The heaviest hitter in the game will not block or tackle the ball. It just lay there.

This story comes from the archives of Texas Monthly. We keep it as originally released without updates to maintain a clear historical record.

Last summer, while preparing for his 11th season, Dallas Cowboys safety guard Charlie Waters backed down tenaciously in the second quarter of an exhibition game in Seattle. Although his left ankle was severely entangled and "blocked" by Nocaine, it still bothered him. The Seahawk receiver ran deep, then pulled up and returned. In favor of his ankle injury, Waters seized the opportunity to intercept. He stepped his right foot on the King Dome AstroTurf and finished the cut, but he transferred too much weight. If his short cleats slip, it will reduce stress. His taped right ankle withstood the torque, but a ligament on his knee was loose. Waters is absent this year, he has neither hit the ball nor been hit.

The non-contact injury that paralyzed Charlie Waters in August was not an isolated incident. Before the end of September, AstroTurf’s foothold also allowed Packers rookie Eddie Lee Ivery and Cincinnati receiver Billy Brooks (Billy Brooks), Austin native, former Oklahoma Sono, Homer, all bend their knees. The topic of artificial turf injury caused a fierce labor dispute in the National Football League, and the controversy began to permeate amateur track and field sports.

Without the invention of artificial turf, Charlie Waters would never play a professional game in Seattle. AstroTurf and its various synthetic competitors can completely close the sports venues from the weather. Without the dome, the NFL would not grant an expansion franchise to a city that rains a lot. In fact, the same injury as Waters has always been a hidden danger on the grass in the sun. Before the popularity of rubber splint "football shoes", football players wore long steel-pointed splints. These splints were often hung on the deep-rooted Bermuda, putting pressure on the ankles and knees. Ironically, the obvious elimination of this problem provided early AstroTurf sales staff with greater security. Promoters of artificial turf are now back to the next line of defense: it is no worse than football on grass and dirt. Is this answer enough? Recognizing that artificial turf is necessary in some places, should it be and possibly safe for athletes?

"Before I was injured, I was a champion of artificial turf," Waters told me. "Professionals decompose the game into variable and constant factors. The foothold on natural grass is a variable, but on artificial turf it is a constant, so there is no need to worry. The texture of AstroTurf is like a golf green. Just like a golfer, you must know which direction it is located in. If you are dealing with grain, you know that you have to round your cut. If you are fighting it, you know that your footing will be tight. So in a certain To a certain extent, the injury is my own fault: I should know.

"But I also know that if I do the same cut with the same shoes on the grass, my knees will not leave me like that. Maybe I have been thinking about it for too long. My strength is when I am mentally See the ability to take action when the time is right, without worrying about physical obstacles. Can I still make these actions?"

When the newly named Houston Astros outfielders start to throw more fly balls than usual, the composite age on the playing field begins. As the first tenants of Astrodome, Astros played on a thin grass meadow specially developed by Aggie scientists that can be grown indoors. The mixed lawn is self-contained, although it is hardly lush. But when the Astros and the visiting Warriors and Phillies looked up, the sunlight shining through the plastic panels on the dome roof was like a flash of light on the snow. The panel was quickly painted, and the grass began to die due to insufficient light.

The management of the first baseball/football stadium in Texas resolved the emergency with a call for technology. AstroTurf's parent company is Monsanto. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, has 60,000 employees and annual sales of US$4 billion. In the 1950s, Monsanto initiated research on artificial turf with the assistance of the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation funded a study that showed that downtown children who grew up on a concrete playground grew up with insufficient athletic ability (someone Think except basketball). When the Astrodome grass started to fail, Monsanto already had a test field at a preparatory school in Rhode Island. In the language of its manufacturer, the invention includes a half-inch-long monofilament nylon ribbon woven into a webbing made of heavy-duty polyester tire cord, a five-eighth-inch elastic foam pad, and a blend of local Highway specification, cast on the drainage pipe system.

Authors: Vanessa Ague and Arman Badrei

Monsanto established the Houston infield at the end of April, and in late September of the first year—the Astros ranked first in 23 1/2 games—the University of Houston’s game against Washington State at the Dome began in 1966. During the football season, in a piece of green grass like a game grass in a children’s Easter egg basket. All systems are used in conjunction with AstroTurf-a fast, durable, synthetic venue that is spread and stitched like a magic carpet, as its promoter puts it, "a zipper over three miles."

