My mother and little sister were in town visiting last week, and we decided to tour Invesco Field before they went to the airport. I learned a frightening amount about the Broncos franchise, but also learned some interesting tidbits about the field itself. The field is actually not simply grass turf. It has plastic fibers interspersed throughout to allow natural grass roots to intertwine and get more solidly seated in the soil. This means any tearing up of clumps is minimized, and the turf holds together much more tightly. This saves money in repairing the surface between games, as well as minimizes inconsistencies in the field of play through the course of a game. Only 5 NFL teams currently use this system. It is more common in soccer stadiums in Europe. Also, the drainage structure and substrate under the turf allows for the field to be uncrowned. This means that, unlike most fields that are higher in the middle and lower on the sides to help drain water, this field is flat- like artificial turf fields. Not having to run up and then down hill on routes allegedly helps some receivers run better routes, and is part of that artificial turf advantage. One of the comments I have heard from both Titans fans and retard fans in general is that Peyton Manning will suck off of turf. Not only does his record not really support that claim, but the home field he is moving to isn't really traditional natural turf anyway.
I know, I am this close to turning in my Titans fan card. I am a UT fan first, and they're making me choose.
