Players criticize field at Super Bowl LVII, saying was ‘like playing in water park’
By Ben Morse, CNN
Multiple players criticized the field at Super Bowl LVII after many found it difficult to keep their footing during the Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
TV cameras showed many players from both teams slipping throughout the game, including Eagles kick Jake Elliot, who avoided serious injury when his standing leg fell from under him during a kickoff.
And following the conclusion of the game, players and fans on social media complained about the quality of the turf at State Farm Stadium, suggesting that it wasn’t up to the standard you’d expect for the NFL’s biggest game.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s the worst field I ever played on,” Eagles defensive end Haason Reddick told reporters.
Reddick added: “It was hard. I beat my man a couple times, trying to turn the corner and just was slipping.
“It was very disappointing. It’s the NFL, you’d think it would be better so we can get some better play. But it is what it is.”
Eagles star left tackle Jordan Mailata said the field was “terrible” and that it was “like playing in a water park.”
Three-time Super Bowl-winning offensive lineman Mark Schlereth called the field “absolute trash” on Twitter and said the NFL should be “absolutely embarrassed.”
CNN reached out to the State Farm Stadium for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
An NFL spokesperson said in a statement to CNN: “The State Farm Stadium field surface met the required standards for the maintenance of natural surfaces, as per NFL policy. The natural grass surface was tested throughout Super Bowl week and was in compliance with all mandatory NFL practices.”
According to ESPN, the field at State Farm Stadium is made of a specific blend of two types of Bermuda grasses and rye grass called Tahoma 31. It is the same turf used on many golf courses across the world.
According to the stadium’s website, the field is part of the first retractable natural grass playing surface in North America and sits on a 40-inch deep tray that measures 234 feet wide and 403 feet long. The field rolls on 546 steel wheels, which rest on 13 railroad-like tracks, and it travels the 740 feet inside or out of the stadium in approximately 70 minutes.
It had been rolled out each morning for two weeks prior to the Super Bowl for daily sunshine.
State Farm Stadium has routinely hosted big events, in sport and other sectors, including the annual Fiesta Bowl.
The-CNN-Wire
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