TALK OF EARLIER SEASON HEATS UP
Icy, dangerous field conditions during Grey Cup leave CFL searching for answers
Embarrassing. Shameful. Those were among the words thrown out on social media talking about slick, icy field conditions at Commonwealth Stadium during Sunday’s Grey Cup.
You know something ’s wrong when many of the complaints come from players on the winning team.
On what was mostly an amazing celebration of Canadiana — organizers did a terrific job with events surrounding the game — those responsible for the field turf have some answering to do after a game where the Calgary Stampeders beat the Ottawa Redblacks 27-16.
Players from both teams changed cleats several times. Nothing seemed to work, the traction was horrible on a surface that is geared toward soccer. There was no snow on the turf, but it had iced up early in the week.
Inexplicably, whatever plan was in place to make the turf softer and less icy didn’t work. Like this snuck up on them? Aren’t there tarps you can cover a field with to heat it? In the U.S., sometimes helicopters are brought in to hover above the turf and heat it up. Was that an option? Something. Anything.
Snow is something that is out of your control, but you’d think there were solutions to what happened Sunday.
The league issued this statement: “The teams performed well and the game certainly produced a worthy Grey Cup champion. But it was obvious the field was slippery. While the teams chose to practice indoors this week, the field was groomed on a regular basis. However, with temperatures fluctuating for days, moisture accumulated near the base of the turf and ultimately froze.
“Weather and challenging playing conditions have long been a part of late season football. But we do plan to sit down with manufacturers and stadium operations staff this off season to explore what else could possibly be done in the future to improve the playing surface in such conditions.”
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie, who earns high marks for stepping up and not hiding behind problems, said: “One of the questions we’ll have to ask when we do a debrief, ‘Is there a particular type of turf that does better than others?’ That’s a good question to ask so we can get a better handle on it.
“Ironically, 15 years ago on Nov. 22, the NHL played an outdoor game and it was minus-25 and the ice cracked. Sometimes Mother Nature has a way of imposing herself on the equation.”
The players in the Grey Cup didn’t get an opportunity to play at their best, the fans who forked out hundreds of dollars for tickets didn’t get their best. And a league trying to expand its horizons with a broadcast into Mexico didn’t get an opportunity to showcase the game at its best.
Said Stampeders receiver Eric Rogers: “They should be ashamed with the field we had to play on. No snow, wasn’t that cold, so what’s the deal?”
Said former Montreal Alouettes quarterback Tanner Marsh: “Imagine, you battle through injuries, battle through the ups and downs of the season, fight all the emotions of a long, hardfought season. You get to the championship and the field is so bad you cannot even wear cleats. You have to wear turf shoes.”
Said Edmonton Eskimos receiver Natey Adjei: “The whole field playing like the BMO end zone, lol.”
Said Redblacks receiver Brad Sinopoli: “It’s certainly not an excuse for us. Both teams had to deal with really tough conditions. You saw guys slipping. It was tough.”
It’s Canada, right? The land of cold and snow. There will be discussions, plenty of them, to decide what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.
“One of the things that’s been long talked about and we’re working away toward is a season shift, moving the season up a bit,” said Ambrosie.
“That’s one thing, for sure, that will continue to be discussed. With what transpired here in Edmonton, (Eskimos president and CEO) Len Rhodes in particular has been very vocal and shown a lot of leadership on this issue. I spoke to him earlier today, that was the first thing he said: ‘Randy, let’s accelerate that conversation.’
“Their hope was they would put on literally the perfect Grey Cup festival and game and I think they came pretty close. They take a lot of pride in what they do here and in hosting the game. I’m proud of what they did, but I acknowledge that the field, in the end, wasn’t a perfect track for the game.”
If the CFL is going to move its season up, it won’t happen during 2019 with the Grey Cup in Calgary. Hotels and facilities are booked long ahead, too many plans are already in place. But 2020 is realistic, with most of the western teams pushing for it to happen.