The new surface takes over quickly. The Oilers and Cowboys played in a stadium that could never grow grass. Grass disappeared from the 11 stadiums of the Southwest Conference (both SMU and Arkansas use two) so quickly that it is now almost forgotten. When Fred Akers' Longhorns headed to Missouri in September this year, the UT football team had not played on natural turf for five seasons since the Gator Bowl in 1974. Hearing the pain of slippery Missouri rye, one might think that the boys were asked to chop vegetables on Mississippi mud.

Darrell Royal once said that the coaches who complain about artificial turf are those without artificial turf. Regardless of the true merits, the synthetic field has become a prestige project and a trump card for recruiters. In the cheapest case, the cost of an AstroTurf football stadium will never be less than $250,000-a lot of money for sports directors with fewer resources than Royal. (Baylor funded its AstroTurf and called on alumni to "buy a yard" in the new field.) However, the consensus message of the Southwest Conference has not been lost by institutions such as UT-El Paso, UT-Arlington, and Blinn Junior College, nor has it gained sufficient wealth. The use of stadiums and football-enthusiastic public school districts justify cash expenditures. Elected school boards have now bought synthetic fields for twelve high school stadiums: one each in Wichita Falls, Plano, Garland, Highland Park, Pasadena, Spring Branch, and Aldine, two in Mesquite, and three in Dallas. Warrington Stadium has not been punished by football and is now the only major stadium in Texas with natural grass. Like Jett Rink, we can't help but believe that the petrochemical industry is a major advancement in agriculture.

Monsanto's success on AstroTurf naturally inspired competitors, many of whom encountered unexpected problems. Poly-Turf died when the Schaefer stadium of the New England Patriots became turquoise; Orange Bowl PolyTurf turned the Miami Dolphins game into a farce of falling. Tartan turf in Tennessee turned black. However, despite its early color difficulties, Tartan Turf proved to be a worthy competitor. Manufactured by St. Paul's 3M Company-famous for its scotch tape-tartan is designed to resemble a plush carpet instead of synthetic grass. After trying different cleats and shoes, some players concluded that wet tartan turf provides a better foothold than wet AstroTurf. Tartan's Southwestern customers are impressive-Oklahoma, TCU and Dallas Cowboys. But when material costs soared due to the oil embargo in 1974, 3M stopped marketing turf and switched to more profitable tennis and basketball courts. For more than a year, Monsanto has enjoyed a monopoly. Despite the emergence of new competitors, Monsanto’s AstroTurf division has fulfilled all the dreams of free enterprise: like Kleenex and Jell-O, its brand name has become a generic name.

Outside of Texas, AstroTurf's main competitor now deservesly comes from natural grasses-or almost natural grasses. Prescription Athletic Turf (PAT) was developed at Purdue University by faculty agronomist WH Daniel and stadium manager Melvin Robey. It grows deep-rooted grass in thermally controlled sand that is laid on a grid of plastic pipes connected to a drainage pump. PAT won the contract for the Denver Mile High Stadium and the post-Poly-Turf Orange Bowl; last year, when the City of San Francisco decided to demolish the AstroTurf in Candlestick Park, Robey's branch, SportsTurf, got a firm foothold. But the jury still did not determine the reliability of Shaji Lawn. When Purdue’s own PAT field was re-paved, the grass almost withered due to excessive water and fertilizer, resulting in shallow roots, large turf and unstable footing. In San Francisco last summer, the bay wind almost blew the sandy basic path to the plastic pipe. PAT's most ambitious football career is the RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington, which has long been known for rainy autumns and the worst natural grassland in the NFL. "When they dyed TV red, I played there," Harvey Martin of Dallas told me. "There is no grass-it is painted mud. After playing a few times, your arms and fingers will turn green."

Currently, AstroTurf sales staff can claim that they are actually at a deadlock in the price competition between their products and Saji grass. Installing a synthetic football field now costs approximately US$300,000, but this does not include earthwork and asphalt. On the other hand, maintenance costs are almost zero. If customers use tarps to protect their carpets from sunlight, they should be able to get 10 years of service at a total cost of approximately US$500,000. The installation price of sand-based grass is only 200,000 US dollars, but the annual water, fertilizer, and labor maintenance costs are about 30,000 US dollars. During the same ten-year period, the total amount of Shaji grass theoretically was US$450,000.

