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There was NFL football played in December in cold weather stadiums before Astro Turf was even invented. You don't need the grass to grow, just to hold the ground together. The main problem is domed stadiums.

True but only if it freezes once and stays frozen. Then it's as hard as concrete and leads to injuries. There are ridges and cleat prints frozen in place until the spring thaw. There's no way to repair it if it's too torn up.

Games such as the December 26th 1977 NFC Playoff "Mud Bowl" in Minneapolis helped push the league to switch the Astro Turf. And they're not going back either; sweat, blood, and spit in the mud are completely unsanitary.

Lambeau Field manages just fine in harsh Wisconsin winters.

What a great game that was.

Games such as the December 26th 1977 NFC Playoff "Mud Bowl" in Minneapolis helped push the league to switch the Astro Turf. And they're not going back either; sweat, blood, and spit in the mud are completely unsanitary.

I am a Rams fan, and remember too well that game. You see, usually in that era, the Rams were the visiting team, and Minnesota had a huge advantage playing outdoors on frozen natural grass. The Rams seemed to routinely have field goals blocked in the conditions.

So, looking forward to a home game in sunny California, until mud slides ruined the normal grass field. That field never froze, so your suggestions about injuries from ridges wouldn't apply there. The Rams quarterback, Pat Haden was short, and he played poorly sinking in the mud.

That game had NOTHING to do with the move to Astroturf, which began years earlier. The Rams moved to Anaheim not mainly for the turf, but for a stadium in better shape. Domes at that time pretty much had to have turf. The Cardinals have a removeable tray of grass and a retractable roof. The movement for the last several decades has been to grass wherever there is not a sealed dome. The Cards solution is expensive, but worth it when there are $200+ million dollars of bodies on the field.

It is called Astroturf, because the grass planted in the original domed stadium, the Astrodome, died. Astroturf was the quicky remedy that stuck. It became popular for the multipurpose stadiums popular in the '60s and '70s, so the same surface could be used for football, baseball, conventions, rock concerts, religious rallies, etc. It was also MUCH cheaper to maintain. Players weren't paid nearly so much, so in most cases, the extra injuries attributed to the Astroturf was worth it to the owners financially.

Now, the turf HAS improved since the original carpet on concrete, but players still prefer natural grass (Field Turf and its successors). Turf toe is still a thing, too.

The game was played in Los Angeles, not Minneapolis.