Warthog..... if they choose to replace the natural turf with FieldTurf..... I will personally come up and cut a piece of the grass out and have it cast in Lucite for you.
However, I want some of the turf from about the center of the field....... just to remember an event my senior year with a certain fine lady who I have lost track of over the years.......
Glad to see that my thoughts on the possiblity of switching to field turf drew some response.... I've too been a "purist" for many years, but like Mike (Freak to the "uninitiated"), I'm slowly changing my opinion....let's be honest, guys...these other(UT-OU etc.--gad I hate to say it) fields LOOK a heck of a lot better, not to mention allow for a "fairer" game to be played.... I know that UT people bitched a few yrs. ago that we'd "watered"down the field, but honestly, can you guys LOOK at that field whether you were there in person or watching at one of the famed "watch parties" and say that it looked good? To me, the new turf looks more like grass than did the old astro-turf families (glorified carpet) and it allows for a completely fair game to be played for BOTH teams.
As to the use of the Doyt for HS games, I seem to recall that there have been some playoff games there within the past couple of years...not positive of that...but can you imagine what that field would've looked like if a HS playoff game had taken place on the previous weekend? I know that KSU, among others, hosted playoffs last week...and I was at Bedford HS last week to see my alma mater play in the playoffs...and the field not only LOOKED great, but the kids were able to play without worrying about falling over every time they took a cut.
Education our Challenge, Excellence our goal. (look it up)
the university needs to hire a full time grounds keeper. the problem is right now, one of our assistant ADs (not sure which one) is trying to do the job, and just simply has no clue.
last year when the Doyt was field of the year according to the Ohio Turf Managers Assoc., we had a full time keeper. he quit, and as is the case in many instances with this university, they went with the cheapest option to replace him.
there is no reason that field wasn't covered before that game.
now, if they don't want to take the proper steps in turf management, switch to field turf. i'm in the camp that says we should switch to it regardless. the benefits of hosting HS playoff games, possibly concerts, etc. will make up for the cost. plus, we don't have the embarrassment of having our field look like swamp on national tv.
The problem is not the grass turf. The problem is us not properly taking care of the grass turf. It should've been tarped for the past week or however long it had been raining. It's ridiculous that we don't have a decent tarp and that the tarp we do have relies on the baseball team to apply it.
I will NEVER, EVER, EVER support the concept of FieldTurf. Football was meant for grass, plain & simple. Maybe we need to install a better drainage system, maybe we need to invest in a new tarp, I don't know. But it is quite possible to have a good, healthy grass surface in Ohio. You just have to be willing to invest the money into it. Perhaps we don't have the money, I don't know, but I hate the thought of moving away from Grass.
Hammb - you make some great points. Maintenance is a HUGE issue. The real question might be can the University afford to maintain these natural surfaces. Quite honestly, no level of drainage system woould have saved Doyt's surface this week.
I do a lot of park and rec work. Those agencies just fret like hell over the "field" conditions in their parks. They really don't get the $$ support needed to re-seed fields all the time. I met with one client yesterday who was sending three guys over to review soccer fields as to determine if they would be open for the final weekend of play. I hope so, Nicholas and Sam's team are in the Championship game Sunday at 3:00. Seed does not cost much, its the labor that kills - and keeping the public off of surfaces that you are either resting or repairing is damn near impossible.
hammb wrote:The problem is not the grass turf. The problem is us not properly taking care of the grass turf. It should've been tarped for the past week or however long it had been raining. It's ridiculous that we don't have a decent tarp and that the tarp we do have relies on the baseball team to apply it.
I will NEVER, EVER, EVER support the concept of FieldTurf. Football was meant for grass, plain & simple. Maybe we need to install a better drainage system, maybe we need to invest in a new tarp, I don't know. But it is quite possible to have a good, healthy grass surface in Ohio. You just have to be willing to invest the money into it. Perhaps we don't have the money, I don't know, but I hate the thought of moving away from Grass.