But AstroTurf is so cheap only because another competitor invaded the synthetic materials market. SuperTurf originated from Cameron University, and its pristine stadium can accommodate the schedule of its NAIA Independent Aggies and three high schools in Lawton, Oklahoma. In 1974, Cameron's head coach was John Linville, who used to be Rice's assistant. Linville favors artificial turf because of its durability and recruitment advantages, but Tartan has withdrawn its products, and AstroTurf is quoting US$400,000. One of Linville's players is the son of Dallas pitch contractor Bill Pascal. After hearing about Linville's plight, Paschal inspected a synthetic oil field at Murray State University in Kentucky and concluded that if he could purchase the materials, he could complete the work himself. A brief voice from Monsanto told Paschal that AstroTurf would not deal with subcontractors and all previous imitators had gone bankrupt. The Dallas businessman exclaimed: "You mean you are the only artificial turf company in the United States?"

Paschal found a supplier in Chevron, and its anti-sun, grass-like Polyloom II has become popular in highway barriers and cemeteries. Klegecell in the United States made cushions from plastic resin. After Cameron University, Lawton School District, and a local petroleum foundation raised $300,000, the ground was installed in the summer of 1975.

As Paschal promised, Cameron's SuperTurf persevered. At the same time, Linville applied for Rice's next head coach vacancy, but did not succeed, and then accepted Pascal's invitation to become the vice president of sales for Garland's new SuperTurf company. SuperTurf bid low prices for high school stadium jobs in Plano and Mesquite, and opened up a lucrative new market in the Middle East, where water shortages and alkaline soils confused the Arabs’ love of football.

SuperTurf's major breakthrough came when the negotiations between Monsanto and the New England Patriots were in trouble, and they faced the problem of replacing the blue Poly-Turf. At the urging of Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks, SuperTurf got the job, and he was familiar with Cameron's experiments through his previous relationship with OU. Linville, who has gained NFL credibility, attacked the exposed heel of his big rival: players complained that AstroTurf suffered more injuries. Linville called SuperTurf a "sturdy playing field that is not difficult for athletes" and claimed that SuperTurf pads provide much more impact protection than Monsanto's. He argued that because the tufted fibers of his product are denser and UV resistant, they can avoid the abrasions so common to players on AstroTurf. In addition, because his fibers are upright, there are no "particles," and they will eliminate the danger of excessive traction-what Linville calls "foot fixation"-paralyzing Charlie Waters.

Like any product that dominates its market, AstroTurf has many satisfied customers. Despite SuperTurf's enthusiastic courtship, when the era of Monsanto's "second-generation" artificial grass arrived, the Wichita Falls School Board of Directors stayed at Monsanto. As early as 1970, the board of directors purchased AstroTurf for the new Memorial Stadium, when most Southwestern Conference Colleges made a decision. Wichita Falls received 9 years from the state's first high school artificial turf, 4 years later than the product warranty. When the tornado hit the stadium directly last spring, the asphalt had already been exposed-which sparked continued rumors that the wind had loosened the carpet. Despite the terrible financial pressure that the tornado has put on the region, the managers did not regret the cost of the new AstroTurf.

Sports director Bill Jeter echoed Monsanto’s sales promotion: efficient land use, maximum stadium utility. "Except Sunday, we play games on it every day. Since the seventh grade, our only maintenance is to clean it occasionally. When we have grass, if we rain in September, by November, our fields are nothing more than A bald head."

Cavaliers high school coach Morris Mercer also has no reservations. "On the one hand, our laundry room has been reduced. When I was sitting here on Friday afternoon watching the sleet, I was happy to know that we had a place to play. I think because of it, we let more children go out and play. Football. They know Texas has it, they know the Cowboys have it, so they think they are top-notch."

Despite hating its advantages to football, artificial turf distorted Major League Baseball. In the fourth game of this year’s World Series, Pittsburgh’s straight ball bounced off the Baltimore pitcher’s shin, but it was like a hard ball to the Orioles first baseman Eddie Murray and was cheated. The pirate sprinted in vain. Later, Baltimore pitcher Tim Stoddard hit the ball for the first time in a major (because the American League’s designated batsman rules do not apply to this year’s series), should have easily hit the shortstop, but in the grid It bounced on the pad to bring the ball into the left court, and gave the weak club a World Series RBI. With talents like Willie Stargell and Dave Parker, Pittsburgh has hardly compromised to adapt to Three Rivers Tartan. However, the emergence of artificial turf baseball/football fields created a game style pioneered by the Kansas City Royals and adapted by the Houston Astros last summer.

