Super Bowl Playing Surface Causes Outrage After Players Slip And Slide All Over Field
Players changed cleats throughout the game
From the start of Super Bowl LVII, players on both squads had trouble staying upright on the new grass surface in State Farm Stadium.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts changed his cleats in between the first and second quarter, and plenty of cleats were found along a sideline at halftime. On the final play of the game – a Hail Mary – Hurts slipped and underthrew the pass by several yards.
Even Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco slipped in the end zone just before he started celebrating a touchdown.
The grass was at Oklahoma State University, and the United States Golf Association provided funding and research.
However, it seems quite clear that the grass didn’t do its job, as players were slipping left and right.
The poor conditions got fans, media, and former NFL players in an uproar.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t seem happy with the field conditions, but wasn’t blaming his team’s loss on it.
“We both had to play on that turf,” he said after the game, via 94 WIP Radio.
Teams have made moves to improve their playing surfaces to result in less injuries, and players have called for fixes to many playing surfaces.
