3 yards & a cloud of pellets

[Monarch Nation]

Grass or Field Turf?
Which do you prefer? Not which one does your team have, but which one do you like better.

ODU has Field Turf (in green BTW - no dark blue turf for us!) and it looks great. But in reality I prefer the old fashioned grass field. I like to see grass stains and dirt on the uniforms.

Then again, I don't have to do their laundry.

[Rob Iola]

Field turf, hands down - the NC game from several years ago should be all the evidence needed (and of course for us Hens fans, the "home" game in Richmond comes to mind).

My daughter's U15 soccer games are always much better when they're on turf - far more skill is displayed than the typical kickball on the uneven grass fields they usually play on...

[Col Hogan]

While I wish all football could be played on grass...it's just not practical the further north you go...

Especially if the field gets more than just game-day useage...

Even the N.E. Patriots, for example, gave up on grass and they completely control the use of their field...

Grass does not recover well later in the season...if you have a rainy day game condition one week in October, the next week the field will not have recovered enough and you start down a road of more and more damage...

I say grass in the south...out to CA...draw a line across the country from North Carolina to CA...north of that modern turf...

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Field turf, it is safer and the fellas in Montana used to have to run on the frozen field that was like concrete once the winter weather started.

[Col Hogan]

Field turf, it is safer and the fellas in Montana used to have to run on the frozen field that was like concrete once the winter weather started.

That too...

[green&gold75]

I'm ok with field turf. I just don't like the idea of football played in a dome--not that that's an issue in FCS.

[bobbythekidd]

I'm ok with field turf. I just don't like the idea of football played in a dome--not that that's an issue in FCS.

UNIdome and Fargo dome make me think otherwise.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

I'm ok with field turf. I just don't like the idea of football played in a dome--not that that's an issue in FCS.

I have a thing against domes myself.

[AZGrizFan]

I'm ok with field turf. I just don't like the idea of football played in a dome--not that that's an issue in FCS.

UNIdome and Fargo dome make me think otherwise.

Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff
Idaho State's dome in Pocatello

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

I'm ok with field turf. I just don't like the idea of football played in a dome--not that that's an issue in FCS.

UNIdome and Fargo dome make me think otherwise.

NAU, Id. State, UND...USD....

[bobbythekidd]

We have teams out west too??

[GannonFan]

I like grass, but only if it can be kept in good shape. Too far north and places where it gets overused just aren't good cases for grass. I think grass looks better too (I find the FieldTurf fields to be too shiny, especially in bad weather and especially on TV). But if you're in a cold climate and/or if you want to use the field more than once a week for a game, then the fake stuff is the way to go.

[Col Hogan]

UNIdome and Fargo dome make me think otherwise.

Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff
Idaho State's dome in Pocatello

Only one dome team has ever won the NC...and that was 29 years ago (1981, Idaho State)...

Domes suck...

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff
Idaho State's dome in Pocatello

Only one dome team has ever won the NC...and that was 29 years ago (1981, Idaho State)...

Domes suck...

Up until this last year where FCS added two more teams though the odds were about right. 120 total teams/3,4,5,...dome teams and the odds are in line.

Domes do suck it though.

[93henfan]

I like grass, but only if it can be kept in good shape. Too far north and places where it gets overused just aren't good cases for grass. I think grass looks better too (I find the FieldTurf fields to be too shiny, especially in bad weather and especially on TV). But if you're in a cold climate and/or if you want to use the field more than once a week for a game, then the fake stuff is the way to go.

I can't stand the field turf shine either. The worst I saw in person was DelState's stadium under the lights. I attended a high school championship game there in 2008 and the glare off of the field was astounding. I think the angle is key. DelState's stands are already shallow and they are set back behind a track. I am hopeful that we won't have that problem during night games at The Tub due to the stands being closer to the field, elevated, and at a higher pitch. <fingers crossed>

I would probably have been more defensive about losing our grass field if our grounds crew hadn't first proven that they could no longer maintain it. I'm looking forward to the plastic, so long as they don't have hideous non-football lines permanently laid out.

[green&gold75]

Thanks bobbythekid, AZGrisFan, and Ursus for the enlightenment. A little mystified about it though---are these on-campus facilities?

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Thanks bobbythekid, AZGrisFan, and Ursus for the enlightenment. A little mystified about it though---are these on-campus facilities?

I think they all are. Did you know that you can go to the top of the page and see all the stadiums in our division and get the back story on them? Just tap the "Stadium Database" link and it will take you to the different confernces and teams and you can see pics of the stadiums.

It's kinda fun to take a tour around the country once in a while.

[Seahawks]

Field Turf. Wagner's is beautiful.

[JayJ79]

But in reality I prefer the old fashioned grass field. I like to see grass stains and dirt on the uniforms.

I prefer to see blood, and busted out teeth, maybe even the occasional eye gouged out.
The game has definitely gone downhill with the introduction of helmets and facemasks.

[Go...gate]

Grass. Dirt. Mud.

[Monarch Nation]

But in reality I prefer the old fashioned grass field. I like to see grass stains and dirt on the uniforms.

I prefer to see blood, and busted out teeth, maybe even the occasional eye gouged out.
The game has definitely gone downhill with the introduction of helmets and facemasks.

Damn! If you remember that you must really be old.

[danefan]

Field Turf is nicer to play on because there is generally a very limited crown.

The burns (yes you still get some burns) and the pellets suck, but the flatness of the field and the good traction in any whether outweight the negatives.

[89Hen]

Grass. Outdoors. And what's with this forward pass??

[GOKATS]

I love natural grass, but as has been mentioned, it just doesn't work in our part of the country. We had a couple years in a row where early heavy rains/wet snow and a game or two ruined the field for the rest of the season, it simply couldn't recover and then when the ground froze nothing could be done. In addition our 'grass' field had over 30" of crown down the middle for runoff (now with turf it's 5"). We also had difficulty getting spring ball in every year because of heavy, wet, snow storms. MSU installed FieldTurf in '08 and it's the best thing to happen, the field is always in great shape, looks great, and snow can not only be cleaned for games but also spring ball.

[Wildcat Ryan]

I hope someday Weber gets Field Turf, the grass field looks great on the first home game, but after all the rain and snow, etc, at the last home game the field just looks blah.