The Hell That Is Astroturf On Full Display For The MLS Cup

By: Dave Martinez | November 23rd, 2009

astroturf After 120 minutes of play, a few things would be expected on the pitch from players competing at such a high level; fatigue, sweat, determination and things of that nature. But watching the bouncing ball amongst the walking wounded out there (and I am not just speaking of David Beckham), I have one message to the rest of the league:

Now you know the hell that is artificial turf.

It started with Javier Morales having to painfully leave the game when he planted his foot, and crashed knee on knee with Golden Balls. The unforgiving turf compounded the situation, with Morales knee having no where to move but the direction Beckham kicked it in. With no give beneath him, it was the tendons in his leg that had to give way.

Then Beckham himself was injured and couldn’t serve that classic bending cross with his turf consternation. As the night drew to a close, what began as a slight ankle contusion turned into a limping, dragging appendage.

Donovan Ricketts? His hand blew up like an RPG when he took a dive on a shot and landed on his palm. I am sure I can find a way to blame the turf for Donovans penalty miss too! (or maybe not)

And the list went on and on and on. Throughout the night, players were clutching their ankles, knees, leg muscles and all as the turf gave them a pounding the likes of which would make Stone Cold Steve Austin giddy.

Now compound that one night of misery and physical pain by 14 years and you have yourself the New York Metro Bulls.

But anyway . . . Congrats to Real Salt Lake for a tremendous job, and to the Galaxy for a valiant effort.

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Laurie

Heehee. And now you're getting the Google Alert crowd! (You muppet.) ;-)
Duane

Tacoma- I wonder when the last time you checked out AstroTurf was? It's actually the statefo the art for synthetic turf applications- the Field Turf you speak of- rubber crumbs and sand plus plastic blades- that's the old technology. AstroTurf today is widely usedand it involves new technology- products that reduce theamount of rubber crumb, products that are more durable and products that are made with renewable resources and out of recycled content. Check out www.astroturfusa.com to learn what is truly state of the art in synthetic turf.
dave martinez

Then Dustin I am completely confused hahaha
Dustin

Dave Seattle hates their turf. Just check out their forums, they've been complaining and schemeing how to change it since the season started. But we share the stadium with the NFL, goodluck with that.
dave martinez

Jeremy - you get the Smartest Smart Guy award for today. Exactly my point. Like I said - I am a fake turf bigot - it all stinks!
Jeremy

When the Mariners moved from the artificial surface of the Kingdome to natural grass at Safeco, was there a public outcry? Probably not. I'm guessing it's because Safeco has a retractable roof and is a weather controlled environment. I think the point Dave is making, if you take weather out of the equation, which is the preferred surface? I don't think he is advising Seattle to change their pitch. He is merely pointing out the encumbrance of field turf versus natural grass, no matter what city it's in.
dave martinez

Never in a million years would I think there would be an outcry anywhere in support of a synthetic pitch! I guess Seattle is happy and attached to theirs - eek.
GOALSeattle.com

LOL Redbulls fans.
Randall

Do you have any idea just how much rain we had here in the few days leading up to the cup? That field would have been a mud pit if it were grass. The game would have been one long ball after another and even uglier than it was.
morpheus11

apparently I suck at typing or proof-reading. That should have read....

Last time I checked Seatle couldn't grow grass... just weed(s).
morpheus11

Last time I check Seattle could grow grass... just weed(s).
Mark

Toronto FC is replacing the Fieldturf for a grass field for next season. Lots of players have complained about it, and I hope that real grass makes a difference. I don't know how much difference there actually is between playing Fieldturf or grass, but there is definitely a stigma about it. Some players don't want to go to teams that use turf.
dave martinez

Tacoma - I am a turf bigot. Just give me some grass!
Tacoma

You lose any and all credibility with your article title.

When is the last time actual Astroturf was used? HUGE difference between Astroturf and Fieldturf. To use the two terms interchangeably is naive and ignorant.

You also lack any actual familiarity with the turf at Qwest. It is actually quite 'giving' and quite soft surface. Having been on the pitch at the HDC, I can tell you that it is rock hard and brutal to run on. Not all artificial turf is the same as the crap that has been played on there in Jersey.
Jeremy

A Dynamo fan doesn't really have much leverage when disputing playing surfaces, but soccer shouldn't be played on plastic.