'It's Ohio, it's football.' USFL kicks off in Canton with entertaining opener for fans

CANTON − Wearing a gold hard hat and black overalls, Matt Hampton sat with his eyes glued to the action Sunday during the USFL's first regular season game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Hampton, 36, of Alliance, had ordered the outfit on Amazon, piecing it together for a total of $40 to resemble the mascot of the Pittsburgh Maulers, who faced the New Jersey Generals in front of what appeared to be between 4,000 and 7,000 fans.

Despite overcast skies and a temperature hovering around 45 degrees, Hampton was in his gridiron glory.

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"We don't have winter football, but we have spring football," he said enthusiastically. "It's just a good chance to enjoy the game — it's Ohio, it's football!

"It's not the NFL, it's the USFL," Hampton added. "But what other football is there to watch right now? I'm 15 minutes down the road − straight down Route 62, one exit, and I'm here. There's not a bad seat in the whole stadium."

Hampton was among the diehard football fans who showed up at Sunday's game. Many of them were bundled in winter coats and wore hats and gloves. Football action featured hard hits, field goals, quarterback scrambles, long passes and tough defense.

New Jersey defeated Pittsburgh 20-3. In a second game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, the Michigan Panthers were victorious 24-10 over the Philadelphia Stars.

Fans come from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Canton for USFL opener

Both the Generals and the Maulers are playing their home games at Tom Benson Stadium, one of four USFL hubs. Sunday marked the first regular season USFL action in Canton after last season's USFL playoffs and championship game were played at Tom Benson Stadium.

Fans came from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, New Philadelphia, Salem, Canton, Massillon and other parts of Ohio to enjoy professional football at what they said was an extremely affordable price and entertaining atmosphere, complete with the Maulers dance team, loud rock music during breaks in the action, and areas for fans and kids to play cornhole, pose for photos on a giant inflatable USFL throne, and toss a football at a target.

And Hampton said this is just the start. More fans are likely to show up for games when the weather is warmer, he said.

Purchasing season tickets for $30 each, Hampton and his brother, Alex Hampton, 34, of Atwater, plan to attend every game during the six-week season. They purchased a third seat to bring a friend or family member.

"Sitting three rows back, how much would it cost if we were at an NFL game?" Matt Hampton said while surrounded by fellow Pittsburgh fans, many of them attired in Pittsburgh Steelers garb. "We spent $30, three rows down on the 20 yard line."

Concessions also were more reasonable than NFL games, he said.

A bratwurst sandwich cost $6; cheeseburger, $8; 12 ounce craft beer, $10; 16-ounce bottled beer, $10; 32-ounce soda, $6; peanuts, $4; chips $3, regular popcorn, $5, a jumbo all beef hot dog, $6; and nachos and cheese, $5.

The most original item on the stadium menu was the Canton Clucker ($8) — spicy fried chicken served on a waffle biscuit with bacon-infused coleslaw, honey hot sauce and a pickle. Ordering just the coleslaw on the side costs $1.

'It's great to have something here at Tom Benson Stadium.'

Barbara Meadows, 54, of Minerva, attended the game with her husband, Randall Meadows, and 15-year-old son, Raymond.

They enjoyed the pre-game block party outside the stadium at Play-Action Plaza at the Hall of Fame Village, an entertainment campus and development built around the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Mascots and USFL dance team members were on hand. An inflatable bounce house and cornhole game added to the fun. The Red Zone Ferris wheel-style ride was running. So was the Forward Pass zip line.

Meadows said she enjoyed mingling with other football fans, including those who had traveled from Pittsburgh.

Meadows and her family attended last season's USFL championship game in Canton.

"My son is a USFL fan," she said. "It's fun to have football this time of year. It's great to have something here at Tom Benson Stadium to do."

Her son wanted USFL tickets for his birthday.

"They made it really fun every step of the way," Meadows said of Sunday's game. "From the kickoff party all the way to the third quarter."

Both football and breweries drew Colin Durina, 35, of Youngstown, and Jeremy Morell, 34, of Columbus, to Stark County for the weekend.

Spending the night, the friends love any type of football − indoors, outdoors, XFL, NFL, USFL.

Durina, a lifelong Steelers fan, said the Maulers USFL franchise increased his interest in the football league.

"It's cool that Pittsburgh has a team in the spring," he said.

Stark County residents Angel Green and her 5-year-old son, Alexander, rooted for the Maulers, too.

Angel's father James Curry, 77, of Canton, said USFL football is right where it belongs.

"Professional football started here," he said of Canton.

Former Cleveland Brown Frank Minnifield signs autographs

Another highlight of the game for many fans was Frank Minnifield, who played in the original USFL and also was a standout player for the Cleveland Browns in the 1980s when the team made it to the brink of the Super Bowl.

Minnifield flipped the coin at the start of the game before signing autographs in the concourse. A line of up to around 100 fans or more stretched as Minnifield happily signed autographs, chatted with fans and posed for photos.

Mike Bogel, 38, said he's too young to have seen Minnifield play in the most recent glory days of the Browns, but he enjoyed meeting him and attending the game.

"It's been a blast," he said. "The kids have had a good time. The (USFL) made a good family experience."

Of Minnifield, Bogel said, "He's a just a Cleveland legend."

Rob Stotzer, 57, of Massillion, is old enough to have attended games in the old Browns stadium when Minnifield and fellow defensive back Hanford Dixon riled up fans in the "Dawg Pound."

"We watched them like crazy," he said while displaying a small Browns helmet autographed previously by Dixon and by Minnifield on Sunday.

Stotzer and his girlfriend Angela Winter are season ticket holders for USFL games in Canton.

"It's just a plus that Frank Minnfield is here," he said. "It's cool."

Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: USFL opens at Hall of Fame Village with fan fun and Frank Minnifield