|
|
February 1, 2004
SOD KING: Toma is the master of Super Bowl playing surfaces
COX NEWS SERVICE
When George Toma prepared the playing surface for the first Super Bowl, he was given a 3-by-4-foot truck to hold his equipment.
Thirty-seven years later, Toma is still the head groundskeeper for the Super Bowl but now has a bit more support.
Instead of that small truck, he has three tractor-trailers full of equipment at his disposal.
"It's a pretty big job," Toma said. "For a 75-year-old man, I still love it."
Toma, nicknamed the "Marquis de Sod," is the Babe Ruth of groundskeeping. He has been in charge of the playing surface at every Super Bowl.
He has starred in an ESPN commercial, has had groundskeeping's highest honor named after him and has written an autobiography that will hit stores in March.
His age isn't slowing him down.
"I can't sit still," he said. "I haven't been home but 90 days in the past four years."
A look at Toma's recent schedule reveals the respect he gets from the sporting world.
After Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego, Toma flew to Fort Myers, Fla., to help rebuild the field at the Minnesota Twins spring-training home.
He left Fort Myers in April for Honolulu, where he spent months converting the Aloha Stadium field from artificial turf to natural grass.
He planned to return to Kansas for a Christmas break, but those plans were quickly changed.
"The Saturday before Christmas, I got a call from Mobile," he said. "They were having problems with the field for the Senior Bowl, so I went down there.
"When I came back, the Superdome in New Orleans called me because they needed some help for the Sugar Bowl."
Toma will leave Houston on Monday to fly back to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl, then will return to Kansas for two days, then head to Fort Myers again.
For the Super Bowl, Toma arrived in Houston on Jan. 9 with his all-star groundskeeping crew of more than 20 people.
Special sod growing in Phoenix was shipped to Houston, and the crew spent three days installing it at Reliant Stadium.
The new grass never actually grows together, but Toma said that the weight of the sod ensures that the players, as well as a massive halftime show, don't disturb the field.
"Each strip is four feet wide and 30 feet long," he said.
"They're 2,500 pounds apiece, so the weight holds it together."