- Michigan Football
The World Cup has sparked a debate amongst football fans. Should football be played on artificial turf or natural grass?
The FIFA World Cup wrapped up last weekend with Spain taking the crown on natural grass at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Per FIFA regulations, World Cup games are required to be played on natural surfaces, meaning that several of the large American stadiums had to lay down sod to meet those requirements. This sparked a debate on the internet as current NFL players decried the fact that they have to play on artificial turf while the stadiums they play at are capable of having natural grass.
Coincidentally, it was announced earlier this week that new turf was installed at Michigan Stadium:
A multitude of studies have shown that natural grass is significantly better to play on for athletes. Grass is significantly more forgiving on knees, joints, backs, etc. compared to any type of artificial turf. That is not debatable. What is debatable is whether those differences are worth the expense that it would cost college athletic departments to suffer.
Michigan Stadium has had natural grass for long periods of time before. From 1927 - 1968, the field consisted of traditional Kentucky bluegrass. In 1969, Michigan installed 3M TartanTurf, an alternative to the popular AstroTurf at the time. Maintenance costs plummeted, and the field stayed green for the entire season. However, players complained about the temperature during hot games and how hard the surface felt on their bodies.
From 1991 - 2002, the Big House returned to natural grass. The playing surface was dropped by 3.5 feet in conjunction with the change. Players generally raved about the change, but several problems were uncovered. Michigan Stadium sits largely below ground level and close to the local water table. Drainage became a major, major issue. In addition, the grass struggled to get enough sunlight due to the higher parts of the bowl. Lastly, the obvious wear-and-tear of several sports being played on the grass caused damage quickly every year.
In 2003, the decision was made to return to turf, though this time FieldTurf was chosen. While considerably better than the 3M TartanTurf, the FieldTurf is still artificial and unforgiving on the body.
Michigan is certainly not the only program to play on an artificial surface in college football. Roughly two-thirds of college football programs play on synthetic turf while one-third play on natural grass. Unsurprisingly, a majority of the natural grass fields reside in the South, where the winter weather doesn’t play as much of a factor. Schools such as Alabama, Georgia, and LSU play on natural grass while powers such as Ohio State, Oregon, USC, and Nebraska play on turf.
While the easy answer to this week’s discussion question is to have everyone play on natural grass, the cost of making that feasible would be astronomical for most schools. At Michigan specifically, would you be in favor of higher ticket prices, in-stadium ads, etc., if it meant the Big House could return to natural grass?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Source: Maize n Brew
