Hall of Fame

Last night we were debating about whether to go to Maine and enjoy the Atlantic Ocean or to Springfield and the NBA Hall of Fame. Ever since Larry Bird was inducted in 1998 I've wanted to go and see #33 immortalized. I know it sounds dumb, but it was some good closure to a big part of my childhood. Even though I was the only one who really wanted to go, everyone else cut me some slack and off we went.

The HOF is about 75 miles or so from Chappo's house, so it took a little over an hour to get there. Once we were there it was wall to wall hoops. It really took me back to a time when I was way more into basketball and the NBA. As a kid I watched the Celtics religiously, so to see Bird, McHale, and Parish up there among the other greats was really special. I only wish that Stockton and Malone were already in so we could enjoy seeing some Utah Jazz players in the hall. We did find a picture of Hot Rod though!


I know everyone else was getting kind of bored with the bios and pictures of old players so we headed to the second level where all the interactive exhibits were. We tested our vertical jump (Chappo tried to recreate his "slam dunk" wedding), wingspan, reaction time, and height with the NBA's best. There was even a challenge zone where you shoot a few j's and Grace could play in the kiddie area.


I'm really glad we went to Springfield today. The HOF helped me remember a great time in my childhood/teenage life and now I can move on. When I was 14 I went to the HOF and still hoped to be enshrined one day, now I'm just glad I got the chance to visit a few of my childhood heroes.