Cal88;842334327 said:

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I think the seagulls stopped coming over when the stadium became too crowded, early in the tedford era. I wonder if they're starting to come back now...

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i sure hope they stay away. nothing like a bird shitting on you to ruin the gameday experience

First of all, I have never seen a case study showing any artificial surface is safer than grass after a miminum of 5 years of usage. But I can tell you this......eventually, whatever cushion any of the artificial surfaces have will eventually pack down due to use and due to the elements (hot vs. cold, wet vs. dry etc.). I don't know how any company will be able to change that.

Additionally, while it is true that the current surface looks better than the old "astroturf", it still has an awful glare. It can be seen on photographs taken witha paritcularly bright sun.......the field just seems to disappear in some pictures. A lot also has to do with the angle of the shot. Also, note the shadows of the players on the artificial surface. Much worse than it would be with grass. So the glare coming off the field is much harder on the players than it is with natural grass.

The rubber particles which are kicked up are nasty stuff, especially for the eyes.

And the slippage can be a factor on some of the artificial surfaces, especially for players who apply tape in "spats". "Spats" are not a wise thing in any case, but are even worse on an artificial surface because they reduce the traction cleats are supposed to provide.

Take a walk on Witter and slide your feet a little on the surface. You can feel the characteristics that cause slippage.

And, digging really deep here, I miss the smell of the grass during and after competition. There's just a nice overall ambience to a well done grass field.

I hate the floor of Memorial as it is now........visually I think it's cheap looking. And the glare makes seeing what's going on down there a bit challenging dependent upon the sun's position. Nothing is as good as God-Sod. But I will admit it is a step.....maybe a small step.....but it is a step above the astroturf that was installed back in the '80s.

i hate the bouncy feel you get while walking on it ..its like your walking on something.. wonder how it feels with cleats on ?

TomBear;842334386 said:

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I hate the floor of Memorial as it is now........visually I think it's cheap looking. And the glare makes seeing what's going on down there a bit challenging dependent upon the sun's position. Nothing is as good as God-Sod. But I will admit it is a step.....maybe a small step.....but it is a step above the astroturf that was installed back in the '80s.

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I take issue with only one statement you made, and that is the clear implication that the artificial surface now is only a little better than the AstroTurf installed in the 1980s.

For an artificial surface, the surface installed at Cal Memorial is much, much better than AstroTurf ever was.

At Cal Memorial (and just about every other place AstroTurf was installed), the layers were:

AstroTurf over
a thin rubber pad (maybe 1/2" at most) over
4" to 6" of asphalt over
soil

It was as hard as concrete and unforgiving. The stuff that's currently installed at Cal Memorial is a woven artificial fiber that has long "blades" with "pelletized" rubber that helps the blades "stand up" in an effort to approximate natural grass.

I've been on both surfaces and it's a remarkably different kind of playing surface. Does it compare well to natural grass? No, not really. I would prefer natural grass everyday and twice on Sundays (as the saying goes). But the current artificial turf is much, much better than AstroGarbage and is a reasonable alternative given the space restrictions at Cal and the demands on field space.

Gone are the days when you could actually shut down the field at Cal Memorial for 4 to 6 months to allow the grass field to be re-seeded and recover. Even if there were the field space to allow it, I'm not sure that the water resources exist to support it.

Phantom,

No kidding. I watched that second half too. What a game! I remember when it happened I was wine tasting up in Amador County and turned the radio off in disgust when it went to 30-0. Couple hours later I cut it on and we have a chance. This is the very first time I ever saw what actually happened.

WoodlandBear;842334419 said:

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Phantom,

No kidding. I watched that second half too. What a game! I remember when it happened I was wine tasting up in Amador County and turned the radio off in disgust when it went to 30-0. Couple hours later I cut it on and we have a chance. This is the very first time I ever saw what actually happened.

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Ha, thats great!


BTW, what made this win even sweeter is apparently Furd was trashed at home by ND that day. During the game they announced Cal was down 30-0 and they felt better about the thrashing. Right at the end of the game, with those turds saying "well, at least Cal lost too" they announced the final... and the fans left even more dejected.

At least thats what my friend who was there told me recently.

Found it: Furd 20 ND 48. Cant verify the start times of the games though

gobears725;842334330 said:

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nothing like a bird shitting on you to ruin the gameday experience

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Giving up 60 points usually does it for me.

FiatSlug;842334409 said:

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the surface installed at Cal Memorial is much, much better than AstroTurf ever was.

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much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much better.

I played (soccer) on both. There is no comparison.

Regarding the comparison of grass to the new turfs? Most of you who prefer grass must have an ideal grass surface in mind, and yes, before the first kick-off the surface might be ideal - then grass starts to degrade. Depending on conditions, it can degrade significantly and rapidly. Wet grass, divots, bare patches - all those will come to a natural grass field at some point. Is that field better than turf? I don't think so.

going4roses;842334407 said:

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i hate the bouncy feel you get while walking on it ..its like your walking on something.. wonder how it feels with cleats on ?

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It feels fast. Very much like running on a good track in spikes. As I recall, this field has a bit more bounce to it than the momentum stuff, but I've only been on this field in flats, whereas I've been on momentum in cleats.

Cal88;842334327 said:

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I think the seagulls stopped coming over when the stadium became too crowded, early in the tedford era. I wonder if they're starting to come back now...

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Oh they're back. Even landed on the field last year during the game. I gave it a write up:

http://www.bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77465&highlight=seagulls

Golden One;842333627 said:

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Even if it were feasible, which it isn't unfortunately, there is no way the artificial turf would be replaced with natural grass given the water situation in California.

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This is EXACTLY why I wrote a TLDNR post under the drought question. If we can't even FATHOM the use of grey water in CA, why are we jumping to build enormously expensive desal plants? You realize the campus produces enough non-potable, yet perfectly good irrigation grey water for about ten football fields, right? (Total guess on my part, but probably not far off.)

Come on Cal folks, you can be more creative than that! Weren't we supposed to be the ones taught to challenge conventional thinking? Going against the grain? Thinking outside the box?