"It emphasizes speed over strength," said former Houston pitcher Larry Dirk, who is now an Astro public relations officer. “Pitchers don’t like artificial turf because of its low base shooting percentage. Infielders like it because they get a real bounce. In general, baseball players don’t object because it reduces rain and thus reduces double-headed games. The baseball player was not injured. They just need to worry about carpet burns."

Professional football players know that sooner or later they will get injured in some way. For the benefit of outsiders, they often shrug their shoulders with a cold bluff. Charlie Waters listed the football surgery scars he left on sports writer Frank Lukesa. He said: "Now let's take a look. There are left ankle, left elbow, left arm, left shoulder and left knee. My face is Right side, right shoulder, now right knee... When they see me in the locker room, I will scare some rookies." But at more thoughtful moments, they are sometimes surprised by the physical loss of their livelihoods. . "I have been reading it," Waters told me. "If an athlete has played in the NFL for three years, do you know how likely he is to be cut?" His pause forced me to admit ignorance. "One hundred percent, man. One hundred percent."

Excessive traction on the AstroTurf texture poses a non-contact threat to the ankles and knees, causing football professionals to approach panic and anger. They know that a blow to those fragile joints may end their careers-why tamper with their footholds to exacerbate the danger? Another more common danger is the impact of falling on artificial turf, which is an important cause of fractures. Although their own mats are helpful here, the players claim that the shock absorption level of turf mats is highly exaggerated. "The stadium staff took good care of the Texas Stadium carpet," Waters said, "but it's difficult. It's like playing in a parking lot." "Strawberry"-a euphemism for wear and tear- Probably the most common artificial turf injury. Wear occurs in all synthetic areas, new and old, but the worst surface is worn AstroTurf. The weakened nylon pile allows the bare flesh to rub on the webbing—similarly, the webbing is made of a material thick enough to be used for radial tires. Secondary infections are usually accompanied by bruises. This fall, when the Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann was thrown to the new AstroTurf of the St. Louis Cardinals, he needed antibiotics for the entire next week.

Although appropriate footwear is carefully cited in the "Player Traction" chapter, "Excessive Big Toe Bend" is one of only two endemic hazards that AstroTurf actually recognizes in its technical reference manual. The other is excessive heat preservation in summer weather. However, the University of Texas’ study of AstroTurf—the university lost a player to a fatal heat stroke on the grass a few years ago—shows that the widely publicized 115-degree reading on the floor is more physiologically significant at five feet. The height of the movement dropped rapidly. In any case, to cool the field, just spray a little water on it. (Cowboys assistant coach Gene Stallings, then the head coach of Aggies, presided over the original AstroTurf installation at Texas A&M; he had to balance the logic of installing sprinkler systems for this purpose with what those stupid Aggies gave them Some scourges of artificial watering jokes.)

SuperTurf's technical manual just provides another sales promotion, explaining why their products are better than AstroTurf. The only evidence that the product is safer is the California laboratory's conclusion that at a temperature of 72 degrees, SuperTurf carpets and cushions "provide at least four times the impact protection of Monsanto." The National Football League Players Association remains skeptical. After the Consumer Product Safety Commission twice rejected the association’s request for regulation of the artificial turf industry, NFLPA Director Ed Garvey testified in the U.S. Senate about SuperTurf’s shock absorption requirements: “Because the federal government has failed to regulate the product, this is a manufacturing The only feature that manufacturers need to test for safety. But, is SuperTurf less harmful? Is it safer to play on natural grass than on natural grass? In humid or dry heat, or at temperatures below freezing, Or when the surface has been used for two, three or four years, what are its characteristics? What reports, what information, and what technical data does the Product Safety Committee require manufacturers to provide? Nothing we know."

Despite taking into account the injury, but on the day of the game, the players are most concerned about the playability of the stadium. In this sense, artificial turf provides a good service for professional football in sunny weather, because it can accelerate the already very fast game. "When you talk about speed, it's a good surface," said Harvey Martin of the Cowboys defensive end. “You won’t find a dry artificial field slow, but when it’s wet, that’s another matter. If there is a little rain on the grass, you can still dig in. Even if it drizzles on the artificial turf, you can barely stand. Get up. When the moisture freezes, it's like a hockey field."

