If a cow can't eat it and a dog isn't supposed to piss on it than they shouldn't play football on it. With the rain and the humidity in Baton Rouge putting in turf would be a problem. Oxford has a little bit of humidity for our game last season and players were slipping all over the place.
I read some article saying that the new "grass-like turf" is not any better for injuries than the old Astroturf carpet. Let's keep the grass, even LSU enginners, of which I'm one, should know how to drain water downhill. If we can't figure it out, of course just ask the local drainage board.
hello, mcfly, anybody there. when they were suppossed to fix it a decade ago, they went on the cheap. THEY KNEW HOW TO FIX IT A DECADE AGO, BUT THEY WERE TO CHEAP TO DO IT. they knew they should have put 12 inches of sand in but they didn't. they knew they should drain into the mississippi and not the LSU system but they didn't
These natural grass fields do not have an infinate life span. Miss State and Ala have changed their fields twice since 91. They are built simular to a golf green.
I have read articles saying the stuff is supposed to be better on the joints and gave more give than grass, but I guess it really depends on the soil layer underneath for grass. Either way, I agree that the big problem is the drainage. No way in hades should that water pool up that fast. That damn rain cheated us out of a good game...
Teams are trying to get away from a 3% crown which use to be the norm for dirt fields. That was a pretty hard storm and no internal drainage system could have moved that water without some puddeling as the game started. What you can expect is the surface to not get "mushy" or soft. A normal percolation rate for good fields should be 12-16 inches per hour. The biggest problem with the new turf is heat build up. A day game in early Sept would be unbearable.
I know what you mean . . . but ESPN did pick that game as it's Instant Classic for last weekend. In just general football (HS, college, pro) I rather have a grass field, because of the way to elements create an atmosphere. Now, it does make since in the PNW to have turf feilds because it rains all year round. And I can understand turf fields up north with heaters, because it could snow all year long. But in the West and South, you have perfect football weather. More so in the South, since the seasons play a slight factor in field conditions (sloppy with rain, hard when cold, soft and fast when hot, etc). In the West the temps stay consistent, so you have less seasonal factors. The South truely has football weather, no matter if it is raining, cold, or hot.
