Episode 69: Remembering John Madden & Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter
On the 69th episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by new Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter, as this week brings us the final 15 candidates for the PFHOF Class of 2022 (10:44 – 40:13). But first, Morten remembers the late John Madden, as the news of his passing came down on Tuesday evening. Morten reminisces about his Pro Football Hall of Fame brother, and puts his legacy in perspective (00:00 – 10:01).We then move to our interview with Jim Porter where he discusses a wide range of topics: taking over the job previously held by David Baker, and why he will be a different type of leader for the Hall of Fame (11:36); his background of growing up in the Canton region, working for the local newspaper, and why he wants to get the Hall of Fame more connected to the local community (14:29); some of Morten’s ideas to get the local population more involved with the PFHOF (16:58); his love for the bronze bust room (21:17); why we will see a different version of “the knock” moving forward (23:21); on the topic of more specialists being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Jim talks about why the PFHOF needs to include more members that represent all aspects of the game (25:43); on bringing back the tradition of honoring anniversary classes on induction weekend every year (30:17); the great group of 26 players in the mix for the 15 finalist spots this year, and why Jim is happy he doesn’t have to make the tough decisions on who to elect (31:57); the balance between the non-profit and for-profit parts of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (34:15); and Morten’s idea for the world’s largest flag football tournament to be played in Canton (37:05).Then we move to this week’s edition of “Morten’s Fast 5,” where our Hall of Famer makes picks for the five biggest games of the football weekend (41:43 – 50:36)). Morten gives his picks for Chiefs at Bengals (44:35), Dolphins at Titans (46:16), Rams at Ravens (47:02), Cardinals at Cowboys (47:55) and Vikings at Packers (48:43).Finally, we close things out with “Morten’s Game Winner” – a weekly monologue from The Great Dane on his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, Morten talks about the grueling process of being a candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame (50:36).