This is a valid point. The 2003 situation was a little different because it was a long period of bad weather. We've played for years on that field in lousy weather and I never saw anything like Wednesday.
hammb wrote:The problem is not the grass turf. The problem is us not properly taking care of the grass turf. It should've been tarped for the past week or however long it had been raining. It's ridiculous that we don't have a decent tarp and that the tarp we do have relies on the baseball team to apply it.
I will NEVER, EVER, EVER support the concept of FieldTurf. Football was meant for grass, plain & simple. Maybe we need to install a better drainage system, maybe we need to invest in a new tarp, I don't know. But it is quite possible to have a good, healthy grass surface in Ohio. You just have to be willing to invest the money into it. Perhaps we don't have the money, I don't know, but I hate the thought of moving away from Grass.
Hambb,
Have to disagree with you on this one...and you DO make some good points. Some others have pointed out the benefits of a field turf surface i.e. recruiting etc.....my original point was that I want to see a FAIR game of football played....yes, BOTH teams played on the same surface Wednesday....but NEITHER team could generate much consistency in the offense... part of that is due to both teams being "down" this year. But I've truly got to believe, after watching WR's slip and fall almost every time they went to make a cut, and as I already posted , comparing it to the other MAC fields on TV this week, I think it becomes a FAIRER game to both teams playing on a surface that at least allows for things to happen, other than falling down all the time. That said, at least the other televised MAC games had the benefit of much better weather overall, not the monsoon that we sat thru. But the recruiting argument also has a great deal of merit too...if YOU were a kid being courted by several MAC schools and saw the games on TV this week, which field(s) do you thing YOU'D prefer to play on? As it is, many of the larger HS in the state are converting over to turf, because the long term expense of upkeeping grass fields balances out the initial cost of installing field turf.
Education our Challenge, Excellence our goal. (look it up)
Brandon was quoted in both the Sentinel and the Blade today as saying that it might be time to at least investigate installing fieldturf. Ball State is the only other MAC schools with grass and then will be installing fieldturf before next season.
"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools."
- Ernest Hemingway
Sadly...with everyone else in the conference going to fake grass, it may be time for us to do so as well. Our playing on grass could be viewed as an unfair advantage if no one else plays on it.
At least that's what the whiners would say. If you've paid attention to the US Supreme Court over the past few years, you know that the whiners now run this country...
It's not the fall that hurts...it's when you hit the ground.
Grass is OK if it can be covered and maintained with the correct drainage. OSU has replaced their sod twice this season. A few $100,000 more and they could have installed Grass turf. Most staduium managers and ground keepers agree its less maintenance cost than grass and less likely to be damaged due to play in inclimate weather. Just roll it and add the rubber on occasion, it comes with 5 yr gurantee depending on the mfg. and installation company. It really looks and feel good, and the athletes like it except for the black dust on hot days that gets in everything.
If we are going to argue that purity is a priority, then we should boycott any team that doesn't have natural turf.......um, yeah, that wouldn't work.
The turf at DLP Stadium has had its moments of glory. Most notably the GameDay week. But on average, it hasn't done well as the seasons wear on it. BGSU doesn't have as full a budget and staff to maintain turf as some schools have, at least I'm guessing from what I've observed over the years. Ohio State is certain to change to Field Turf, in part because of the lousy weather eating three sets of sod. They also want to steal the high school football title games, which would require new turf.
People didn't like BGSU getting lights either. Change happens, and it needs too.
In truth, however long Brandon is at BGSU, I'd expect the next coach to get Field-Turf as a contract requirement.
It might be nice to have some High School Playoff games, and select regular season games at the Doyt. Might help expand interest in BGSU generally.
It would be nice having a presentable field on a weekly basis, regardless of weather.
There might be some question as to what to do with the practice fields. Does the team use strictly the main field, and we see the current practice fields used for parking? Does the Field House need to be re-turfed to provide identical surfaces, or does it really matter?
The additional premium parking the old practice fields could provide, or “deluxe” tailgating space, might help pay the way for the turf.
My worry is that they get a cheap version of the turf, like our discount video scoreboard.
NWLB
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