It was nine years ago when I saw synthetic grass in person for the first time. I was in Round Rock, Texas, to cover a high school football game.

I walked into Dragon Stadium and marveled at how green the field was. I wondered how they managed to keep it watered all summer in the blazing Texas heat, how grass could be that green in late August.

As I headed toward the pressbox, it began to dawn on me that this wasn't normal. I mean, nothing is normal about high school football in Texas, but really, how could they keep the grass so green?