There are, um, growing concerns about the quality of the turf at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., home to the Fiesta Bowl and BCS title game in a little less than a month. Oh, yeah, the Cardinals play there, too.
Last week, the stadium hosted two high school championship games — quality of football only slightly inferior to that of the Cardinals — and the Cards-Seahawks. That left the grass, part of a retractable playing surface, a little beat up, according to the Arizona Republic’s Dan Bickley:
“Meanwhile, there’s the matter of this cow pasture they call a playing field. All over the Valley, playing fields are green and lush. According to witnesses, you wouldn’t believe how good the field looks at Sun Devil Stadium. But in Glendale, the expensive field-in-a-tray is growing more sporadically than a Chia Pet.
“Granted, the field looks worse than it feels under cleat. And, hopefully, it’ll look better today than it did last week, when the stress of three football games in 30 hours left but a few splotches of grass between the 20-yard lines.
“But if the field doesn’t look significantly better today, then we’ve got big problems. The clock is ticking, and aesthetics are very important this time of year, especially with two Bowl Championship Series bowl games coming down the pike.”
Cow pasture? Yikes. But I thought the Cardinals’ horse manure play would be good fertilizer?