Very few things are going well for the Chicago Bears and their players or their much-maligned stadium these days.
But one thing they’ve been able to count on over the past couple of years is the reliability of their kicker, Cairo Santos. In 2020 and 2021, the veteran maintained a minimum of a 96.4 make percentage. He’s missed six total kicks on 62 attempts. Basically, Santos is as money as it gets when a ball’s been long-snapped to him.
As it turns out, Santos has had to go the extra mile to excel that much as the Bears’ kicker. In a report by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jason Lieser, Santos said that he actually trains at poorly-maintained public parks in Florida during the offseason just so that he could be prepared for Soldier Field’s awful turf.
Uh, what?
The Soldier Field grass is so uniquely bad that Bears kicker Cairo Santos has to find poorly maintained public parks in Florida to truly simulate it in the offseason–https://t.co/B0qJ6FzsHJ
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) August 10, 2022
I’m sorry, but you’ve lost the plot as a football organization (really, the Chicago Parks District) when your kicker is forced to actively train on terrible fields to prepare for his home stadium. It boggles the mind that a professional football team could play on such a shoddy surface.
But then again, everything the Bears do these days boggles the mind.
NFL fans were shocked by Santos' extra lengths to succeed at Soldier Field
This is WILD https://t.co/qd418KqZLi
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) August 11, 2022
The ditchweed of NFL playing surfaces https://t.co/dEMPDHixSG
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) August 10, 2022
What the hell is going on in Chicago? https://t.co/LleAHpp9e4
— Cole Smith (@SkolSmith) August 10, 2022
It’s the worst field in the nfl every year
Like a high school field.
It’s embarrassing https://t.co/2dzWn1YHiu— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) August 10, 2022
An absurd mess. https://t.co/7vxUqQweP3
— Adam Luckett (@AdamLuckettKSR) August 10, 2022
Everything about the #Bears right now is ugly.
At least they’ll have a top 5 pick to start their rebuild.
— A Football Friend (@AFootballFriend) August 10, 2022
To recap: The primary tenant is complaining about the surface, the secondary tenant whose games have been marred in the past is moving a game because of the surface, and an opponent of the secondary tenant last year benched its best player because of the surface. #cf97 #vamosfire
— Brian Sandalow (@BrianSandalow) August 11, 2022
On the same note, I had to find a damaged camcorder from the 90’s to prepare to watch Bears film https://t.co/gY7rRq3WeR
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) August 10, 2022
Incredible https://t.co/59dxkiZ5sd
— Mitch Goldich 🐙 (@mitchgoldich) August 10, 2022
Uh yeah, maybe cancel the game on Saturday or sit everyone, just a thought https://t.co/odUUmk4wwC
— Zack Eisen (@zackeisen21) August 10, 2022
Has this billion dollar entity considered … replacing the grass? https://t.co/vwgVWEt5uL
— sqr (@squaresense) August 10, 2022
That's less than ideal. https://t.co/LQ8ywLyaP1
— Seth Keysor (@RealMNchiefsfan) August 10, 2022
It hurts me to see Chicago sports be so cheaply run. https://t.co/HhgRpDDjdM
— Bandemic Participant (@jaay_cool) August 10, 2022
I truly wonder how many wins could’ve been added over the years if Soldier Field wasn’t such a terrible playing surface. The only team with a homefield disadvantage. Build in Arlington NOW https://t.co/hhx5yTrg1g
— Kevin Hodge (@chp_trarch) August 10, 2022
