear all the stories about how he was such a great person. Just to be able to come in here and see it with my own eyes, I can’t really explain the experience. He was truly a special individual.
2:57 PM-
We are now entering the “Pro Football Today” exhibit. The first thing that catches my eye is a display of Pat Tillman. What an amazing example he was. With each step I take I see something familiar to me. In one area there’s a display of my former high school teammate Devin Hester and in another there’s one of my current teammate Tony Gonzalez. Against the wall there’s a section that recognizes the last three individuals to hold the NFL rushing title, Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith. I just stood in awe of that. I mean, they are three giants of the game.
3:22 PM-
There is a display we just looked at that has all of the Super Bowl rings throughout history. It was funny to see how small the ring from the first Super Bowl looked in comparison to the last few rings. It was totally dwarfed by today’s versions. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my own ring with the Chiefs before I hang them up. I won’t care how big or small it is, I just want it!
3:39 PM-
The tour is nearly complete so we make our way back to the front of the Hall where we take a group photo on the main steps. Then we were free to check out the gift shop before we had to head back to the airport. I can’t believe our time here is nearly over with. It has just flown by this afternoon.
3:50 PM-
We are back in the gathering room and we have a few minutes to kill before our shuttles showed up to take us back to the airport. Most of us are getting autographs from the four Hall of Famers on different trinkets we purchased at the gift shop. Then the funniest thing happened… Bobbie Bell just asked who on the team has the quickest reflexes. Everyone said it was me so Mr. Bell asked me to come up in front of everyone and prove it. I noticed during lunch he was playing a game off to the side with some of my teammates and now it looks like he’s going to try and do it with me in front of everyone. He asks me to hold a coin flat in the palm of my hand and then he prepares to snatch it out before I can close my hand over the coin. He ended up with the coin in his hand but I still think he went before I told him I was ready. Len Dawson just kept laughing because this trick is apparently something that Mr. Bell is quite known for. I guess that’s a lesson learned… don’t play any games like that with Mr. Bell. We’re just told that the shuttles have arrived so it’s time to load back up again.
4:30 PM-
We’ve made it back on our plane but we are waiting for the caterer to show up with the dinner for our flight home. It sounds like they’ll be here pretty soon though. Mr. Bell starts telling us jokes and stories about different times they had plane issues coming back from road games. After each one, Mr. Dawson smiles and nods in agreement. It sounds like they used to have a pretty crazy time traveling back in the day. Looks like the food is finally here… time to head back to Kansas City.
5:52 PM-
I should have mentioned this in the first part but Canton is in the Eastern Time Zone. So we gained an hour back on the flight home. As we get on the bus to go back to the Stadium I think we are all some combination of exhausted an in awe of what just happened. It’s going to be one of those things that we won’t quite grasp until we can sit down and reflect for a little about what we were able to do today.
6:36 PM-
Well, we made it to the parking lot and it’s time to head back to the hotel for some sleep. But before I do, there are a couple of more thoughts I wanted to share with you. I still can’t believe that we got to check out all those artifacts. Some of the things I saw on display and the feelings it gave me sitting in those rooms, it has all been a motivational experience for me. It will be beneficial down the road. If any of us are lucky enough to get elected to the Hall ourselves, we’ll be able to look back on this moment and talk about it. I just know if any of us make it we’ll feel the sense that this trip helped us get there.
Obviously, before any of us make it to the Hall of Fame, we’ve got to get out there and play in the NFL. That brings me to my last point. I can’t begin to tell you all how much I am looking forward to being a Kansas City Chief and starting my professional career. I want to focus on doing all the right things that I need to do to better myself and my future. I’m looking forward to the hard work and time I’ll put in on and off the field. One thing I hope you find out about me from the very start is that I’ll give it my all. I might not be the biggest or the strongest out there but I’ll always leave everything I have on the field.
Thanks so much for allowing me to introduce myself to you and share my thoughts on our trip to Canton. I look forward to meeting you all in the future… go Chiefs!