The Bears’ Grass was Ass
There will be a new Bermuda grass surface at Soldier Field this season. It will replace the Kentucky bluegrass surface that has been controversial for years. Thank God!
Well, it certainly took long enough for someone with common sense in the Bears organization to make a decision that was a no-brainer. It has been announced that at the recommendation of Coach Matt Eberflus that the Bears new playing surface this year will be Bermuda grass, switching from the traditional Kentucky bluegrass and I’m not talking about music.
For decades the field conditions at Soldier Field have been an embarrassment to the organization and city. Players throughout the league have been complaining publicly about how they couldn’t get good footing and questioned how it met the NFL standard for being acceptable. Well, it all seemed to come to a head in August when the Bears hosted the Chiefs for its only home preseason game, where the field looked and performed like trash. The NFLPA filed a formal complaint about the situation. The league said the field “met the minimum” requirements, but let’s be honest, nobody really asked for a detailed explanation of “minimum requirements.”
Minimum isn’t good enough when you have millionaires out there risking life and limb to make a living. While Elton John is a legend and his farewell tour worthy of a Soldier Field appearance, having his concert at Soldier Field just a week before the Bears were scheduled to play there was a turnover by the Chicago Park District, owners of Soldier Field. The brown-greenish field was broadcasted on national television and the critics came for Bears ownership and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Personally, I thought the Bears and city should have had Roger “The Sodfather” Bossard conduct a grass audit of the facility. If there is one expert in the world on field grass it’s Bossard, who lives in the Chicago area.
Learning that it was the new head coach that finally got the needle to move on this issue is still alarming. It means there are still too many people in the Bears organization who don’t have a clue or the authority to make reasonable changes. This isn’t a head coach decision, this is an ownership decision. Eberflus should be deciding to punt or go for it on 4th and 1 not saddling himself with field conditions. What is the point of having a general manager and team ownership if the head coach has to make these type of decisions. It is like having a deacon board but the decision on whether or not to build an additional parking lot is made by the pastor.
But hey, let’s take the W on this one. Credit Jarrett Payton for getting the exclusive first look and touch of the new playing surface. His interview on WGN with agronomist and Carolina Green Corp. Field Maintenance Division vice president and superintendent Chris Ecton, explains in great detail the process it took to get the field, which was transported in 38 trucks from North Carolina to Chicago, ready for this Sunday’s game against San Francisco. Bermuda grass in short, has tighter connecting roots and thrives in the fall going into winter, Ecton explained in Payton’s report. The grass is already used in Kansas City where in the past it has held up throughout the entire regular season and playoffs. The park district has been be replacing the turf at Soldier Field two to three times a season.
“Bermuda grass is a warm season grass, so it just went through its favorite time of year. It’s never going to be stronger than it is right now,” said Ecton, who worked for the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the WGN-TV report.
For the sake of Bears fans and the city, let’s hope this new playing surface comes as good as advertised. Because if it does, Eberflus has already collected his first win of the season. May there be many more to follow.