NFL’s turf gurus gird for historic Super Bowl

The Associated Press A tarp covers the field at MetLife Stadium ahead of Sunday's game between the New York Giants and the Seattle Seahawks, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J. The days of natural grass may be long gone in many NFL venues, including MetLife Stadium, but that doesnt mean the paint and the texture and the surface doesnt need to be absolutely perfect on Feb. 2, 2014 when millions will watch Super Bowl XLVIII take place at the stadium. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

By DAVID PORTER/Associated Press/December 12, 2013

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) It may qualify as a small irony that in the run-up to the first outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl, the people seemingly least threatened about the possibility of bad weather are the folks whose job is to protect the surface on which the game will be played.

It should come as no surprise, since the NFLs groundskeeping experts are used to dealing with the elements and improvising when they have to.

Like the time when rehearsals the night before one Super Bowl put foot-deep indentations into the NFL logo at midfield, necessitating an emergency trip to a local high school field where crews dug up chunks of sod as a replacement.

Or the 1970 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, when crews had to spread wood chips and sawdust across the field and paint it green to look presentable.

None of that figures to happen at New Jerseys MetLife Stadium in February, but there certainly will be more scrutiny as the NFL uses the game as a test case for possible future cold-weather games. For all the extra attention, Ed Mangan, the leagues field director for the Feb. 2 game, likened his job to an offensive lineman's, in which anonymity is its own reward.

We set the stage for the players and thats our job; if you cant accept that, you shouldnt be doing it, Mangan said. The best compliment is that nobody mentions the field at all. If they are, it usually means something is wrong.

MetLife Stadium, home to the New York Giants and New York Jets, likely will make things easier for the NFL in one respect. It has an artificial playing surface, which means the league wont have to truck in specially-grown sod as in previous Super Bowls. The re-sodding of Super Bowl fields has become a science, with sod grown up to two years in advance at special farms. (For home lawn enthusiasts, the NFL uses a hybrid Bermuda grass as a base, overseeded with perennial rye grass, Mangan said).

Artificial turf can be affected by snowy or icy conditions but is a big improvement over natural grass, according to Jets kicker Nick Folk.

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NFL's turf gurus gird for historic Super Bowl