Transfer Rumor: Field Turf on its way out - Natural Grass to return?

Recently, I have learned that Gillette Stadium will be replacing the synthetic turf. My source (I don't have permission to reveal his name), who is in the playing surface business, has said that the FieldTurf installed in November 2006 is shot, and that they will be looking at replacing it - possibly with a grass pitch? My source would not comment.

All I can say is: Please, Dear Lord, make this happen.

Anybody who has followed the Revs since before Gillette Stadium moved to a plastic pitch can tell you that despite the relatively more consistent playing surface the turf has had a somewhat negative effect on the health of the team. The Revs (and Patriots) have played two full seasons on the synthetic field - in those two years the injury list from the Revs has been incredibly active. Player after player have been going down with hamstring injuries, turf toe, sprained ankles, and muscle pulls - and some haven't made it back.

Let me state for the record that I am not a physical trainer, and this is entirely my own opinion based on my own observations. But when players practice on one kind of surface and move to another to play on, the muscles are going to respond differently. As a player, I have played on both, and I can honestly say that I have picked up far more injuries playing on synthetic turf than I ever have playing on grass. Rolled ankles, hyper extended knee strains, turf toe all seem to be common place on synthetic turf.

After watching the Milan vs Inter match last Sunday, and seeing the sod rolled out on top of the synthetic turf - I was reminded of how much the plastic grass changes the game. Grant Wahl discusses the attitude of certain players toward synthetic turf in his book, The Beckham Experiment, and their unwillingness to play on it for concerns over their health. Alexi Lalas, in his "The Sitter" video-cast on MLSnet.com, recently weighed the pros and cons of Synthetic Turf, and talked about how the ball travels differrently over the turf, and that even a synthetic turf surface will eventually lose its playability.

Gillete's turf is especially bad, as two teams have been playing on it for more than 2 years. That's a minimum of 23 home games (15 Revs + 8 Pats) per season, not including post season games. The field gets additional abuse from special sporting events (SuperLiga, International Friendly's, Gold Cup tourney's, World Cup Qualifying, etc), as well as concerts. Furthermore, the Patriots prefer to practice in the stadium, which undeniably leads to the further deterioration of the playing surface.

Considering the number of events held at Gillette Stadium, the cost of maintaining a natural grass surface, and the fact that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a career record of 31-3 on artificial turf, the likelihood of "The Razor" returning to a grass surface is minimal. However, soccer purists like me can hope for at least a re-vitalized playing surface whether it be in new FieldTurf or they forget to take up the sod after Brazil vs Mexico.

URGENT: USA vs MEXICO WILL NOT BE TELEVISED ON A MAJOR US NETWORK

Since first publishing this post, I have learned that MUN2 will be broadcasting in English with Phil Schoen and Marcelo Balboa as Commentators. This does not change my opinion that the game should not be televised on a major television network.


I don't know what the reasons are but they are secondary at this point. What is important is the following: what is undoubtedly the biggest game for the US Men's National Soccer Team's World Cup qualifying campaign, and could very well be the biggest draw the USMNT would ever have on a major network ratings wise, will not be available to the general public at large. It won't be shown on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic or even ESPN Deportes. It wont be on ABC, CBS, FOX or even FSC. The game will only be shown on MUN2 - a Telemundo Network channel. So not only won't it be on a major network, it won't even be in English.

This is shocking - what's even more shocking is that Telemundo is part of the NBC Network - and the fact that they will not be using one of their American based channels (NBC, USA, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo) to broadcast the game is beyond belief.

BUT YOU CAN HELP. FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS.

Per Jason Gatties' suggestion, there is now an online petition for the effort:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/usamexicotv

Sign it, send it to everyone you know, tweet it, post it on message boards-do whatever it takes to make this a campaign that actually carries some weight.

*UPDATE* Apparently I should have researched this particular petition site a little; it seems that ipetitions makes it appear you have to pay to sign. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. THERE IS NO CHARGE TO SIGN THE PETITION.

Online petitions are nice, and they're certainly easy, but clogging up email in-boxes and fax machines are even better. I realize that the effort needed can often be a deterrent, and so I'm making it easy for you:

First, copy and paste these email addresses into your email's recipient box.

brian.walker@nbcuni.com, adam.freifeld@nbcuni.com, Lyndsay.Iorio@nbcuni.com, dick.ebersol@nbcuni.com, Perkins.Miller@nbcuni.com, Jeff.Zucker@nbcuni.com

Make the subject "USA-Mexico on USA Network" or something similar.

Next, copy and paste this text into the body of your email:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am an American soccer fan. Yes, we do in fact exist, and we are likely more numerous than you might believe.

As an American soccer fan, I was distressed to learn that the United States Men's National Team's upcoming World Cup qualifier with arch-rival Mexico will not be broadcast on a widely-available English-language network.

This is unacceptable. Soccer, and in particular the USMNT, are growing in popularity at a rapid clip. The team's recent strong showing in a tournament last month has drastically increased their profile, and more Americans than ever are following them. USA-Mexico is not only a crucial game for World Cup qualification, it's also the most compelling, intriguing, and attention-worthy game on the 2009 calendar. The soccer community is anxiously awaiting the match, and will watch in larger numbers.

Broadcasting the game on a network few of us receive or would be forced to pay added cost for is not only unfair, it's bad business. Cutting the potential audience for the game off at the knees does not seem the best way to maximize it's potential worth to NBC Universal.

