For about the last 30 years I've been a strong proponent of natural grass at LES and I've appreciated having it there both to protect player health and to continue tradition. Utah has always had crappy turf and so natural grass was a nice contrast in style, but I've changed my mind on this topic at this point for a few reasons.

First, I believe the technology on the highest quality artificial turf has essentially caught up to natural grass in terms of player safety on average, and I have to assume the instability of the field late in the season at LES would result in more injuries than the average turf field in similar conditions.

Second, I love how crisp the blue endzones and the huge Y at midfield look, but the natural grass really can't tolerate it, particularly late in the season.

Third, it's just kind of embarrassing playing on a field that looks like a late season driving range launch area at an inexpensive community golf course.

I do value tradition, but there's a point where practical considerations outweigh it, and the last two games tipped the scale to persuade me that it's no longer worth keeping natural grass.