Counterpoint: Here's to Artifical Turf!

An article by WhoDey    2 Comments

Editor’s Note: This is a response to our previous post, Here’s to football… on GRASS! .  Yeah, we have multiple authors here at 23/7 Sports, and we don’t always agree…

Yes, football is a sport played by MEN.  We all love seeing football players get dirty in the mud and the muck.  I’m not disputing that.  But there are a few other things to consider here before we declare grass fields as “the only way to play the game”.

First, but probably most important – injury prevention.  Today’s athlete is bigger, faster, and stronger than the athletes of yesteryear.  Bigger hits – and, more importantly for this discussion, harder cuts – are a part of the game.  What happens if Adrian Peterson makes a move on a defender, his foot slips out from under him, and he rips his groin?  Not good.  I’m not saying we should baby these players.  I’m definitely in favor of reducing, not increasing, the silly Roughing calls and other Personal Fouls we’ve seen this year.  I don’t like those rules that take physicality out of the game for the sake of a little too much player protection.  But, artificial turf doesn’t do that.  It’s a simple, easy way to help ensure the health of the players without taking anything away from the game.  We’re not talking about the old Veterans Stadium Astroturf eating Wendell Davis’ knees – today’s FieldTurf makes for a fantastic game and is extremely safe for players.

The second benefit of artificial turf?  Simply a better game.  Who could forget this gem (sorry for the poor quality)?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7DTNEa2E7w]

Anyone remember watching that game?  I’m pretty sure it set the sport of football back 30 years.  Why would you want to watch a game like that?  Look, I’m glad that football is a sport played in the elements (I hate domes).  I love watching a December snow game.  But you can have the weather be part of the game without having it become totally unplayable.  Having FieldTurf fields won’t ruin your experience as a viewer.  You’ll still get to see the Patriots make some snow angels in the endzone, or see a kicker angle one into the wind just perfectly.  You’ll just get to see those things while watching a game that still resembles football.  And bad weather isn’t the only cause.  How often have we seen terrible fields in December just because of over use?  Or baseball diamonds in the middle of our football game in September?

Finally – I don’t get all the reverence for “tradition” in football.  Baseball is a sport steeped in tradition, and it makes sense there.  But not so much in football.  Do you want to go back to the days before the forward pass?  How about having the goal posts at the front of the endzone and in play?  No.  Then why do you want to stay in the past with the field?  Football has always evolved with the times.  The next technological evolution is FieldTurf, and it’s proven to be a safe, maintainable way to ensure good football action.  Don’t let the field factor into the game’s result – let the players do that.  It’s what we’re watching for.