Turf Wars
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Submitted by ShawnJansen on Wed, 2008-12-03 22:49. |
Don Odishoo Field was a muddy mess during last week's Sac-Joaquin Section playoff game between Merced and Johansen.
Both teams struggled just handling snaps during the game.
It will be interesting to see what condition the field will be in on Friday when St. Mary's comes to town.
If I'm Merced, I have a Plan B just in case the field hasn't dried up.
The relationship between the Merced Union High School District and Merced College is volatile to say the least.
Merced High feels Merced College watered the field too much.
The people in charge of field maintenance at Merced College claim the water has been shut off the past two weeks.
However, I haven't seen that field in worst shape since Golden Valley played Los Banos last year. And that game was played in heavy downpour.
It's not like we were hit by a sudden rain storm last week.
I would definitely consider playing the game on the turf at Atwater if the field hasn't improved.
The big drawback is Falcon Field can only hold about 4,500 people. You would be turning away a couple thousand people.
Then again, I'd hate to see a playoff game decided by muddy field.
One Merced assistant coach drove out to the Stadium '76 on Tuesday night and reported the field appeared to be drying up.
He seemed to think the field will be in better shape on Friday.
Let's hope so.
Syndicate
muddy field and football
Well that about cuts it. Football is played in the rain, fog, wind, and mud. It was played on natural turf for years before carpets were installed. Gosh it is the same advantage or disadvantage for each team equally. It also teahes players a life lesson, you sometime have to overcome and adapt to the natural enviornment to be successful too. As for a players attitude, when I played many moons ago, it was always great to play in the mud and hit and tackel and slip and slide. Ahh but those were the good old days when sports were sport and not contest where each blade of grass, and the human factor was removed and anyalyzed in the interest of the fan!