Story by ProFootballHOF.com
“Where else would you rather be than right here, right now?”
One of Hall of Famer Marv Levy’s more famous quotes as coach of the Buffalo Bills came to life Thursday in Canton with a special visit from a special guest on a very special day.
Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League, visited the birthplace of pro football on the 100th birthday of the league he has led since 2006, saying there was nowhere else but Northeast Ohio for him to commemorate the day.
“I really wanted to be here,” Goodell told the staff of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which had assembled on the concourse between the Hall and Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. “I wanted to be part of the (Centennial) game (later in Cleveland.) I wanted to put my hand on Jim Thorpe’s head” in the Hall of Fame Gallery, which he did, noting that three of the League’s first five commissioners — Thorpe, Joe Carr and Bert Bell —all were part of the Hall’s inaugural 1963 class.
“It meant a great deal for me to be here in Canton today,” Goodell said.
