Remember the days of Rodney Peete busting his knee on the second base cutout at Veterans Stadium? Remember the canceled exhibition game against the Ravens thanks to the unevenness of the new NexTurf Field and the seams a few years back? Remember the days of opposing players such as former Bears wide receiver Wendell Davis tearing not one, but two patella tendons on one play?
Ah, the memories of arguably the worst field in professional sports history. With the new grass surfaces at Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field a selling point on free agents such as Cliff Lee and Nnamdi Asomugha, times sure have changed. OK, maybe the grass isn’t selling these guys on Philly, but it’s not a major disadvantage anymore, either.
Scenes like this in Philly are a thing of the past. It's Chicago's issue now.
For those who want to live vicariously through another fan base and relive this city’s embarrassing memories, look no further than Chicago. Yes, that classic stadium — Soldier Field — has filled the void quite admirably this spring.
Things are so bad that the Bears organization banned media outlets from filming or photographing the field before last night’s exhibition opener against the Buffalo Bills. From Chicago Tribune reporter Brad Biggs on Twitter last night:
“Heavy-handed Soldier Field security has told TV people they are prohibited from taking pictures of the field. #Bears”
Sound like something the Eagles would do? Just askin’….
The turf at Soldier Field has come under scrutiny this summer.
Anyway, the interest in the turf at Soldier Field stems from a canceled public practice in early August. From ESPN.com after the incident, which occurred during a Family Fest event:
According to Soldier Field general manager Tim LeFevour, the stadium’s grounds crew — hoping to dry the field to make it firmer for Friday’s practice — “miscalculated” and didn’t administer the proper amount of water to the surface, causing the rectangular seams of sod to come apart, thus creating gaps in the field that could potentially cause injury.
In the aftermath, players have called for Field Turf to be installed instead of grass. Say what? Artificial turf over soft, natural grass? Yeah, the field is that bad. In fact, the stadium and Bears have formed a committee to oversee the issue and resolve it. We all remember how that worked out when it was the Eagles vs. the city of Philadelphia.
As far as last night goes, the turf got passing grades according to numerous reports this morning. Still, the fact that the Bears tried to thwart the media’s attempt to take video and photos tells me this is far from over. Pay attention, Philly. This year’s Bears season will fill the Vet Stadium field drama void.
