03 July 2023 , 16:55
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The field at the State Farm Stadium for Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles was heavily criticised at the time, as players struggled for grip, causing slipping and sliding, but now the NFL has reportedly identified the reason.
The conditions "blessed" the Chiefs, according to Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, with Kansas running out 38-35 winners on the night. "You need that traction to be able to get off the block and we were slipping a lot,” Graham said to the Kansas City Star. “I don’t make excuses. I just know that that’s what was being talked about, us trying to get out of our own head a little bit, too... I’m telling you that O-line, they got blessed, I’ll say that.”
Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata also voiced his displeasure, likening the playing field to a "water park". It's still unclear whether the grass was to blame, or whether too much water was on the field but according to NBC Sports, the NFL's "unofficial excuse" is that players were not wearing the correct shoes, which was communicated to owners when the situation was raised.
The grass at State Farm Stadium is rolled in and out of the State Farm Stadium, basking in the hot Arizona sun on warmer days, and brought back inside the stadium in colder conditions. The field used for Super Bowl LVII started growing in May of 2021, according to ABC 15 Arizona, but was far from usual flawless NFL standards.
Following complaints in the aftermath, the NFL did release a statement, insisting the field surface was up to standards. "The State Farm Stadium field surface met the required standards for the maintenance of natural surfaces, as per NFL policy," they said. "The natural grass surface was tested throughout Super Bowl week and was in compliance with all mandatory NFL practices."
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West Coast Turf was the company tasked with growing the Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass for the NFL spectacle and the belief is that ryegrass was used to stop it from going brown in the winter.
The surface for Super Bowl LVII was likened to a "water park" (Getty)That's according to the CEO of Sod Solutions, Tobey Wagner, one of West Coast Turf's competitors, who says ryegrass holds more water.
"The natural color of Bermudagrass during the winter would be brown," Wagner said. "They had to put ryegrass in this mix to make it have that beautiful color."
The shoes would then break up the grass, spreading more water across the field, and making conditions slippery for players.