MetLife: Rated The Most Unlikable Stadium By NFL Players
MetLife: Rated The Most Unlikable Stadium By NFL Players
The Athletic’s anonymous player survey determined that MetLife Stadium was the worst NFL stadium to play in, with 18.4 per cent of the vote, faring better than FedEx Field, home of the Commanders, which came in second place with 13.9 per cent.
The frequently criticized grass at the East Rutherford, New Jersey, location was a major source of complaints, so those weren’t all that shocking.
MADNESS IN METLIFE. 🤯
JETS WALKOFF WIN IN OT.
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/Q8BTUl9qSj— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 12, 2023
One of the players said, “Fans are horrible,” among other reasons why the stadium was awful. Everything about that place is horrible.”
Another player expressed dissatisfaction with the artificial turf, saying, “The whole place is lame and the turf is terrible.”
Giants owner John Mara stated at the NFL meetings in March, “I envision a day, my hope is we can get to a day at some point in the future when we can have a grass field that we’re able to maintain with two different teams and all the other events we have.”
David Bakhtiari sounds off on the NFL’s turf issue following Aaron Rodgers ankle injury at MetLife stadium. pic.twitter.com/d0Pn3EZOQJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 12, 2023
“I think we can get there at some point, Maybe it’s a hybrid product or something.”
For many years, the NFL stadium in America’s largest media market has been a logical foundation. It debuted a year after Texas’ AT&T Stadium and lacked the originality of the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium.
Nor are the gastronomic treasures of Northern New Jersey and New York largely absent. The playing surface at MetLife Stadium, however, has been the stadium’s most obvious issue. At best, it has led to complaints from coaches and players, and at worst, injuries.
I feel like an nfl lcc
📍 MetLife Stadium pic.twitter.com/BaTc09p1cY
— Jack Martin (@Jackxmartiin) October 13, 2023
The turf at MetLife Stadium does seem “a little tight,” according to John Harbaugh, who informed the reporters after Kyle Fuller suffered an ACL tear last season. Both former Giants players Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall have been vocal in their criticism of the stadium’s playing surface.
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) applauded the return to grass, but they were also quite critical of the artificial turf that was placed at MetLife Stadium.
No way Dobbs isn’t concussed 👀
Anyone else see this stumble
Watching the replay, his head hits the turf hard. #NFL pic.twitter.com/M6srxASvXy— Ellis Bryn Johnson (@YoitsEllis_FF) November 20, 2023
“The players have been vocal and clear about this issue and it is a good step to hear them that change needs to be made,” the NFLPA stated in an ESPN statement from November of 2022.
“The change will not come soon enough, though, for players who will be at greater risk the rest of the season.
People tried telling me the turf they used had no effect on the Super Bowl.
It’s hard for one of the best defensive lines in NFL history to get a sack. When the field they’re playing on is like a Slip 'N Slide.#FlyEaglesFly #Eagles pic.twitter.com/cKItunr8fo
— ☆𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘎𝘖𝘋☆ (@JalenCarterDPOY) November 20, 2023
Despite their best efforts, the Jets and the Giants have not been able to allay complaints about the field itself. In recent years, they have added pyrotechnics, lasers, T-shirt cannons, a sing-along national anthem, and LED bracelets that create a stadium-wide strobe light effect.
Despite their hopes for a more long-term solution, the clubs erected a synthetic pitch this season in response to many high-profile injuries and player concerns.
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