As a viewer of the game, it’s not often we think about turf conditions in the NFL. But on Tuesday, former superstar tight end Shannon Sharpe gave an interesting inside perspective from a player’s point of view.
Fielding questions from fans on Twitter, the now-analyst responded to a query about the worst fields he’s ever played on.
Here were his five responses:
“The Vet, Astrodome, Three Rivers, Arrowhead, Municipal Stadium.”
The Vet, Astrodome, Three Rivers, Arrowhead, Municipal Stadium https://t.co/79OZaAZGK4
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 11, 2022
Veteran’s Stadium, or “The Vet” was long considered one of the worst venues in the league. Known for it’s terrible Astroturf over the Phillies’ baseball diamond, the Eagles played their games in the widely-hated multipurpose stadium from 1971 to 2003.
The Houston Astrodome was hated for similar reasons. As the nation’s first ever indoor, multi-purpose stadium, football wasn’t the venue’s only priority. The field, referred to as “the worst turf in professional football,” had thin seams where the turf was patched together and was known to cause injuries.
Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium and Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium were also combo football-baseball venues. The one thing all of these stadiums had in common was an unforgiving Astroturf surface.
“It was cold and hard. That’s old three rivers stadium. The seats actually bounced in the stadium,” Sharpe explained.
Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, the only venue on this list that still exists, also utilized Astroturf until the organization switched to Bermuda grass in 1994.
The post Shannon Sharpe Names 5 Worst NFL Fields He Played On appeared first on The Spun.
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