Between the passing lanes, close-end Billy Joe Dupree blocked a player of height and strength like Martin. "Artificial turf makes defensive wingers more elusive," Dupree said. "He took an extra step, maybe a step and a half, so this block is more difficult to read. This makes me more alert and attentive. As a receiver, the synthetic field makes me a step faster. It is only difficult to gain a foothold when the turf is wet or worn. Then the route must be very clear and cautious, which will eliminate this advantage. But when the conditions are right, it will add some steps for people like Tony Hill and Drew Pearson. Defensive guards have difficulty reacting because of him Trying to keep up with us while running backwards. See what happened to Charlie."

Undoubtedly, affected by the hostile crowd and the difficulty of winning there, the Cowboys will say that in terms of damage potential and playability, their least favorite synthetic stadium is the Bush Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, the headquarters of Monsanto. There is. AstroTurf becomes more dangerous due to wear and tear, and in St. Louis, the extensive use of the Cardinals baseball team has accelerated this situation. This wear and tear will not only cause more abrasions, but the cushion will lose its elasticity and the seams will also split, increasing the risk to the ankles and knees. Then there is the texture of AstroTurf, that is, the fibers tend to be inclined at an angle of 15 degrees. In a baseball/football stadium like Busch, the AstroTurf grain goes from home plate to midfield-parallel to the side of the football field. Therefore, the Cowboys expect good traction and dangerous footholds on the grains of the alternate quarter-this is a more important strategic consideration than the wind, especially since the field is often wet.

Also despised by the Cowboys is the Houston Space Museum, albeit with fewer visits. Avoiding the deterioration caused by ultraviolet rays, the indoor AstroTurf wears longer, so the cushion is less elastic. In addition, the wide use of Astrodome means that large patches of carpet will never be permanently fixed, which exposes football players to a 45-yard-high line, exposed zippers at the seams, and carpeted carpets laid on oval carpets. An extremely unstable foothold on the plank. Baseball dirt. "You just hope the referee will never put the ball in a bad place," said Oilers running back Earl Campbell, who is already an AstroTurf veteran-he has never played in Texas. Also rarely exercise on the grass. "AstroTurf exhausts your legs, especially when you are practicing on it." When I asked about the New England Super Turf, Campbell said: "That's better because it's softer. In fact, that's me playing. The best man-made venue ever. Tell the people at Astrodome to get that, okay?"

The receiver Ken Burrough smiled. "We have only played twice on the Patriots' new court. We are happy to go home anyway because we have won important games both times. I have played with the Oilers in Astrodome for ten years. , Used to be in South Texas. That stadium ranges from rodeos to baseball to football to motorcycle competitions. They do their best. If I can choose and the weather in Houston is right, of course I would like natural lawns. Every year At this time, when we are beaten and injured, the grass will definitely feel good. On the grass, you can really lay out and catch the ball-leave your feet completely and dive to catch the ball. You have to be more careful on the artificial turf A few years ago at Astrodome, when I jumped into a ball, I broke my arm just because of the impact of the landing. Sometimes you can protect yourself by falling, but it depends on how you are resolved. It’s true It hurts, and it really affects you. Year after year, year after year, you keep beating, beating, beating. You know you will get burns, you know you will get bruises, but football is not simple The way out. It’s easier to admire the big roof when we play games when the weather is obstructed. I like Astrodome because I like to play at home."

Both the Bush Memorial Stadium and Astrodome now have new AstroTurf venues, which have an improved and reportedly greatly improved mat. Natural grass substitutes are more than just the safe stickiness of a gorgeous lawn or a downpour in August. Before AstroTurf was invented, professional football players hated multifunctional stadiums because the baseball infield was very crowded. Any grass football field that is affected by ordinary use and unfortunate weather will quickly wear out into mud. For falling objects, the distinction between thin asphalt and bare soil that is alternately soaked, baked, and frozen seems quite academic. If the NFLPA determines that artificial turf is more dangerous than grass, it may find that the damage is cumulative rather than direct. Players like to say that artificial turf shortens the average time of an NFL career by two years, but they cannot record this estimate. Nevertheless, their complaints are more than just anger. When Tony Dorsett dropped a heavy mirror on his toe, the Dallas doctor excluded him from the league opener because of St. Louis AstroTurf. They let him play on the hard but natural ground of Candlestick Park next week. San Francisco dismantled its AstroTurf under tremendous pressure from Joe Thomas, general manager of the Forty. The 49ers believe that if they want to get their money value from OJ Simpson, they must fight for natural turf. OJ Simpson had his best time on Buffalo AstroTurf, but now he has a bad knee.

