Enshrinement Festival Weekend Coverage

Earlier this year on January 31, NFL Network’s Rich Eisen stepped to the podium at the Super Bowl media center in Tampa, Florida to emcee the nationally televised press conference announcing the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2009.

He stepped to the side as Hall of Fame President/Executive Director Steve Perry opened the envelope containing the names of the new enshrinees.

“Bob Hayes, Randall McDaniel, Bruce Smith,” he slowly read to the media corps on hand as well as the millions of television viewers watching the Class of 2009 announcement press conference.

He continued, “Derrick Thomas, Ralph Wilson, Jr., and Rod Woodson.”

And with that, the months of preparation for Saturday’s enshrinement were set into motion. The moment has finally arrived as Eisen will return to Canton to emcee the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony. The Class of 2009 will be officially enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday evening, August 8, at 7:00 p.m. The ceremony is broadcast live on NFL Network and ESPN.

A team from NFL.com will land in Canton tomorrow to join us in bringing you unparalleled coverage of what has been described as “Football’s Greatest Weekend.” Aside from the terrific video coverage from NFL Network and NFL.com, you can enjoy the in-depth look at the six newest enshrinees. You’ll also be able to read great features and insight provided by NFL.com’s Vic Carucci and Thomas George among others.

That’s not all. NFL.com will bring you up close and behind the scenes of what’s happening in Canton with a variety of blogs. On Friday, we invite you to join NFL.com in a day-long chat session taking place from the headquarters hotel in downtown Canton.

More will come your way on Enshrinement Day. The morning kicks off with the official ribbon-cutting of the brand new Lamar Hunt Super Bowl Gallery and the coverage continues through the Enshrinement ceremony later that evening.

You’ll also want to be sure to follow us on Twitter to get up close and personal with the greatest legends of the game. We’ll keep you entertained as we observe the weekend from every angle. And, starting late in the afternoon, we’ll give you the Twitter exclusive (only on Twitter.com/ProFootballHOF) directly from the enshrinement stage at Fawcett Stadium!

Bookmark Profootballhof.com and follow us at Twitter.com/ProFootballHOF to capture the excitement of the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement.

Also there's still time to join us in football's "mecca" - Canton, Ohio. Visit our Enshrinement Central page for tickets, directions, and everything else you need to know about the '09 Enshrinement Festival.