The College Football Hall of Fame is a Must See for College Football Fanatics Like Me

I took a visit to the College Football Hall of Fame this past weekend. My goal was to get a quick college football fix before I get wrapped up in covering high school football in and around Houston County. What I got instead was a trip to college football nirvana, a college football paradise on Earth in the heart of Atlanta. The College Football Hall of Fame is definitely a must see for fans and media alike.

The college football world will have its eyes on Atlanta on September 2 when the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Florida State Seminoles come to the home of the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium for their respective season openers. Both teams have realistic expectations for being in the national championship game in January and this game will be one of the hottest tickets in the sporting universe. About three blocks (Atlanta blocks, so they are a bit longer than one might expect) down Olympic Park Drive, the Hall sits on Marietta Street with a football roof and tons of great college football info inside. By the time I got to there, fifteen minutes early (OK, five minutes early) for my 11 a.m. appointment with a tour guide (Ok, I got there right on time. You have to take in account Atlanta traffic), there was already a line forming. College football fans can arguably be considered sports most loyal with the blend of school spirit, home state loyalty and fanaticism surrounding the game and all sorts of teams were represented amongst the people waiting to get inside.

The first I was inside, my first guide of the morning, a really nice young man named Sharode, showed me the wall of helmets that was proudly displayed in the rotunda. Every current Division I fand Division I-AA football program has a helmet on display and the array of colors and logos was overwhelming. I found local programs Fort Valley State University and Mercer University after about five minutes of searching.

It could honestly take me a couple of hours to go through all of the trophy cases, paintings, banners, interactive videos and photos on display in that building. Heisman trophies and autographed jerseys seemed to be everywhere I looked. There was even a “Catholics vs Convicts” t-shirt in one display. Talk about having all of your bases covered. The College Football Hall of Fame didn’t miss a beat. They even had a 1 p.m. showing of Remember the Titans showing at the in-house theater. Question: Is there anything football related this place can’t make happen? Answer: No, no there is not.

On my way out after an hour of college football bliss I happened to run into former University of Florida Gator quarterback Terry LeCount who works there as a Quality Assurance Lead. LeCount, who played in the SEC from 1974-78) was the second ever African American quarterback at Florida and played receiver in the National Football League for a decade afterwards. LeCount was hard to get a hold of because of how many people came up to him to say hello or to shake his hand and talk Gators football. The quarterback position at the Florida will forever be a topic of discussion amongst SEC fans thanks to Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, Jesse Palmer, Rex Grossman, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow and of course LeCount.

“If you’re a football fan then this is a must see for you,” says LeCount who stills looks like he can throw and catch a couple of passes today. “One of the reasons is because this is SEC country. We represent 775 schools here [at the College Football Hall of Fame] so regardless your school we have something here for you.”

LeCount is right, there really is something at the College Football Hall of Fame for fans of all levels. From the knowledgeable to the new to the former groundbreaking college quarterback.

Looks like I’m going to have to come up with another excuse for a second visit.