One of the biggest takeaways from the Bears' first preseason game versus the Kansas City Chiefs came from the field. Literally. The grass at Soldier Field was amorphous, slovenly and an embarrassment for the organization.
There were dry areas, brown spots and "holes" on the field, according to players and numerous pictures. It barely met league wide standards for play and caused a frenzy of comments from players, coaches and the president of the NFLPA.
This isn't a new issue for the Bears. Since the organization switched from AstroTurf to real grass in 1988, there has been an abundance of complaints.
Originally an AstroTurf field, the organization moved towards real Kentucky blue grass in 1988. Real grass requires more maintenance, as one could expect. A maintenance team needs to cut it daily in the summer. It also needs a heating system underneath it during the winter months to keep it alive.
In its premiere season, the Bears were close to playing a preseason game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., after sod at Soldier Field continually came loose during an exhibition game against the Dolphins.
In 1994, after hosting World Cup soccer, July concerts from Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead and later three football games during a four-day period, Bears President Michael McCaskey called the field "perfectly awful."
RELATED: Andy Reid chimes in on conditions at Soldier Field
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In 2011, the field's conditions caused the team's family night during training camp to be canceled.
“It’s a joke,” Urlacher said via ESPN Chicago. “I don’t understand how you can’t have the field ready. It sucks for the fans because I’m sure it was a pain in the butt to get down there with all the traffic. I think Coach [Lovie Smith] did the right thing not letting us practice on that stuff. It’s just too bad it had to be that way.”
The family night cancelation caused an uproar amongst the players. The team shuttled to Soldier Field in a bus and was forced to turn around upon their arrival due to the conditions. Another example of poor maintenance that leaked into the players' performance schedule.
As a result of the incident, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel got involved. Since the Chicago Park District owns Soldier Field, they are in charge of maintaining the field conditions. Because of this, the Mayor was forced to speak on the matter.
“I want the players and the teams that come, and the fans that want to go to Soldier Field to find a facility that is reliable,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said via the Chicago Tribune in 2011. “That’s what I expect them to do, and I expect the people at the Park District to make the tough choices and the choices that are responsible.”
During the 2012 season, a cold, rainy night game at Soldier Field created a huge mess on the field. It made things difficult for all players. Bears kicker Robbie Gould made two field goals from 51 and 24 yards, respectively. But, he missed a 48-yarder in the fourth quarter. The field was already in poor shape before the rain, according to Gould.
"This has been the worst the field has been all year," Gould complained to ESPN Radio 1000. "It was very hopeful in the beginning of preseason, but this year for some reason its been a lot softer than it has in years past.
"Have the league come in and talk about what it should be like every day as opposed to dropping a pound of clay'test on it at three in the afternoon and its going to be frozen by 7 o'clock when its time to play."
Gould later retracted his statement towards the park district. Still, the point stands.
In 2014, discussions circled the organization about moving to synthetic turf.
Not only was the grass becoming a problem for on-field performance, but there were talks about injury prevention and a decrease in soreness when playing on turf. Bears President Ted Phillips announced the team would discuss the idea of synthetic turf, but nothing would be imminent.
“I was a proponent in the end about turf,” former Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “I felt like we needed to do that because our field was not a consistent surface. Our players complained about it a lot. There is nothing you can do.
“Our groundskeepers are great. It’s just the weather, and you need to have a consistent surface and artificial turf obviously gives you that. We did a lot of studies and I felt like we were right around the corner from doing it. I think it is the way to go.”
Instead of going with turf, the Bears switched sod providers, turning to a New Jersey turf farm that specializes in providing grass for professional sports teams.
Speed up to present day and nothing has changed.
The field was in complete disarray for the team's first preseason game last Saturday. It created a dangerous playing field for the players. The expectation is the field will be prepared for week one versus the San Francisco 49ers, but who's to say that will happen.
Leading up to the preseason game, Bears kicker Cairo Santos mentioned his adjustment methods to the shoddy field conditions.
"There were spots yesterday that we noticed and we talked about with Trent[on] [Gill] because he’s new," Santos said. "Look, if we have a field goal right here, we have to move it maybe off the hash. Or maybe on the field more, inside the hash more, just to get away from this hole."
Soldier Field's conditions are probably a minor factor in the Bears' thought process when exploring a new stadium in Arlington Heights.. The new field will probably have synthetic turf and a dome to protect it from Chicago's harsh winters.
Other teams around the city show their prosperity in field preparation. While Soldier Field hosts concerts and events that make it more difficult to upkeep, the Cubs do the same at Wrigley Field and always maintain it well for games.
In their defense, the Chicago Fire play games at the field, which makes it harder for them to keep up with. But, they still have to ready the field for their mainstay tenant -- the Bears.
The park district has involvement in attempting to keep the Bears at Soldier Field and prevent them from moving to Arlington Heights. Knowing this, it seems logical they would keep the place tidy.
Maybe, the field was unkept out of retaliation. That hard-ball tactic wouldn't work with the Bears, who are packing their bags quicker than the park district can upkeep the field.
The oddball storyline will undoubtedly be a problem for the Bears until they depart for good.