All Hail the ‘God of Sod,’ Groundskeeper for All 57 Super Bowls

Ken Belson and Jenny Vrentas, reporting for The New York Times:

“When I’m in heaven, I’ll be looking at your beautiful field,” said [George] Toma, who this week is preparing the field for the Super Bowl for the 57th straight year, “or I’ll be in hell looking up what kind of root system you have.”

He is 94 now, but among groundskeepers he is immortal: The God of Sod, they call him, or the Sodfather, or the Nitty Gritty Dirt Man. Toma — who is planted so deeply in the N.F.L.’s root system that he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — has never missed a Super Bowl. He has worked in outdoor stadiums from Miami to San Diego and domes in Detroit, New Orleans and beyond. He has persevered through torrential downpours, droughts and, most vexingly, increasingly elaborate halftime shows that befoul his beloved turf.

How have I never heard of this guy before? What a story.

★ Sunday, 12 February 2023