Personality Profile In the Shadow, and Spotlight, of Lambeau Field By Lori Ward Bacher

For someone who grew up in the practice facility. Together, the two shadow of Green Bay's Lambeau departments employ five full-time peo- Field, he certainly was thrust into the ple (including Todd and Ted) and spotlight this past January when the about 50 part-time or seasonal people. Green Bay Packers earned home- The week between January 4 and field advantage on their march to January 12 probably will be Todd's Super Bowl XXXI. Todd Edlebeck, most memorable as a Packer grounds supervisor at Lambeau Field, employee. With the Packers putting conducted three national press con- in a new field this summer, the ctr- ferences himself. ESPN dubbed him cumstances that led up to the the "sod god". January resodding of the entire field "It made me a little nervous," Todd most likely will never be repeated. says of the unprecedented attention Coming into the playoff game for someone who usually can be against the San Francisco asors on found quietly tending his turf. "The January 4, the field was in great biggest thing at that point was to get shape thanks to the underground Todd Edlebeck the field done. But it was exciting, in heating system that makes it possible some ways, to be a part of some- to grow grass in January. Due to thing that was so huge throughout • Eventually that old sad is packaged excessive wear, the middle section of Ihe country." in "Frozen Tundra" boxes and sells the field had been resodded on You all remember how "huge" it out at $10 a box. December 9. "It held up really well was. In the middle of this exciting sod during the Minnesota game," Todd • The terrific Packer record that gave saga was Todd. The friendly, unas- reports, adding that he was confident them home-field advantage for the suming, boyish supervisor moved it would hold up for the aser game, playoff games. from the shadow of Lambeau Field too. • The January 4 rain that turned the onto its center stage. The shadow? "I But then the unexpected hap- game against the San Francisco grew up just three houses from the pened. Rain in January. And to make aaers into the "Mud Bowl" or stadium," Todd explains. "They matters worse, the 30-year-old field "Souper Bowl" as it was dubbed in always say that I grew up in the doesn't have a good drainage system, the press. shadow of Lambeau Field." according to Todd. On game day, it • Coach Mike Holmgren fielding When he was 15, he began work- was pouring rain in the morning. "We questions about the turf, as well as ing summers for the city of Green have to uncover the field for warm- his team, during the post-game Bay which managed the stadium at ups two hours before the game press conference. Could the field that time. After graduating from high starts," Todd explains. "It rained be ready for the next week's NFC school in 1982, he worked for the city throughout that whole period, and it championship game? Holmgren full-time for a year with plans to rained throughout the whole game. had confidence in Todd and his attend a technical school. But in 1983 Because the field itself was thawed crew. the Packer organization assumed out, and everything around it (where management of the stadium, and there's no heating system) was • The decision to resod the entire they asked Todd to become a full- field for that January 12 champi- time grounds crew member. And he's onship game. been there ever since. • A week during which the sad at "in 1988 or 1989 we divided main- Lambeau Field made almost as tenance into two departments," Todd many newspaper and TV headlines recalls. "I became the grounds super- as the team. Headlines like "Sad visor, and Ted Eisenreich became Story" and "Turf's Up" were the the maintenance supervisor. Prior to norm. that we worked as one department. • Green Bay police forming the "sad We still help each other out, but our squad" to keep exuberant fails responsibilities are divided." away from the pile of old sod that As grounds supervisor, Todd is in ;cr W\o, BEEN ex I"ICINTHS, was torn up. charge of the playing field and the SU"tll:: fEVER ~EM1\I""s.

