To those who believe professional athletes play for the money; to those who believe professional athletes do not appreciate the game; to those who believe professional athletes do not understand their small place in a long line of great athletes, great innovators, great risktakers....to those people, you should have been in Canton Saturday night.

As fans gathered for Saturday's induction ceremonies, Pro Football Hall Of Fame organizers gave the Titans travel party an exclusive look at the hall, its artifacts, and of course, the famous busts. Hall of Fame experts roamed the exhibits sharing facts about what we were seeing that you would not otherwise know. For example, Titans Owner Bud Adams brought the first two AFL Championship trophies to Canton where they have been added to a special Titans/Bills exhibit on the AFL's 50th anniversary.

Having spent hours at the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, the visit gave me the chance to stroll the hall, see new items, spend more times in areas of interest, and most of all, just watch and listen.

To say that many of the Titans players and coaches looked like kids at Christmas would not be an overstatement.

As the buses pulled up to the Hall cradled right off the interstate in a small downtown neighborhood, players asked the drivers to open the luggage compartments. Cameras came out in every shape and size.

Entering the hall's first exhibit on the founding of professional football, players could be overheard asking, "I wonder where XX is," with the XX ranging from Jim Otto's exhibit to Dick Butkus' bust. Many of the players, it seemed, had done their homework and wanted to find the piece of history that most spoke to them.

Groups of players gathered around video monitors like kids at a museum exhibit. But these guys wanted more than to just push the button. They yelled out as the exhibit showed highlights of Hall of Fame members. "Man, look at him run," as one group watched Tony Dorsett highlights.

The offensive line sought out the bust of their coach, Mike Munchak, and moments later Bruce Matthews' place in the Hall.

Kerry Collins and Vince Young roamed the Super Bowl exhibit together catching flashes of Joe Montana and John Elways heroics on the giant screen. As they walked away, Steve McNair flashed on the screen and Mike Keith's voice filled the Hall.

"They came up one yard short."

Titans Owner Bud Adams marveled at the Hall of Fame rings, a ring that he should wear someday. As longtime sportswriter John McClain told us for Sunday's Titans Countdown, "you cannot write the history of the NFL without talking about the NFL."

Special Teams Coach Alan Lowry walked through the hall featuring all the busts of the Hall of Famers, a room that quite simply makes you pause. He focused his camera phone on certain players and coaches. I wondered why certain people spoke to him, but that question is better saved for another time.

The faces of Ken Amato, Rob Bironas, and Craig Hentrich spoke volumes as they found Bironas' shoes from the Houston field goal game. "Our little piece of the Hall of Fame," they seemed to say.

A sentiment echoed throughout the two hours Saturday night: not always audibly but in focus of thought, eyes busy scanning, pausing before a special exhibit. Each player on the Titans roster considered their small place in a long history of a game they all love.