The Smell of Mud

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Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) Arlington players kneel in the mud during the second quarter of the Stilly Cup Friday night.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) Both team’s uniforms were clean and bright during the coin toss before the game.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) Stanwood running back Ben Ulrich comes up muddy after rushing in the first quarter.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) Arlington defensive back Joe Cote (22) begins to dirty his uniform after making a tackle in the first quarter.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) Stanwood running back Ben Ulrich carries the ball through the mud while Arlington defenders try to pull him down in the first quarter.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) The Stanwood offensive line shows signs of mucking around in the mud mid way through the first quarter.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) Arlington quarterback Andy Smith (3) gets sacked in a lake of water by Stanwood's Michael Randall.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) Stanwood running backs Ryan Schroyer (9) and Ben Ulrich check their play cards as the rain falls.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald

(Canon EOS-1D Mark III, EF 400mm f2.8, ISO 3200, 1/400 sec., f2.8) Stanwood punter Kale Schmidt kicks water and little bit of ball in the second quarter.

Jennifer Buchanan/Staff Photographer

Monday, November 2, 2009 | 12:57 pm

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Grass fields are so awesome!!! They are dirty, wet, smelly and muddy but oh so fun to photograph. FieldTurf fields are easier to maintain and decrease the amount of bleach teams have to use on their uniforms but they are so boring. Even if it is raining cats and dogs, Field Turf drains and there is no dirt to get churned into mud. BORING. Give me mud and muck any time. I'll risk kneeling in inches of freezing worm habitat to make nice photos any time.

Friday night in Arlington brought wind, then rain, then really nice muddy football players. Arlington took on Stanwood in the annual Stilly Cup. The night started out dry but really windy, but soon after kick-off the rain moved in. The grass field was already sodden, with several standing pools of water. As the night moved on, those pools expanded, creating giant mud pits that turned the double white uniforms of Stanwood into brown/gray messes.

Here is a photo time-lapse of the game.