In need of “The Sodfather” or “God of Sod”

Speeding Through L

ife

According to a study performed by St. Bonaventure University, 72% of Americans watch football on Sundays. Combine that number with the amount of people who watch or play college, high school or even football at younger ages and nearly everyone has seen a football game at one time or another.

Whenever you watch the game on television or in person, the professional teams are usually playing on a pristine field that use blends of grass like Kentucky bluegrass or Bermuda grass. Some other fields use artificial turf which might be easier to maintain but can also be more dangerous to the players, i.e. Aaron Rodgers’ injury.

It takes a team of many grounds keepers to keep the grass in perfect condition and even the slightest lack of structure or poor growing seasons can turn the field into something that is tough for players to play at their best on.

I was listening to my favorite sports podcast a while back and they had on the grounds keeper who was in charge of getting the field ready for the NFL’s Super Bowl games. He was nicknamed, “The Sodfather.” He detailed some of the intricate details that go into preparing the grass for the game.

My point is, that’s great that these teams can prepare such a pristine patch of grass. However, the lawn at my house is a far cry from being similar to any NFL stadium. My neighbor is a retired army veteran. Thank you for your service, Butch. His lawn is carefully cultivated to ensure no weeds peer their ugly little leaves up through his thick blades of dark green grass. He is out there nearly every day doing a perimeter check to ensure his lawn is in pristine condition. Being our next door neighbor, it really makes our lawn look poor in comparison. Don’t get me wrong, Butch has been very kind and has helped our lawn by spraying and mowing a portion next to his lawn. I’m convinced it’s because he doesn’t want our subpar fescue contaminating his carefully procured yard. We moved into the house in the summer of 2020 and over the last three years, I have vowed to try to get my lawn to look as good as an NFL field, or on a more realistic note, Butch’s lawn. I’ve subscribed to an online lawn improvement service called Sunday to try and use more natural chemicals when fertilizing my lawn. I started by sending in a few samples of different parts of my lawn. They analyzed the samples and sent a lawn care plan in the mail shortly after. I was very good about applying the chemicals in the recommended time period at the start. However, as I’ve gotten busier with this job and life in general, I’ve lacked on applying the chemicals in a timely manner.

I’m sure my shortcomings in time management are to blame but as I was visiting with Butch one day, he told me to, “just take some pride in your lawn.” I know I can spend more time on it but it seems easier to see if The Sodfather wants to get some side work in before the next Super Bowl.