The few conclusions drawn by the doctor are temporary. Dr. James Garrick, director of the San Francisco Sports Medicine Center, studied the injuries in 228 high school artificial turf matches, but it can only be said that wet AstroTurf is safer than dry AstroTurf-although the playability is worse-and each product "must be separate Evaluation, rather than categorizing it as a'synthetic' turf." Although Seattle-based orthopedic surgeon Harry Kretzler criticized the industry’s safety claims, he said: "We talk about this issue as if we can find suitable shoes in the laboratory. It's the same as solving it on the surface, but it rarely happens without a collision. The way players are hit is different. When a player is lifted by one player and from the side by another player When hitting the ball with a "punish him" attitude, he will be injured regardless of his shoes or surface... There is not enough evidence that you should or should not use grass or artificial turf."

In the course of a season, synthetic turf is undoubtedly more durable than natural grass, which makes the game more attractive to spectators. However, on a certain day, its playability may be worse. Football players liked the grass of the Los Angeles Memorial Stadium until it started to rain in California during the climax of the football season-witnessing the play-offs of the Rams-Vikings National Football Championship two years ago. But those drenched and muddy players actually enjoy a foothold more than the Oilers and Steelers. They played in a shallow and cold lake on the Three Rivers lattice turf in last year's AFC Champions League. However, any spectators still present in the end can see the number on the humiliated Oilers jersey.

Customers in this industry seem to care the least about these issues. Representatives of AstroTurf can and do quote an early National College Sports Association study that found no substantial difference between the injuries reported on synthetic turf and grass. A study commissioned by the NFL owner from the Stanford Research Institute concluded that artificial turf actually caused slightly less serious injuries than grass, even though synthetic sites reported more minor injuries. A "serious" injury is an "injury that causes a player to miss two or more games." The tremendous pressure (some of which is self-imposed) that professional football players play when they are injured leaves room for a large amount of punishment organization and pain in the gray area of ​​this definition. However, Monsanto’s sales promotion cleverly mocked those who complained. Although pictures of women playing hockey happily on AstroTurf are shown, sales materials provide such a slogan in response to injuries: "Football is not a contact sport. Dancing is a contact sport. Football is a contact sport. Collision movement."

Even among athletes, there is no real consensus. The morning after the Super Bowl last year, Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw said his soreness was not because of the intense game, but because of the different tension in the muscles on the artificial turf. But Dallas receiver Drew Pearson-the player who benefits most from the dry, fast synthetic court-told me bluntly, "There is no benefit to playing on artificial turf. I have nothing to say about it. Said. One of the reasons the Super Bowl was so good last year was that it was held on the grass of the orange bowl, where there were new prescription sports turf. It was a good, solid foothold, but it was very fast.

“The fans don’t think much about the venue, but the athletes think too much. We don’t have much to say about it, because we are not on the team board; we are not even on the league’s injury committee. This is very frustrating, especially When you see a player going out due to a knee injury and no one is even around. It makes you think about changing your game. When you know that if you move a person violently your knee may be injured, maybe you should just go straight Go through him instead of taking the opportunity. You know that if you play on artificial turf, the risk of injury is greater. You must be aware of this every time you step on the court."

In a stadium in Texas, a column of sunlight diagonally across the slotted dome will not nourish the grass better than the translucent Astrodome board. In Irving, just like in Houston, a completely closed stadium will receive amazing air-conditioning bills. However, Cowboys general manager Tex Schram explained the bigger reason for the stadium design: "Mr. Murchison believes that football is an outdoor sport, but fans should be protected from natural disasters." After confirming, the Cowboys management chose Tartan turf because they thought it was the best choice for money. (According to Dr. Garrick's research, it is also safer than AstroTurf.) "We haven't considered how to replace it," Schramm said. "The problem has not yet arisen." The management's role is to make this sport a marketable and profitable spectator sport. The consequences of this depend on one's point of view. Monsanto’s sales brochure quoted Galsayers, the current director of sports at Southern Illinois University: “I played on AstroTurf. Now, I coach a large-scale sports project that relies heavily on AstroTurf. In these two On the one hand, AstroTurf rated me first.” When he was still the Chicago Bears, he was experiencing painful recovery from the knee surgery that Charlie Waters is now facing. Sayers told Sports Illustrated, “This will shorten it. career."

