Mount Francesa erupted over the shoddy Super Bowl 2023 field.
Mike Francesa, speaking on his BetRivers podcast after the Big Game, joined the chorus of those irate about the field conditions at State Farm Stadium on Sunday night.
“Did you know that the NFL actually planned for years so that you would have that grass on the field tonight?” Francesa asked incredulously. “Yes, you had years in the making to Tahoma 31, one of the newer breeds of grass that has been developed with the funding from the US Golf Association … so wait, the NFL planned so they could go out there tonight and ruin the damn game by turning it into an ice skating rink!”
The grass had been grown at a local sod farm for two years before the game, and installed at the stadium two weeks ago.
“What genius decided that this was the night to use that grass, and that that grass was ready, because you know what? That person should not be around for the next Super Bowl,” Francesa declared. “That destroyed the game tonight, that field. That field was an embarrassment! It’s the Super Bowl and you’ve got a field no one can stand up on!”
Francesa couldn’t say how much the field disrupted elements of the game such as the vaunted Eagles’ pass rush, which was held without a sack by the Chiefs’ offensive line and the quick release of Patrick Mahomes.
For his part, Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick excoriated the conditions of the field.
“I’m not going to lie: It was the worst field I ever played on,” Reddick said.
It was of no consolation to the Sports Pope.
“But clearly we watched 80 different players fall down or lose their footing,” Francesa concluded. “That was a folly! This was the Super Bowl — you spend a fortune on the game! And you’re gonna have a field like that on grass that’s never been tested before? And you developed this grass just for the Super Bowl, and you have that happen?”