12 frozen, the rai n just fi lied up the we never would have been able to lay down new sod; work it into place; whole field. The field was a total get the old grass off," Todd says. roll it; cover it with the tarp as soon mess, like a swamp." When they began laying the sod as possible to keep the snow off. A Packer victory that day meant on Wednesday, daytime temperatures "The snow kept falling and building up that they'd be hosti ng the N FC were back to a more seasonal 15 to on the tarps," Todd says. "By the time Championship game in just eight 20 degrees. "The sod came to we finished at about 6 p.m. on days on January 12. What was going Wisconsin in heated trucks, and it sat Thursday, the tarp was actually all through Todd's mind as he watched in the trucks until we needed it," Todd covered with snow. The field itself the field literally turn into a mud bowl? says. "If the temperature had gotten was completed, but we didn't have "I was real, real upset," he admits. any colder, we may have had prob- any of the sides down. We had to "You don't plan for that kind of rain in lems with the sod freezing together." come back on Friday morning to fin- January. Most of the time it would be With the cold weather, the sod lost ish that job." snow, and the field would have held some color. "It will brown real quick," The sod was not pinned down. up well with snow. Todd points out. "When we unrolled Because of its heavy clay soil and the "We thought to ourselves, 'What the sod, it was green. But as it lay fact that it was cut two inches thick, are we going to do now?' The league there, it got a little browner. Having each roll weighed about a ton. "If you office was here at the game. They blades of grass in that cold takes a cut off a piece about a foot long and called and said they wanted to meet lot away from the color." 42 inches wide, you couldn't pick it us at the 50 yard line after the game," Things went quite well on up off the ground. It was that heavy," Todd continues. "I knew at that time Wednesday. They worked until they Todd explains. that,if we won the game, we'd have ran out of sod at 2 o'clock Thursday What did it take to get the job to replace the field. How much? The morning. "So we covered the field done? whole thing." because they were predicting one to • 28 semi loads, with about 16 sod So in the beginning of the fourth three inches of snow," Todd remem- rolls per semi quarter he called the Maryland sod bers. "At that time about a third of the • about 448 rolls of sod at 42 inches farm that had provided the sod back field was still old sod. We had almost wide by 42-45 feet long, and 2 inch- in December. They said they'd be half of the new sod down." es thick able to cut and deliver the needed Sure enough, the snow came on • 30 to 50 people, many of whom sod. He also called the weather Thursday and it snowed all day. The were volunteers, working on the bureau to see what kind of weather to first sod truck arrived by 6 a.m., and field at all times expect in the next week. "I wanted to they uncovered only a small corner of • about $150,000 of NFL money have my facts straight before I met the field. "As we rolled out the new After all of this work, how did the with the NFL," Todd points out. "Once sod on the soil that was wet from the field hold up on game day? "It was we knew that we were going to win, snow, it stuck there," Todd recalls. excellent," Todd reports. "Something we knew that we'd have to work fast. "So we had to have a few extra peo- like this had never been done before. I told the NFL that my suggestion ple pushing it into place. That added Even Chip's dad, George Toma, who was to resod the whole thing. Once I more work, but it was also a plus in was at Kansas City for many years did that, I committed myself to getting that the sod stuck to the ground." and is considered the master of turf, it done." As the sod trucks kept arriving, the a guru, said that what we did in one The NFL agreed. They didn't even process continued. Tear up old sod; week's time was an amazing feat." wait for Chip Toma, their field advisor, (Continued on page 15) to arrive on Monday. "He watched the game on TV and said over the phone that he agreed with the decision," Todd says. "He was a little reluctant ---- to do that over the phone. But we had to make the decision and get the sod people ready to go." LIEXH The NFL, and not Green Bay, had ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS FOR the final say. "When you have a championship game, it's no longer in THE GOLF SUPERINTENDENT the hands of the team but the NFL," • Disposal of pesticides, fungicides, and hazardous wastes Todd explains. "They're in charge of the whole game. They get the game • Free cost analysis for disposal of waste inventory revenue. They also pay all the bills." • Lab analysis for unknown substances They agreed that no more than • Turnkey waste disposal includes waste profiles, labels, manifests, one-third of the field should be left packaging, and transportation uncovered at any time, so they could- n't start ripping up the old sod until • RCRA and DOT compliance the new started to arrive. That was • 25+ years in the hazardous waste industry on Wednesday. Because of the heat- ing system on the field, the turf came Liesch Environmental Services, Inc. up quite easily with sod cutters. "If the 6000 Gisholt Drive, Suite 203 • Madison, WI 53713 frost had been in the ground, it would (608) 223-1532 • Fax (608) 223-1534 have been as hard as concrete and

