Dirk Wedd is tired of talking about the football field at Haskell Stadium.

One can hardly blame him.

For a field that has been mud and guck most of the season, take a good look tonight. The lush green field for the Lawrence High-Blue Valley North Class 6A playoff game isnâÂÂt an illusion.

ItâÂÂs just a welcome change.

It took 3,200 square yards of sod to cover up the dirt that doubled as a football field the last month. Rain, no sunshine and lots of football chewed up the field to the point where it was three to four inches of mud.

Football isnâÂÂt meant to be played in inches-deep mud. Rain, snow, sleet, yes. Absolutely. But mud that deep takes away the skill aspect of the game, ensuring that whoever has the bigger, more physical team, wins.

DonâÂÂt misunderstand me. IâÂÂm not saying the bigger, more physical team shouldnâÂÂt win Ãi¿½” thatâÂÂs football at its core.

But skill should be a factor, and when you canâÂÂt move on a field because itâÂÂs a quagmire, thatâÂÂs not football.

The sod Haskell installed Ãi¿½” a turf-type fall fescue, according to Dick Stuntz, vice president of golf facilities at Alvamar golf course Ãi¿½” is better than what most people put on their lawn or even what was installed last December. ThatâÂÂs because the sod itself, not the grass, is cut about an inch and a half thick underneath, similar to how a professional football team would repair a worn spot in its stadium.

âÂÂIt comes in big rolls and we just cut it very thick,â Stuntz said. âÂÂYou have a good inch of soil under it and you lay it tight. It has enough stability to play immediately.âÂÂ

TonightâÂÂs game should be football as itâÂÂs meant to be. Of course, with the Haskell football and soccer teams playing on the same field this weekend, and with more high school football next week, the turf will get chewed up again.

ThatâÂÂs why an artificial turf should be installed. A surface like the one at Kansas UniversityâÂÂs Memorial Stadium would be ideal Ãi¿½” a realistic surface that could withstand the punishment the Haskell field endures.

DonâÂÂt scoff. This isnâÂÂt a new idea, or even all that far-fetched.

âÂÂWeâÂÂve talked to Haskell about a joint fund-raiser for it,â Wedd said. âÂÂAnd they were receptive to it. I mean, people talk about a $5 million sports complex. To me, a half a million for a new field makes much more sense.âÂÂ

Both FSHS athletic director Steve Grant and LHS athletic director Ron Commons agree that an artificial surface is on their wish lists.

âÂÂIt is a great venue for high school football,â Grant said of Haskell Stadium. âÂÂItâÂÂs the right size and all that. ItâÂÂs just that the field gets beat to death.âÂÂ

Andover, a suburb of Wichita, built a new high school a few years ago, and with it, installed artificial turf in its stadium, and the new stadium in Topeka will have the same. Rockhurst High in Kansas City, Mo., has the same thing. ItâÂÂs not unheard of for high school football.

It just has be funded.

ThatâÂÂs where LHS or FSHS alumni come in. For that matter, anyone willing to donate roughly $500,000 to $600,000 for turf and installation would shoot to the top of the list for benefactors.

The stadium has a name, the arch has a name, but the field doesnâÂÂt. For the right price, you could own a piece Ãi¿½” excuse me, sponsor a piece Ãi¿½” of the future of Lawrence football.

âÂÂIf we could get the right sugar daddy to step up, I think theyâÂÂd probably be receptive to it,â Wedd said.

So would any other fan of high school football.