Who knew the turf could catch on fire

[Rupert Patrick]

The Steelers Rams has finally started following a 25-minute delay due to a small spot of the astroturf (maybe 1 foot in diameter) catching on fire during the pregame pyrotechnics. I guess the NFL is going to have to figure out how to prevent this from happening in the future, but I for one wish they would do away with the pregame fireworks. I can see fireworks during the Super Bowl, but doing it in indoors on a field made of rubber pellets really is a recipe for disaster.

[ChrisBabcock]

The turf at Rams home games always has looked weird to me. Like it's "velvety" or something. Even in person. I attended a game there once. Who knew it was flammable!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Jones_Dome
Turns out it's just Field Turf which is used in many other stadiums. *shrug*

[BD Sullivan]

Given the Rams' current stadium situation, they'll probably use this as reasoning for a move.

[Reaser]

I for one wish they would do away with the pregame fireworks.

I'd rather they just did away with fieldturf.

[JohnH19]

Agreed. Those little rubber pellets getting kicked up all the time are annoying. It is still better than astro or tartan turf, though.

[Gary Najman]

Although not football related, I went to two sport events in Mexico where there happened something similar. The first was in 1986 in Monterrey (a city in northern Mexico) in a baseball playoff game featuring the local team vs. Aguascalientes. Monterrey's Derek Bryant (who had a brief MLB career) hit a home run (a very difficult thing to do in the old park in Monterrey) so there were fireworks, and one fell on the center field and the grass caught fire. The game continuedand Aguascalientes' center fielder (the fire was beneath him) or the umpires didn't took notice, but the crowd started to whistle and then the crew went to extinguish the fire.

The other instance was a soccer game in Toluca (a city about 35 miles west of Mexico City) against Cruz Azul (a popular Mexico City team) in 1993. Toluca are the Red Devils, and his mascot was known as "El Diablo Mayor" (the Major Devil) who for years came dressed as a devil and threw fireworks. Well, the game started and one firework fell on the roof of the stadium. The people on that stands (who were across me) panicked and the referee stopped the game. The incredible thing is that there were no fire extinguishers in the stadium and the game was delayed for nearly 45 minutes until the firefighters came. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the game resumed.

[LJP]

It has happended before, during a 1991 Saints vs 49ers game at the Superdome - http://legendsrevealed.com/sports/2015/ ... ng-a-game/

[Rupert Patrick]

There was a story on NBC News this evening about soccer fields made from recycled tires that some believe are a cancer risk for children. I thought the story was interesting, as many high school, college and professional football players play on artificial turf and there have been no stories of increased cancer risks due to playing on these surfaces:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fed ... ds-n435731

[BD Sullivan]

There was a story on NBC News this evening about soccer fields made from recycled tires that some believe are a cancer risk for children. I thought the story was interesting, as many high school, college and professional football players play on artificial turf and there have been no stories of increased cancer risks due to playing on these surfaces:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fed ... ds-n435731

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryla ... story.html

http://www.ktiv.com/story/28804188/2015 ... icial-turf

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/1 ... 97228.html

[Reaser]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/1 ... 97228.html

Not to sidetrack, but Kennedy HS is mentioned at the top of this article. I played against them in the state playoffs one year (we won), and their previous field (astroturf, and it rained) had the biggest crown I'd ever seen. When we were on our sideline you could only see the top of their helmets on their sideline. The stadium itself is one of the more popular/known in our state, a lot of teams in the area use it and it's usually one of the 'neutral' sites for state playoff games (coincidence that when we played them it was at their actual home field. They don't share that stadium anymore - hence the new fieldturf so they could have their own stadium.)