Undercover Bust - Behind the Story

Undercover Bust – Behind the Story
By Jason Rentner (@Jay25R)

The concept of “Undercover Bust” is simple. A Pro Football Hall of Famer is disguised as a museum volunteer who greets for guests visiting the Hall of Fame. During their of tour, they enter the Hall of Fame Gallery and the last stop is in front of the Hall of Famer’s bust, for the surprise reveal of the “Undercover Bust.”

The idea was hatched earlier this year, but we were waiting for the right Hall of Famer who had a funny sense of humor and was willing to put himself out there on camera. Many Hall of Famers are great candidates, but when recently enshrined Morten Andersen came to the Hall for the Heart of the Hall of Famer program, we knew we had our perfect candidate.

We pitched him at a dinner the night before. Not surprisingly, he not only embraced the idea, but came up with the series title “Undercover Bust.”

The next day with only a short 20-minute window, we had the costume design ready -- a white polo shirt worn by the Hall’s volunteers, a Hall of Fame visor and the volunteer nametag. Morten took on the identity of “BOB” from nearby Green, Ohio.  He immediately got into character and started introducing himself as Bob Summers.

No script needed for Morten! He began greeting families immediately as they entered the gallery.

The first “victim” was solo, who actually sought out “BOB” who explained that this was his first day and that he was being filmed as part of his training. After giving a few general fun facts about the Gallery, “BOB” moved the guest to the Class of 2017 busts. Morten, I mean “BOB,” briefly spoke about his class and ended by talking about himself. But, it was only when “BOB” took off his visor that the fan and then other guests were shocked, surprised and in the end, amazed at how good of a guide “BOB” was.

This was just the premiere of “Undercover Bust.” Stay tuned as once a month there will be another Gold Jacket in disguise!