Chicago Bears' Soldier Field savaged amid 'disgraceful' NFL farce

Chicago’s Soldier Field has been labelled a ‘joke’, after a torrential downpour led to farcical scenes during the NFL clash between the Bears and San Francisco 49ers.

Heavy rain in the hours leading up to the contest saw large portions of the playing surface as well as sections of the stadium flooded.

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Wild images and videos on social media captured the brutal scenes that officials were confronted with at the stadium.

The Bears had resodded the field in the lead up to the start of the 2022 season, but the newly installed Bermuda grass struggled with drainage as ground staff scrambled to clear the water before kickoff.

To make matters worse, an embarrassing photo emerged on social media of a crookedly painted sideline, leading to further disparaging remarks about the venue on social media.

The Bears recently revealed plans to leave Soldier Field and build a new stadium in the northwest suburbs of Chicago on the 326-acre Arlington Park site.

In the eyes of some fans, as well as former NFL star Torrey Smith, that move can't some soon enough.

While the rain eventually eased enough for the game to commence, it wasn’t without incident.

Chicago player penalised in attempt to sop up water

At one stage during the clash with the 49ers, the Bears were penalised for bringing a towel onto the field in an effort to soak up some of the excess water prior to a field goal attempt.

Trenton Gill was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct after the rookie holder used the towel to dry off a small area of grass late in the second quarter.

The 15-yard penalty moved Chicago out Cairo Santos’ range, forcing them to punt.

The rain came back heavier than ever during the fourth quarter, with the Bears eventually emerging victorious 19-10 in what was unsurprisingly a scrappy affair.

Speaking after the contest, Bears quarterback Justin Fields revealed the wet conditions lead to him wearing gloves so he could grip the ball better.

"Of course I knew it was going to rain today, so earlier in the week I was practicing throwing the wet ball drills with the gloves. I just kinda liked how it felt with the gloves,” Fields said.

“The ground was just so wet from the rain earlier that it was just safer to go with the gloves.

“I think the rain affected us a little bit, but once we calmed down a little bit, it wasn’t affecting us as much.

“I think the guys handled it well. Sam Mustipher being at centre, I think all the snaps were fine and I think he did a great job doing that.”

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