Hash marks at Falcons game painted too close together

Jay Busbee
· Senior writer
The hashmarks are a little tight. (Screen shot)
The hashmarks are a little tight. (Screen shot)

The Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings kicked off a crucial NFC matchup at 1 p.m. on Sunday, about 17 hours after the University of Georgia topped Auburn in the SEC championship. That requires a quick turnaround, repainting both end zones and hash marks, and apparently something got a bit lost in the transition.

The NFL hash marks are supposed to be in line with the goal posts, 18 feet and 6 inches apart. However, college hash marks are 40 feet apart. Somewhere in the repainting process, someone painted those hash marks a wee bit too close together — about 7 inches, according to Fox Sports. Officials informed both coaches, and noted that they might have to use “visual measurement” to determine placement.

Sure, it’s embarrassing. But in terms of field miscues, it’s a distant second to what happened on Saturday night at the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis, when an entire flap of the field came loose.

(Screen shot via SB Nation)
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.

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