Pro Football Hall of Fame Chalk Talk at Arnold Sports Festival

This past weekend, in Columbus, Ohio, Arnold Schwarzenegger held his annual “Arnold Sports Festival. For the third year, in conjunction with the Fitness Expo, Schwarzenegger also hosted the “Arnold Sportsworld Kids and Teen Expo.” This part of the weekend serves as the home for family activities and youth sports competitions.

For the second year in a row, The Pro Football Hall of Fame was on hand all weekend to promote the values of the Game by hosting two Values Chalk Talks as well as helping at the Football demonstration area along with the “2^nd & 7 Foundation” and “The Difference USA.”

Hall of Fame staff talked to former Ohio State Buckeye athletes Craig Fada, Joe Burger and Dimitrious Stanley, current Los Angeles Charger and former Ohio State Buckeye Joshua Perry and NFL Legend and former Buckeye Anthony Schlegel (Jets 2006, Bengals 2007).

All five panelists were asked what the game of football has taught them. Joshua Perry stated, “Football is the ultimate team sport. .  everybody has to be on point, everyone has to be working together. That directly translates to what you do in life.”

Fada and Burger spoke of the importance of trust and overall relationships with teammates.

Dimitrious Stanley, who was a teammate of Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2016 member Orlando Pace at Ohio State, remarked that football taught him “to go into somewhere and learn the environment and no matter what it is you make it work with other people as a team.”

Schlegel summed up what he learned in one word – “selfless” – when he reflected on what the game taught him.  

During the weekend, staff also got the chance to talk to NFL Legend Chris “Beanie” Wells (Cardinals 2009-2012) and Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

Couture was asked about what it meant to be in his sports’ Hall of Fame saying that, “There is no greater honor. You have a passion for a sport, and you spend your whole life pursuing excellence in that sport. To then be recognized for that is great.” Couture also mentioned that he believes the most important Hall of Fame Value is courage.

Wells, who in 2009, was a teammate of Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017 member Kurt Warner, was asked about the Hall of Fame’s Values as well. Wells offered that for him, commitment and integrity were very important. “Beanie” also offered that, “Football is a Game for Life . . . you get knocked down and you have to get back up and be persistent. The same thing happens in life . . . things aren’t going to be easy all of the time and you have to get up and keep moving.”