After the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII, one of the biggest talking points during the postgame was how bad the field condition was at State Farm Stadium. After Kansas City’s win, both teams criticized the field with one player even going so far as to say it was the “worst” field he had ever played on.
The fact that the pitch didn’t hold up was a big surprise and that’s because the NFL has used the same groundskeeper since the first Super Bowl, George Toma. With such a seasoned veteran handling things, there was no reason to expect the field would turn into a giant slide Sunday, but that’s exactly what happened.
If you’re wondering why the field was in such bad shape, Oklahoma State University has a theory.
The school has been developing new breeds of grass since 1986, and the NFL used one of OSU’s new breeds, the Tahoma 31, for Super Bowl LVII. The school was so proud that their turf was being used that they bragged about it in TWO different tweets before the game.
After the game, however, the school took on a very different tone.
One day after Kansas City’s win, OSU released a statement essentially blaming the NFL for slippery conditions at State Farm Stadium.
“While OSU scientists developed and patented the Tahoma 31, they had no role in the creation or preparation of the field for Super Bowl LVII,” the school said in a statement. through the world of Tulsa. “Tahoma 31 was used for the base layer, but the field was also seeded with a top layer of ryegrass, which has smooth leaf surfaces when wet. This and other factors may have contributed to traction issues during play.” .
The school is essentially staking it all on the NFL grounds team and that if the grass was used the way it was meant to be used, there probably wouldn’t have been a problem. The school also noted that there were no other grass issues this year and that THE EAGLES actually used Tahoma 31 for their home games this season.
“The Philadelphia Eagles played on Tahoma 31 at Lincoln Financial Field during the 2022 season, including the NFC championship game two weeks ago,” the school said. “Tahoma 31 is used extensively at high-profile sites across the country, including the Arkansas Razorbacks stadium, which was recognized as the 2022 College Football Field of the Year by the Sports Field Management Association.”
In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, Toma said he thought the weed for this year’s Super Bowl was some of the best ever.
“This is new ground,” Toma told Fox 4 in Kansas City on Feb. 7. “I think this is the second best ground we’ve had in 57 Super Bowls.”
The 94-year-old also revealed that the NFL has spent three-quarters of a million dollars on turf.
“In the first 27 Super Bowls, we haven’t spent $1,000 on the field for a game,” Toma told NPR in Kansas City. “This one costs $750,000.”
The investment definitely didn’t pay off because players on both teams hated him, especially Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick.
“I’m not going to lie, it was the worst pitch I’ve ever played on,” said Reddick after the game. “It was very disappointing, it’s the NFL. You’d think it would be better so we could play better, but it is what it is. I don’t know maybe the league will look at it and tell Arizona they need to step up their thing. I don’t know, it’s not it’s my decision to make, it’s not my call to do whatever that is and what it is.
In the video below, you can see more instances of players slipping on the pitch.
The NFL chose Tahoma 31 because the league thought it was the best grass available, according to NFL director of field area Nick Pappas
“We believe that, right now, this is one of the strongest strains of hybrid Bermuda grass you can get,” Pappas told ESPN.com in the days leading up to the game.
The state of Oklahoma would certainly agree that Tahoma 31 is one of the strongest strains available, but the school seems far less than thrilled with how its weed was used on Super Bowl Sunday.
