- George Toma is the NFL's legendary groundskeeper, who has looked after the field at every Super Bowl.
- The 94-year-old declared the turf at State Farm Stadium for Super Bowl LVII is the second best he's seen.
PHOENIX — Some call him the Sultan of Sod or the Sod God, but George Toma is most commonly known by the moniker so clearly printed onto his sweatshirt, a gift from a senior NFL official: He is The Sodfather.
At age 94, the legendary groundskeeper has been tending the grass at every Super Bowl ever played. And he declares the turf for Super Bowl LVII on Sunday is the second best field he's ever seen.
Super Bowl XLI in Miami was the only one with better grass, he told reporters on Tuesday at State Farm Stadium. "That was between the Bears and the Colts and it rained the whole day. And there wasn't a divot taken out of that field," he recalled. "This one right here, it was grown here locally by West Coast Turf. And I believe this is the second best grass we've had."
What makes good NFL grass?
"Actually you have to have a good root system," he explained. "And this field is very tight."
Back in the big game's early days, Toma used to evaluate the quality of the field by using a "cleat-tester" he developed — essentially a stick with a cleat on the end that he could dig into the grass and twist to see how strong the grass stayed. "That only cost about $2," he said. "The new ones now cost $1,100."
That's not the only big cost that has changed when it comes to making and maintaining a Super Bowl field.
"In the first 27 Super Bowls, we never spent more than $1,000 on the field, and this one here is around $800,000," Toma said. (Other NFL officials wouldn't commit to that figure.) "[Back then], we had to be ready in 9-14 days from grass seed."
By contrast, the turf that'll be underfoot the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday has been growing at a local sod farm for the last 18 months.
It also takes a great deal of work to get it ready for the big game. Since being installed about two weeks ago, the grass —Tahoma Hybrid Bermuda, overseeded with rye (for you lawn-ophiles) — is moved in and out of the stadium daily by a mechanical platform where the sod sits. Essentially, the floor rolls outside in the morning to get all that Arizona sunshine, and at 6 p.m. it rolls back in to protect it from the cold desert temperatures overnight.
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Four days before the Super Bowl, it will come in for good and won't see direct sunlight again until after it's trampled on by teams, crews and staffs and covered in celebratory confetti.
After the game, the NFL said it will explore opportunities to donate the field — maybe to a local high school. But sometimes little parts of it go all across the country. George's son Ryan, who also works the grounds at Super Bowl, said he had sent a patch of grass to the Indianapolis Colts from Super Bowl XLI, which they won, and the team thanked him with a box of gear.
The elder Toma told Insider that after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV in Miami, he sent a two-foot-square patch of grass to a friend in Kansas City, who installed it in his front yard.
"It still comes back every year," he said.
You'd expect nothing less from such strong roots.