Legendary 92-Year-Old Groundskeeper Has Worked Every Super Bowl

Everyone wants to make a big deal out of Tom Brady playing in his 10th Super Bowl, and I guess it’s kinda legendary or whatever (it is). But when it comes to Super Bowls, Brady will never catch George Toma, the groundskeeper who has worked EVERY SINGLE SUPER BOWL since the very first one when Green Bay and Kansas City played in 1967.
The Today Show featured the legendary groundskeeper, who worked his 55th Super Bowl this month. He’s 92-years-old, but still competing at the highest level of groundskeeping.
“I gotta work,” he told NBC. “I can’t sit still.”
Toma started his career in Major League Baseball with the Kansas City Royals (in addition to working with the Chiefs) and worked in baseball for decades in addition to his lengthy football career. You can’t work that many Super Bowls without getting some badass nicknames, and Toma more than fits the bill here.
The Sultan of Sod. The God of Sod. The Sodfather. Take your pick.
He said the sod for the Super Bowl is grown for 18 months before it’s put in the ground in the stadium. Then it gets painted a few times to make the logos, lines and end zones look shiny, and then you’ve got yourself a great field.
He obviously has a lot of strong opinions about the importance of a good playing surface and how to maintain grass, which is something all dads relate to in a big way.
As the final hours tick away before Super Bowl LV, @CBSThisMorning takes a look at all the work George Toma and his team put in before kickoff. 🏈 #SBLV pic.twitter.com/idcWN5si6O
— STMA (@FieldExperts) February 7, 2021
He’s mentored generations of groundskeepers, and said his legacy is that they will all “be honest and give the players a safe playing field.” And, most shockingly of all, he said the grass in his own yard is the worst on the block.
That means Toma, like all true greats, leaves it all on the field.