What should we call the stadium Pitt plays in?
- Thread starter pittdan77
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I doubt Sheetz would ever get the rights to a stadium, but I’d be interested to see what it’d be like if they did. For example, they could implement their Made-To-Order food stations around the stadium.
This has been a fun thread. But we likely should brace ourselves that the new name is more likely to be some kind of hybrid that will have the name Rooney in it (thus cementing it even more as the "Steelers" stadium, if that were possible). Something like Rooney Field at Highmark Park.
Whatever happens, I know Pitt won't say a whisper about it, but should take the opportunity to push for having the lighted Script Pitt logo (along with the Steeler logo of course) placed on the back of the scoreboard(which shows nothing but a undersized "Heinz Field" right now). So it can be seen from the Ft Pitt bridge, Mt. Washington etc... an original peeve of mine, though in retrospect since our logo changed so insanely frequently, and was so doofus like at times (torch cut, dinocat, etc) it's better that it didn't happen till now.
Oh yeah, renew the push for field turf too, it's not 1919.
Whatever happens, I know Pitt won't say a whisper about it, but should take the opportunity to push for having the lighted Script Pitt logo (along with the Steeler logo of course) placed on the back of the scoreboard(which shows nothing but a undersized "Heinz Field" right now). So it can be seen from the Ft Pitt bridge, Mt. Washington etc... an original peeve of mine, though in retrospect since our logo changed so insanely frequently, and was so doofus like at times (torch cut, dinocat, etc) it's better that it didn't happen till now.
Oh yeah, renew the push for field turf too, it's not 1919.
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For some reason that I can’t put my finger on, this Stadium name occurs to me:
BIG BIRD STADIUM
Go Pitt.
BIG BIRD STADIUM
Go Pitt.
Pittsburgh Stadium. Name the field for corporate sponsor... Like UPMC field at Pittsburgh Stadium.
I'm sure the Rooney's are sweating any swing in popular opinion in the locker room.
Why would they? Professional football players have a long expressed desire to play on grass rather than turf. While I suppose it's possible that someday that could change, it isn't likely to be anytime soon.
Exactly. I'll say that the grass field at Hunt's Field
is better than it used to be, and measurably better than 3 Rivers or Pitt Stadium turf...but still inferior to the state of the art field turf fields of today. It is like looking at a 1958 game especially in the rain. And they don't give a squat what the players want, it's a remnant of fogey Dan Rooney who dreamed of his field resembling Notre Dame, with dullard white slanty lines (until after Pitt finishes its season). Dan is dead. Time to move on from that.The guys who are paid a lot of money to play on that field disagree with you almost unanimously.
But what do they know?
I like the grass, and the field has been good for a while. They've done a pretty good job with the grass after a rocky start. Its in great condition for most Pitt games.
Not to answer for Joe, but...
This is not a current article, but I've seen several like it over the years. And, yes, the Steelers' players have given an opinion. A strong one for grass in every article I've seen on the subject.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...teelers-players-lobby-against-artificial-turf
Agreed. The playing surface has been a non issue in recent years. The disaster of the early years are just ingrained in fans’ memories.
The only research the players need is that they know what their bodies feel like after a game on turf versus what they feel like after a game on grass, and they all say that after games on turf they are much more sore in the following days and that it takes the little nagging pains that every football player at that level gets during the course of a game that much longer to feel better after games on turf.
And yeah, it's been a few years but one of the local papers did survey Stiller players. The only person who said he preferred turf was, not surprisingly, the kicker. And that was when the field at Heinz was in generally much worse condition than it has been the last couple of seasons.
I can't understand why this seems so hard for some people to get. I mean sure, current turf isn't anything like that piece of carpeting laid over concrete like they used to play on. But if you even walk on a new piece of field turf it's clearly a harder, less forgiving surface than grass. Someday (probably) the technology will make turf a better choice. But that day is not here yet, and it is unlikely to be here any time soon.
One more thing for those who have a hard time understanding this. The Stillers put in a turf practice field at St. Vincent for the first time last year. First of all, if the players really wanted to play on turf they'd have done that a long time ago. Secondly, even with the turf field available they still only use it when it rains and they are worried about tearing the grass up.
At the UPMC facility there is also one (and only one) outdoor turf field. And again, they use it when rain causes them to. On a nice day they practice on the grass fields all the time. Because that's what the players want.
At the UPMC facility there is also one (and only one) outdoor turf field. And again, they use it when rain causes them to. On a nice day they practice on the grass fields all the time. Because that's what the players want.
I did acknowledge the grass field is much better now than the punt-sticking-in- the-mud early days. But let's be fair n balanced, turf fields now are also better than the awful seam-strewn miscolored nightmare of the 3 rivers days, which also is ingrained in fans memories.
As a fan, a Pitt fan especially, I just think it would be an enhancement for higher quality logos and colors for our games (helping personalize the field when we have it) and more consistent play. I happen to be from the school that prefers that the game get decided more by the players than random slips or mud clods. I realize others like that variable though.
I also think it is grass 99% because Old Dan Rooney wanted it that way ... and i fully accept his prerogative ruled at the time and even why they decide to keep it that way going forward "because that's what dad wanted". They'll always say it's because of "the players" because that sounds good to the rabble, but I don't think it's anything the players think much of, nor would ownership give a rat's arse of their feelings on. Do they care that players don't want the regular season extended? Exactly.
Aesthetics? Some poor grass fields can look pretty crappy. Some of them can look fantastic. Regardless, at least it isn't that old astro "turf" which essentially was green painted cement.
And don't forget the green painted sand at Heinz when it first opened. Maybe the worst pro football field I have ever seen.
Hey things could be worse. This thread stirred memories of a story i'd read before about the conditions of the venue and field for the first NFL championship game.
https://www.history.com/news/the-bizarre-history-of-the-nfls-first-title-game
The part the article putting this thread into context is probably:
"The players who did play before a near-capacity crowd of 11,198 fans dug into the 6-inch layer of dirt and tanbark that covered the arena’s cement floor and had been used the previous two nights by a circus sponsored by the Salvation Army. Unfortunately, the performing elephants left behind more than just memories, and the manure odor caused at least one Chicago player to get sick on the field."
Not that I want to give the Rooneys or Nuttings any ideas...
No, you said it shouldn't matter to fans. Not that it does. Does makes no sense cause we don't play on it.
You obviously aren’t old enough to remember the days of dirt infields, the original AstroTurf or the field at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland or Baltimore. It was a different era for sure because those surfaces sucked year round.
They think about it the day after the game when they have a lot more aches and pains and it takes longer in the week for those aches to go away.
