Cheese Curds, 8/8: Hall of Fame Game cancellation details and Packers' reactions

Well, we were supposed to wake up this morning to analyze the play of the Green Bay Packers' young players in their first taste of preseason action tonight. Thanks to the ridiculous saga that took place involving the field at Tom Benson Stadium on Sunday night, there was no football game between the Packers and the Indianapolis Colts, and we'll have to wait for Friday for the Packers to open up their preseason action.

In a way, this is a blessing in disguise for the team; none of the veteran players nor the coaches were excited about having a fifth preseason game anyway. The people that it hurts the most, by far, are the fans who traveled from far and wide to Canton to see the game. While the league will refund attendees for the cost of their tickets, there is no guarantee that any travel costs will be reimbursed.

In today's curds, we look at some of the events that led up to Sunday's cancellation, and we find reactions from members of both the Packers and Colts organizations. We also want to remember the great parts of this weekend - Brett Favre's speech among them.

Favre speaks like he played | Packersnews.com
Brett's speech was long, but emotional and heartfelt and genuine - in short, it showed all of the qualities that made him beloved as a player, and was true to his character.

How the Packers-Colts Hall of Fame game got canceled - ESPN
Here's a close look at just how the field in Canton was ruined. In short, the paint at midfield and in the end zones hardened, and when the grounds crew tried to heat it up, they melted the rubber pellets making up the turf.

Murphy, McCarthy fully support decision to cancel game | Packers.com
The coach and president acknowledge that the young players fighting for roster spots are losing an opportunity to get some game action, but more critically, that fans who traveled to see a football game were left hanging.

Jim Irsay: We're making sure it doesn't happen again - NFL.com
Irsay is often a bombastic speaker, so it will be interesting to see just what the league is going to do to prevent this from reoccurring. Perhaps the secret is to not mess with the field once it's acceptable - or to not hold other events at the same stadium just hours earlier.

It's not entirely Tim McGraw's fault the NFL cancelled the Hall of Fame game - SBNation.com
Events like McGraw's concert on Friday night.

The NFL removed the part of Orlando Pace’s speech where he thanked St. Louis - SBNation.com
Oh, and there was one other embarrassing piece to Hall of Fame weekend: this ridiculous saga which is being passed off as a "technical error."

Chris Banjo, the next big thing on Special Teams | Cheesehead TV
In real football analysis, here's a look at Banjo. The safety went from being signed just before camp in 2013 to now having two-plus seasons under his belt as one of the Packers' special teams stalwarts.