Therefore, I respectfully request that you move this match to one of your other more widely-available networks. USA Network would seem to make the most sense, though I am not picky. Please allow us, the American soccer community, see the game that we are so looking forward to. I'm convinced that this move makes sense for your company as well; aside from the millions of eyes tuned to your one of your networks, the PR ramifications are obvious.

Sincerely,
(your name)
An American Soccer Fan

Hit send.

E-mail and tweet as many people as possible. Get them to sign it too, and get tehm to pass it on. Paste it on facebook. Spread the word.... push social media to it's limit. Let's get NBC to put it on the air.

Check out the new Forums at Winning Ugly!

My buddies at Winning Ugly Radio have started a message board - and have given me my own Forum to engage you the listeners - I know there are hundreds of message boards out there and you may not want to join another one - but where else can you get a chance to fire back at the most insanely funny radio talk show on the interwebs...

so here is the link
Winning Ugly Radio Message Board

Midnight Ride Forum

we will give it a shot and see how it goes - let me know what you think!

Episode 11 - Has Steve Nicol Lost the Plot?

This week - TMR vents it's frustration at the tactics employed by Steve Nicol - and asks the question - Has Steve Nicol Lost The Plot? Also TMR responds to the question Open Cup or Super Liga - and reads your responses as well!

Click here for this week's episode

Episode 11 Show Notes
Music: Kicks - By Paul Revere and the Raiders Xica da Silva - By Jorge Ben (I know it's not original, but you can blame Peter Brown on CSRN's Divers and Cheats for introducing it to me) "Why?" clip - excerpt from Rhymocerous and Hiphopopotamus - Flight of the Conchords

Props:
Scott Bornstein, Sandra Franz, Zach Woosley, and the Immortal Erik Young http://www.winninguglyradio.com
Zach Woosley - http://www.gingetalksthefooty.com
Twiggster - Glory Glory Leeds! http://www.csrnusa.com/glorygloryleeds/ podcast: http://www.csrnusa.com/glorygloryleeds/glory-glory-leeds-show/
Jason Davis - http://www.matchfitusa.com
http://www.csrnusa.com
Chris Nee and Gary Andrews - http://www.twofootedtackle.com
Michael Johnson (MJ_in_Pitt) - http://www.steelarmy.com/
Kartik Krishnaiyer - http://thekartikreport.com
Brian O'Connell - http://houseofsoccer.blogspot.com/


Be sure to check out the new article by L.E. Eisenmenger
http://www.examiner.com/x-4128-New-England-Revolution-Examiner http://twitter.com/madisonroad
Additional Props to Jorge Ben, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Flight of the Conchords
and the Midnight Riders Tailgate Party

Episode 10 - SuperLiga or Open Cup?

In this week's episode, TMR discusses the fiasco of fixture congestion that is caused by SuperLiga and the Open Cup, and puts forth the argument that perhaps it's time for SuperLiga to go away. Also discussed is the Open Cup and its importance to soccer in America, a preview of this week's game in LA, injuries and a signing!!

Click here for this week's episode

Thanks for listening!

http://revsmidnightride.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/midnightrevs
revsmidnightride@gmail.com
http://defendthefort.net > Blogs > Hank Alexandre

Episode 10 Show Notes

Music:
Kicks - By Paul Revere and the Raiders
Xica da Silva - By Jorge Ben (I know it's not original, but you can blame Peter Brown on CSRN's Divers and Cheats for introducing it to me)
"Why?" clip - excerpt from Rhymocerous and Hiphopopotamus - Flight of the Conchords


Props:

Scott Bornstein, Sandra Franz, Zach Woosley, and the Immortal Erik Young
http://www.winninguglyradio.com

Zach Woosley - http://www.gingetalksthefooty.com

Twiggster - Glory Glory Leeds!
http://www.csrnusa.com/glorygloryleeds/
podcast:
http://www.csrnusa.com/glorygloryleeds/glory-glory-leeds-show/

Jason Davis - http://www.matchfitusa.com

http://www.csrnusa.com

Chris Nee and Gary Andrews - http://www.twofootedtackle.com

Michael Johnson (MJ_in_Pitt) - http://www.steelarmy.com/

Kartik Krishnaiyer - http://thekartikreport.com

Brian O'Connell - http://houseofsoccer.blogspot.com/



Be sure to check out
the new article by
L.E. Eisenmenger

http://www.examiner.com/x-4128-New-England-Revolution-Examiner
http://twitter.com/madisonroad

Additional Props to Jorge Ben, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Flight of the Conchords

and the Midnight Riders Tailgate Party

SuperLiga or Open Cup? What's your preference?

Personally - even though I was proud of the way the team battled back in the 2008 tournament to tie the game and win it in PK - I have always thought SuperLiga was a sham. When the first teams were announced back in 2007 and LA was included over New England (New England was second in the east, and LA was second from bottom in the west) it was clear to me that it was all a way to sell more David Beckham Shirts.

What gets me is SUM is willing to sponsor this bogus tournament and yet wont put any money into the Open Cup. Nowadays, most MLS teams these days use as an excuse to get their bench players some game time, but this tournament used to have a lot of appeal (especially when the Revs won it in 2007).

With the reduced roster size MLS teams are struggling to field players for these events along with league play - and if you add the Champions League also in the mix - you just get a ton of fixture congestion that most MLS sides can't keep up with as was the case with the Revs last year.

So which tournament means more to YOU and why? Let me know and I'll read your responses on my podcast.