One Positive of Not Going to Fiesta Bowl
I attended the Lions-Cardinals game at State Farm yesterday with my brother, who lives outside Phoenix. The field condition was among the worst I’ve ever seen live, and the field was pretty chewed up pretty quickly. We saw the probable end of Ziggy Ansah’s Lions career, and so many guys went out, it was getting comical. The roof was open, but it was perfectly pleasant and sunny.
So while I would have preferred to play LSU, I am somewhat grateful that we won’t, perhaps, lose someone for the spring, if not longer, because of field conditions.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:14 PM ^
Don't think like that ? besides those currently are two of the horrible NFL franchises that those types of things on the field aren't out of the norm.
Beat the snot out of Florida!
December 10th, 2018 at 2:17 PM ^
Maybe, but they spent tens of millions for a special system to allow them to have grass out there. And to have that result seems pretty problematic.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:32 PM ^
Fair point. If I had the time or the will, I might be all over Florida boards saying risking getting mauled by the M defense isn't worth risking the injuries... ;-)
December 10th, 2018 at 8:24 PM ^
That is not normal for the field. It's normally in perfect condition.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:14 PM ^
I don't get why some teams insist on having real grass when field turf has been demonstrated to be superior in pretty much every possible way. Especially when there's millions of dollars in player health at stake, you would think injury reduction alone would make it a no-brainer.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:24 PM ^
Turf causes more ACL problems, so it's not necessarily better for their health...
December 10th, 2018 at 2:46 PM ^
I would agree that a grass field in perfect shape is better overall than turf, however, most grass fields I've seen are far from in good shape. A rainy game will typically jack up the grass relatively quickly, and I've seen a good portion of grass fields just be a mess by half way through the season regardless of how much work the grounds crew does. Maybe some aren't, maybe some are kept in great shape, I can see it being better in that type of circumstance, but the majority I've seen and played on are not in decent shape and I think that exposes you to more potential for injury than a field turf surface would, even considering the higher risk of ACL injury.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:24 PM ^
In the south, it’s heat. The grass surface provides at least a 20 degree field level reduction over artificial. They could get a cooling system, but maintaining grass in the south is usually pretty easy.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^
I think the stadium in East Lansing is better suited to turf because of its ecological cohabitation with the trash swirling in the air above the field.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:52 PM ^
I’ve covered HS games here in Vegas for a few years and it’s always interesting to see the difference between the schools built in the boom and pre-boom. The older high schools always have grass fields, and as you might guess, they’re in pretty rough shape in the early part of the year. The new schools all have field turf.
December 10th, 2018 at 8:02 PM ^
Don't forget the cow poop. MSU is all about the cow poop.
December 10th, 2018 at 8:25 PM ^
The rubber pellets in field turf can put your eye out, you know.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:30 PM ^
glad you limited this to the "one" positive. snicker tee hee
December 10th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^
that field has always been weird. I went to Phoenix last year in March and they had the grass roasting outside, completely dead.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:45 PM ^
It's bermuda, so it wasn't dead. Just dormant.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:57 PM ^
That makes sense. A former neighbor had Bermuda grass in his yard (yes, some Bermuda varieties can grow and survive in Michigan's climate) and after the first frost of the fall it would look completely dead until well after the last frost of the spring.
December 10th, 2018 at 4:06 PM ^
Could also have been zoysia which is more common in cooler climes.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:42 PM ^
State Farm? I wonder if the Cardinals have homeowners insurance through them. Lions GM Bob Quinn might want to get ahold of Jake (from State Farm) and file some claims.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^
Aren't they supposed to have the most state-of-the-art field system in the entire country? Weird that it is so bad.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:48 PM ^
FWIW, its been relatively wet here in the southwest in the last week, so it’s possible it was overwatered. But you’d think they’d simply move it inside if that was the case.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:52 PM ^
From an azcentral article this past summer:
"..the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority paid for a complete upgrade of that tray during the off-season. The original waterproofing and drainage systems of the field tray were replaced, along with the sod and root-zone mix. The new system comes equipped with leak-detection technology."
Growing and maintaining perfect sod can be fickle, especially in a climate like Arizona. Maybe the root system was adversely affected by disease. I'm sure the grounds crew is beside themselves in frustration that such an expensive, high-tech system could produce such a rough result.
December 10th, 2018 at 2:58 PM ^
I am so relieved now. A blessing we are not playing LSU now in AZ.
December 10th, 2018 at 3:05 PM ^
The Cardinals should be sued for double malpractice, for that field and for that display of "football."
December 10th, 2018 at 3:07 PM ^
The quality of football, especially the first half, was among the worst I’ve ever seen.
December 10th, 2018 at 3:22 PM ^
I didn't watch any of the game, but I can't keep from mentioning that the Cardinals are the franchise that's gone the longest without winning a league championship (1947), and the Lions have gone the longest without appearing in a league championship game (1957).
December 10th, 2018 at 4:07 PM ^
At least the Cardinals have been in the Super Bowl.
December 10th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^
I'll read most any thread that starts out with "One Positive"
December 10th, 2018 at 4:07 PM ^
Injury-prone Ziggy Ansah hurt his shoulder trying to make a tackle. That can't be the lead injury you reference. It was unrelated to the field conditions.
December 10th, 2018 at 5:32 PM ^
Valid point.
December 10th, 2018 at 5:49 PM ^
You know that field has real grass and artificial turf as well?
December 10th, 2018 at 6:07 PM ^
You admitted to going?
Dont tell your buddies
December 10th, 2018 at 7:54 PM ^
Wasn’t that the case of Field Condition that started artificial turf?