13 (Continued from page 13) with proceeds going toward a new support from the fans is totally differ- What pleased Todd most about field. "We're going to build a high- ent when everybody is so excited the process-besides actually com- tech field, a sand-based field with a and you see everybody with some- pleting the seemingly impossible drainage system, new heating system thing green and gold. People recog- task-was the amount of help that he and new irrigation," Todd reveals. nize you. received. "I had voice mail, probably "And we're looking at sports turf, "Wisconsin always supported the 50 messages a day, from people which is a synthetic field under the Packers, even through the lean who wanted to supply something or natural turf." years," Todd continues. "But the sup- help," he points out. "The golf course During the January resodding, port is more widespread now. You go people. Local businesses. The tractor some of the help came from local into the Detroit airport, or down in and fork lift companies. It just goes to golf course crews - Oneida Golf Florida, and you see people with show how much pride we have in and Riding Club, Green Bay Country Packer things. I think the whole coun- Wisconsin. We don't just follow our Club, Thornberry Creek, and Crystal try was excited for us and wanted to team, but we support it when it Springs in nearby Seymour. Todd see us do welL" needs help." talks turf throughout the year with When not working for the Packers, And the team was able to support Randy Witt at Oneida. Todd likes to spend time with his fam- the community in a way that probably With no formal turf schooling, ily - wife, Julie, who works as an could only happen in Green Bay. Todd has attended lots of seminars administrative assistant, and their two Some of the calls Todd received dur- to learn more about the art and sci- sons, Matt (7) and Zachary (6). "I ing this eventful week were from ence of maintaining turf. "My philoso- coach soccer and T -ball with my charities that were interested in seIl- phy is that you can always learn from sons," Todd points out. "I like to be ing the old sod that was being torn somebody," he says. "Talking with involved with their sports." He also up. The Packer organization decided other grounds people throughout the likes to hunt. And he's a volunteer for it was a good plan, so the work league and from golf courses, you the fire department in his home of crews piled the sod in the parking lot can always learn from somebody. Ashwaubenon. until it could be hauled away. "People Their ideas may save you some time, How do his kids feel about having were just going wild, jumping in front and your ideas may save them some a dad who works with the world of our equipment, trying to get some time." champion Green Bay Packers? "I sod," Todd remembers. "For safety Do the football players pay much think they're getting more excited," reasons, we hired a police officer to attention to the turf? "Sterling Sharpe Todd answers. "When they were stand by it." was always one to give us a hard younger they didn't realize that it was The sod was packaged in special- time in a joking way," Todd reports. special when they walked into the ly made "Frozen Tundra" boxes and "Sterling was always a good guy. He locker room with me and sawall of sold for $10 a box. All 25,000 boxes kidded around a lot, like telling us we the players. But as they get older, were sold, with $250,000 raised for didn't water the field enough. they get more excited about shaking local charities. "And Chris Jacke (kicker) and hands with Brett or Reggie. And when After the NFC Championship Craig Hentrich (punter) are always they go to school, the other kids will game on January 12, the "new" sod concerned about the field," he contin- ask, 'You've really been in the" locker was torn up, too. "We already had ues. "We talk real closely. They'll room with Brett and Reggie?'" problems with drainage, and the new come out and talk to me when I'm Yes, he has. But, more important- sod had a really heavy clay base," cutting grass. And they always look ly, he committed himself to the seem- Todd explains. "It would have created me up to see how the field is before ingly impossible task of making sure a layering effect, with two inches of a game." that Brett and Reggie, and all of the the clay base, and then our black soil Joining the Packer organization in other Packers, had an excellent play- underneath, and then back down to a 1983, Todd worked during some lean ing field for that historic NFC champi- clay base." years when there were more losses onship game that catapulted the More charities wanted the second than wins. Working for a winning Packers into the Super Bowl for the crop of sod, but this time the Packer team is quite a bit different. first time in 29 years. iU organization decided to sell it itself "Everybody is happier," he says. "The

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