Artificial Turf: Change From the Ground Up

SI Staff | May 21, 2014

Artificial Turf: Change From the Ground Up

The Immaculate Reception played out just as the Steelers drew it up on the Tartan Turf at Three Rivers. (Donald J. Stetzer/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/AP)

The Immaculate Reception played out just as the Steelers drew it up on the Tartan Turf at Three Rivers. (Donald J. Stetzer/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/AP)

Larry Csonka and the Dolphins pounded their way to a perfect season on the plastic at the Orange Bowl in 1972. (Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated)

Larry Csonka and the Dolphins pounded their way to a perfect season on the plastic at the Orange Bowl in 1972. (Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated)

Lynn Swann stole the show in Super Bowl X, before Miami’s Orange Bowl reverted to grass. (Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated)

Lynn Swann stole the show in Super Bowl X, before Miami’s Orange Bowl reverted to grass. (Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated)

Herm Edwards (46) hated his hometown surface in Philly but got the perfect hop off the Giants Stadium turf in the Miracle at the Meadowlands. (G. Paul Burnett/AP)

Herm Edwards (46) hated his hometown surface in Philly but got the perfect hop off the Giants Stadium turf in the Miracle at the Meadowlands. (G. Paul Burnett/AP)

Walter Payton broke Jim Brown’s rushing record on the hardpan at Soldier Field in 1984. (Andy Hayt/Sports Illustrated)

Walter Payton broke Jim Brown’s rushing record on the hardpan at Soldier Field in 1984. (Andy Hayt/Sports Illustrated)

And the Bears’ D stood its ground there through much of the ’80s. (Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated)

And the Bears’ D stood its ground there through much of the ’80s. (Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated)

Lawrence Taylor turned the turf at Giants Stadium into a terror zone for opposing quarterbacks. (John Biever/Sports Illustrated)

Lawrence Taylor turned the turf at Giants Stadium into a terror zone for opposing quarterbacks. (John Biever/Sports Illustrated)

Emmitt Smith scooted past Payton’s mark on the “RealGrass”—i.e., not real grass—at Texas Stadium in October 2002. (Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated)

Emmitt Smith scooted past Payton’s mark on the “RealGrass”—i.e., not real grass—at Texas Stadium in October 2002. (Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated)

The Rams’ speed-based offense of the late ’90s and early 2000s benefited from a fast surface that allowed Marshall Faulk and his mates to cut quickly. (David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated)

The Rams’ speed-based offense of the late ’90s and early 2000s benefited from a fast surface that allowed Marshall Faulk and his mates to cut quickly. (David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated)

Randy Moss and the 2007 Pats found the artificial turf at Gillette, installed the previous year, conducive to scoring. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustated)

Randy Moss and the 2007 Pats found the artificial turf at Gillette, installed the previous year, conducive to scoring. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustated)

The strip of Tartan Turf on which Franco Harris completed the Immaculate Reception. (John DePetro/The MMQB :: Courtesy Pro Football Hall of Fame)

The strip of Tartan Turf on which Franco Harris completed the Immaculate Reception. (John DePetro/The MMQB :: Courtesy Pro Football Hall of Fame)