Some Thoughts on Field Conditions

The field at LP Field is atrocious. If I was an owner of Louisiana-Pacific, I’d raise hell with the Titans for giving my company a bad name. The field conditions last Sunday were as bad as I’ve ever seen at LP Field. It was an absolute mudhole. Worse than the night John Madden told a Monday Night Football national audience that the field was terrible.
The offensive linemen couldn’t get their footing to drive off the snap, the D-linemen couldn’t rush the passer, and Travis Henry couldn’t make his cuts. It was embarrassing. When you have players like Henry, Vince Young, and Pacman Jones, you want to give them an adequate surface to take full advantage of their abilities. And as fans, we also deserve to see the best opposing players have to offer.
In interviews and press conferences, the Titans have always given the same lame excuse. The climate here is difficult to grow grass in.
I don’t have to be an agronomist to know my grass stops growing after October and I can put my lawnmower away for five months. But I look around the league and see teams in worse climates with better fields. The same goes for colleges. When the University of Tennessee plays on a good field in altitude and colder weather, I have to ask, “Why can’t the Titans do the same?”
It appears that there are two viable options. One is to install heating under the field, which would promote the growth of grass by extending the growing season. The other is to install FieldTurf.
I’m a traditionalist like Jeff Fisher, who has repeatedly stated his preference for natural grass. That’s fine with me if Bud Adams will cough up a few bucks to do whatever is being done in Green Bay, at UT, and other places around the country.
Or just put in the FieldTurf and buy the protective covering for events like Fan Fair and concerts.

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