NFL Players Slipped And Skidded Throughout The Super Bowl

Topline

When players from the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs took to State Farm Stadium field Sunday night for Super Bowl LVII, their cleats were pressed into a nearly million dollar brand new turf field, made from material usually used for golfers, and while the innovative field was praised in the leadup to the game, players were less than enthused after many of them avoided serious injuries as they slid on the field.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) runs against the Philadelphia Eagles during the … [+] second half of the NFL Super Bowl 57 football game.

AP/Ashley Landis

Key Facts

Multiple players skidded on the field during the games Sunday, including Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Chiefs and Isiah Pacheco, running back for the Chiefs, who slipped during a touchdown celebration.

Jalen Hurts, quarterback for the Eagles, was among the players who changed their cleats mid-game to accommodate the field conditions, ESPN reported.

Jordan Mailata, an offensive lineman for the Eagles, compared the field to playing in a water park, saying, “The footing? It was terrible.”

These weren’t the conditions players were expecting leading up to the game as George Toma, the NFL groundskeeper commonly known as the “The Sodfather” claimed it was the second best grass he had seen and added “it’s outstanding on the field right now” before the game.

Key Background

The teams were playing on Tahoma 31 turf, a newer breed of artificial grass that was developed with funding from the United States Golf Association, according to ESPN. Tahoma 31, which includes two types of Bermuda grass and rye grass, has been under development since its inception in 2006. The type of grass was said to be selected because of its tolerances for cold, drought, disease and wear, making it ideal for withstanding multiple programs, like pregame, the halftime show and postgame, Golf Digest reported. It’s also used on many golf courses around the world.

Crucial Quote

“I’m not going to lie, it was the worst field that I’ve ever played on,” Haason Reddick, a pass rusher for the Eagles, said. “It was very disappointing. It’s the NFL.You would think it would be better so we could get some better play, but it is what it is.”

Tangent

Toma, who has accrued many nicknames over the years—“The Sodfather” and “God of Sod” chief among them—was working his last Super Bowl this Sunday as the 94-year-old has plans to retire. He’s spent more than 50 years working as a groundskeeper on Super Bowl fields.

Big Number

$800,000. That’s how much the field cost, according to Toma.

NFL Players Slipped And Skidded Throughout The Super Bowl—Here’s Why