Near the sideline of the Texas Stadium, I found the tartan carpet blistered in some places and torn more. When I put my fingers into the bare mat, I found it had the consistency of Silly Putty. But every Cowboys player I've asked told me that, despite being hard, the home carpet is well preserved and in excellent condition. Unlike the Oilers, which switch back and forth based on the surface of the next game, the Cowboys practice on the grass every day. The management did not punish players with artificial turf-even though Tom Landry banned the use of golf gloves this year because he considered them "hot dogs." When I got up from the mat inspection, I noticed an orange spot on my hand, slapping it like a cockroach in the kitchen. A ladybug. I noticed more orange-countless monarch butterflies flying over the hot tartan on a 5-foot-high plane, and scientists at the University of Texas said the air had cooled down. This hasn't happened yet, but one day, a humid winter storm will come to the Cowboys game through the sunny slot I saw. When players fall in the worst case, fans will look down at the ice storm. Some people might understand the sense of temporary dislocation experienced by many football players when they first set foot on a synthetic field.

Many teenage men are forced into football mats by social pressure, and many are injured. However, high school athletes did not really accept the ethics of "playing with pain". When they are tired or injured, they stand up. Only the best high school players can get scholarships to play football in college. In terms of lifestyle and choices made — not to mention the scrutiny of major league scouts — college players are at least semi-professionals, even though they are at an amateur level. Few people will quit football games because of artificial turf, but people complain about high temperatures and strawberries everywhere. Only the best-and usually the uninjured-can play professional football. Contrary to Vince Lombardi's nonsense, professional football is not a natural condition for humans. The body is too weak to bear so much abuse for a long time. Few professional football careers span more than ten years, and most players have spent a lifetime of physical discomfort during these years. Because they are big and fast, in their best condition, and keen to go all out, they can’t avoid injury; if there is no accident, artificial turf allows players to run faster, collisions and falls are heavier, thus increasing Danger in the game.

Two seasons ago, before the Cowboys traded him to the Bears, Flanker Kim Richards withdrew from the game at the Texas Stadium. He trot stiffly towards the bench, leaning slightly to the left as if his ribs were injured, but his eyes fell on Coach Landry. Although professional players are the best in sports, they are also the end of the team. The injured player did not get rehabilitation leave; he lost his job. Richards remained calm until he was out of sight of the coach, and then his right hand hit the bruise on the elbow and he rotated in pain. If someone pours kerosene on the wound, he can't twist, stomp and curse more.

This is not even "reportable" wear. In order to get the league's injury statistics, synthetic turf wear must allow players to miss two practice games. The next time the Cowboys get the ball, Richards is back. The management does not want to hear the news of the player's injury. We, the audience, really don't want to see them. The game is fun-as long as it is moving. In the stands, we were too far away to see much. At home, the Internet cut off commercial advertising. When Charlie Waters fell, the zoom lens did not focus on him for long.

"Artificial turf is painful, and it really hurts you. Year after year, you keep working hard, working hard. You will get burns, you will get bruises, but football has no easy way out."

—Ken Burler, wide receiver, Houston Oilers

"It will exhaust your legs, especially when you are practicing on it. New England super turf is better because it is softer. In fact, it is the best artificial venue I have ever played. Tell Astrodome People go get that, okay?"

——Earl Campbell, running back, Houston Oilers

"Artificial turf makes the defensive winger more elusive. He took an extra step, maybe a step and a half. As a receiver, the synthetic court made me a step faster. Only when the turf is wet or worn can it be difficult to gain a foothold."

——Billy Joe Dupre, tight end, Dallas Cowboys

"There is no benefit to playing on artificial turf. I have nothing to say about it. You know, if you play on artificial turf, the risk of injury is even greater. You have to be aware of this every time you step on the court. ."

——Drew Pearson, wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys

Author: Ashley Hope Perez

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