The University of Utah, which is replacing the turf on its football field this summer, has decided to make a little money off the old turf rather than merely throwing it away.
The Utes plan to sell chunks of the turf through the bookstore starting on July 1. There will be 350 pieces, approximately 13 inches long and 10 inches wide available for purchase by the public.
The pieces will be in a nice, neat commemorative box.
But let's pretend for a moment the sale wasn't as organized and you could go up to the stadium and rip out a chunk of turf the size of your choice. Just think of the possibilities of the way you could reuse chunks of turf!
You know that pesky parking strip that you're supposed to keep nice looking but is a pain to water?
A nice, always green strip of turf would do the trick to solve all your maintenance woes.
How about a putting green in your own backyard? Nothing better than having part of the Utes' turf to work on your golf game and reminisce about the great wins in 2008 at the same time.
What about end zones instead of a front lawn? Hey, it's green, in color and in environmental lingo.
How about some Rice-Eccles turf to use for flooring in your tailgate party?
Unfortunately the pieces being sold are small, 12 inches by 9 inches, and there is no way of knowing where the turf was located. That's too bad, because some pieces of turf would be coveted more than others. For instance, I imagine having the piece of turf where Louie Sakoda made his 37-yard field goal as time ran out against Oregon State would score high on fans' want lists, much like the spot where Freddie Brown rolled into the end zone with the game-winning touchdown catch against TCU.
Sure, there is some BYU fan out there who would want the piece where Jonny Harline caught his touchdown pass from John Beck in the 2006 rivalry game that gave the Cougars the 33-31 win, but Utah fans could counter with five pieces of turf from last year's contest, one for each of Max Hall's interceptions.
Can you imagine the hero status the Utah fan who covered BYU's "Y" with the "U" from midfield before this year's game would earn?
Sadly, that piece has been destroyed, according to Utah officials.
But our imaginations can carry on. What piece of the turf would you want? What would you do with a chunk of it? E-mail your suggestions and we'll share the best in an upcoming edition.
