Allen Johnson is completing his 18th season as fields manager for the Green Bay Packers. As caretaker of Lambeau Field’s natural grass field, Johnson, who grew up on a dairy farm in northern Michigan, maintains a playing surface NFL players typically rank among the league’s best. This year, Johnson also takes over as president of the Sports Turf Managers Association, a trade group providing education and industry development for field management professionals.
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I liken [field maintenance] to parenting. Kids growing up need attention and a parent actively involved in raising them. When you do that, usually you get a good result … and stand a better chance than kids who are neglected and end up raising themselves.”
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Photo by: GREEN BAY PACKERS
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How he got the job: I fell into it … right place at the right time. I was out of college and working [in Green Bay] at an insurance company and not liking what I was doing for a living. I stumbled upon an ad … and ended up working for [the contractor] rebuilding the field in the spring of 1997. Then I got hired as the Packers’ assistant fields guy.
His typical day as a turf manager: It changes all the time. The nice thing I tell people is it’s not much different than when I was a kid growing up on a farm. It is farming … we’re just not taking care of animals; we’re growing a crop … fidgeting and fussing over it and trying to make it as perfect as we can all the time.
Secrets to maintaining Lambeau Field’s grass surface: The biggest thing is the commitment of upper management to give the field a good fighting chance to be the best it can be. They provide me with ample resources, new technology, and part of that is the system. The other part is that it hasn’t been overbooked. People like to compare Soldier Field and Lambeau Field, and it’s not a fair comparison when one place has tons of extra events and the other one doesn’t. Those decisions have a positive impact. It’s primarily an NFL football field where a lot of them aren’t.
His perch for Packers home games: I’m there on the sideline, but my primary purpose is to watch to see how the field is performing, and if there is anything wrong, try to figure out what’s happening so I can resolve it. A kick returner who’s gaining speed and changes direction real quick … a receiver going out on a pass and making a sharp cut … a kicker’s plant foot … I pay more attention to those types of movements.
