Should Fedex Field upgrade and get Synthetic Turf

[NLC1054]

Pellet Turf looks terrible on television, especially under the lights. No thanks.

Why should we care what it looks like on TV?

[The Slamming Butcher]

Why should we care what it looks like on TV?

Because there are many in the Redskin fanbase without the means to attend every home game.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Because there are many in the Redskin fanbase without the means to attend every home game.

And a patchy, balding, different shades of green natural turf looks aesthetically great to the watching TV masses right?

Hail.

[The Slamming Butcher]

And a patchy, balding, different shades of green natural turf looks aesthetically great to the watching TV masses right?

Hail.

It looks aesthetically better than the shiny glare that is inherent with the pellet turf.

[rick7423]

uhm... I vote no. I am not even sure why this would be called an upgrade.

[CrabR]

no to all artificial turf and domes

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

It looks aesthetically better than the shiny glare that is inherent with the pellet turf.

Right, but most major sporting clubs incorporating artificial fields are installing the next generation hybrid fields. A level above field turf.

Hail.

[NLC1054]

A lot of this seems to boil down to some weird, "old school" mentality about where and how football should be played other than an objective analysis of whether or not grass is actually better.

Can anyone advocating keeping a grass field explain why it's better to have a grass field for any other reason that it's aesthetically pleasing to see grass stains and football is "meant" to be played on grass?

[SonnyandSam]

• Studies show fewer serious injuries, particularly knee injuries occur on natural turf.
• The Redskins put down new turf twice a year. One in mid-summer and again midway through the Redskins season.
• Have none of you seen how many times players slip on the carpet in the other stadiums?
• Football was intended to play in the elements with sun, rain, mud, snow, whatever.
• Fake grass don't belong in Football....PERIOD.

[The Slamming Butcher]

A lot of this seems to boil down to some weird, "old school" mentality about where and how football should be played other than an objective analysis of whether or not grass is actually better.

Can anyone advocating keeping a grass field explain why it's better to have a grass field for any other reason that it's aesthetically pleasing to see grass stains and football is "meant" to be played on grass?

Old school perhaps, but why would you consider the opinion that grass is a preferred surface to be "weird"?

[NLC1054]

Old school perhaps, but why would you consider the opinion that grass is a preferred surface to be "weird"?

Because it seems like it has little to do with the actual football on the field and more to do with what football "should" be.

[~*JurgyFan*~]

Fake turf??!!! NO WAY!!!!!

[Warpath11]

I am all for real grass so as long as its kept nice and well maintained. Not sure what is under FexEx field (sand??) but here was white stuff flying all over the place as players ran (that dont look like grass to me). That white stuff is similar to the black tire stuff that flies up on the artificial grass fields.

edit: have there been studies done on if injuries to the lower extremities occur less frequently on the artificial stuff? Seems like there is enough sample size to actually do a study on blown knees, for example.

[pjfootballer]

I noticed the field was in terrible condition and not just from Wilson's slip. I prefer grass myself, but I fault the groundskeeper for having it look so ragged. I've stepped on field turf once in Peru. It felt weird, but I was on astroturf when I was in marching band. Astroturf was very hard.

[STBonecrusher21]

Notice how it's all (and please forgive me here) the older folks who seem to be against it. Many of whom I'm betting have never even stepped foot on the more modern surfaces that are out there. My high school got it my senior year. It was the nicest surface I've ever been on. Really makes you play faster.

As far as the whole "meant to be played in elements" argument. Am I missing something here?

Sun? Yea it still shines on turf.
Rain? Yea it still rains on turf.
Snow? Yea it still snows on turf.

Only thing you wouldn't get is the mud bowls. And even with the natural surfaces of today, those mud bowls are still extremely rare.