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Remember, the Super Bowl’s God of Grass was once in Nashua

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Feb 7, 2021

Here’s a few tids and bits as we get settled in for Super Bowl LV:

One thing yours truly will pay attention to during the game is how great a shape the natural grass field is at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium.

Why? Because the guy in charge of all that for the 55th time is old friend George Toma. Those Nashua Pride die-hards can remember when the team brought Toma to Nashua to shape up the Holman Stadium outfield for the 1999 season. While Toma’s teachings faced resistance from some, others like Park-Rec’s Dan Leblanc embraced his teachings, and Toma took Leblanc with him as one of his crew at several Super Bowls. With Toma’s help, Holman’s playing field looked pristine and it’s been that way ever since.

The God of Sod amazingly just turned 92 and is still at it, in charge of the grounds of every Super Bowl.

“We would only spend $750 to $1,000 for a Super Bowl,” Toma told WFTS in Tampa. “Today, we’re spending $800,000 for the Super Bowl, just for the playing field.”

Toma told his media audience his theory is simple.

“My theory I preach and teach, the best insurance for any athlete from the pre-school children all the way up to the professional, the cheapest insurance is a safe playing field,” Toma said. “Number two, for the fans in the stands, it’s a field of beauty.”

Holman was – and still is – thanks back 22 years ago to the work by George Toma. Nashua was incredibly lucky to have had him here.

—- If Tom Brady and the Bucs win today’s game, it’s going to really get Boston talk radio going even more than this past week with the Brady vs. Belichick theory. But let’s douse one of those theories. Belichick did try to get TB 12 the help he needed, by drafting N’Keal Harry, signing Antonio Brown and trading for Mohammed Sanu. Unfortunately he went 0 for 3.

—- It’s amazing to see what former New York Giant Tampa Bay defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul has done this year for the Buccaneers after all he’s been through physically (back, hand) in the past. Tom Brady must feel better than to have him on his side rather than have to face him in another Super Bowl.

—- Speaking of Super Bowl veterans, we bring you Tampa Bay assistant coach Tom Moore, the 80-year-old offense/quarterback guru who helped mold and shape Peyton Manning’s career. This was Moore’s 41st season and he said during Monday’s media Zooms that he wants to come back for No. 42.

“I’ll say this, I want to coach until physically or mentally I can’t or until I die,” Moore said. “There is absolutely nothing about working that turns me off. I want to coach as long as I can or as long as someone will hire me. I want to come back next year and the next year and the next year.”

Must be the Florida life, right?

—- There were a lot of media tweets Saturday night how the Tampa downtown was filled with fans, many without masks, and bars had long lines outside. Let’s hope the Super Bowl inadvertently doesn’t become a Super Spreader.

Enjoy the game.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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