I was just about to write a piece about the Doak renovation going down.

Feb. 17 is right around the corner and #TheDoak is looking nice 👀 #Pack9 #GoPack pic.twitter.com/w64471DPFj

— NC State Athletics (@PackAthletics) January 25, 2023

But while I was over on Twitter, I saw a ton of comments on it, all of them NC State fans, and almost all of them critical of the new look.

Look, I don’t know what’s going on here. Maybe it’ll look a lot better once it’s done, or maybe the grass will match up a lot better when it greens up. But right now, it’s a little jarring. Here is how it used to look…

And here is how it’s looking right now…

Doak Field renovation coming along. Sod and turf almost completed #accbaseball #pack9 #ncsu pic.twitter.com/SYKgmSQZhi

— Allen (@BigalnRaleigh) January 19, 2023

Again, I’m going to wait until it’s really done before I cast judgement, but I think the official tweet from the school marketing it and drawing attention to it, has people thinking it’s in it’s final form. And maybe it is. But I hope it’s not.

I remember this being shared a while back…

This shows grass in foul territory and dirt in the 1st/3rd baselines. So I’m not sure when this turf thing came along. And while we’re on the subject, aren’t we a turf management school? Shouldn’t we be turning up our noses at artificial turf?

Apparently, this is a thing now, where foul territories are artificial turf and fair territory is grass. Here is Mississippi State’s baseball field doing the same thing.

🔜 #NewDude pic.twitter.com/dCoqhCKxLI

— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) February 15, 2019

Can’t say I like it there either, honestly. It just seems like one of those fads. Remember when everyone was going crazy with field/court colors?

School with a grey field and school with a glow in the dark basketball court meet on blue turf. Winning coach gets dumped with French fries. College athletics at its absolute best. https://t.co/crEKoeLKbX pic.twitter.com/Bpeod50Sy4

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 4, 2022

Good time to remind everyone that Memphis’ basketball court should be fired directly into the sun. https://t.co/jXpDbPQ7Iw pic.twitter.com/htyMv4sAXD

— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) November 10, 2021

The worst basketball court in the history of the sport. Thanks a lot, Oregon. pic.twitter.com/842T5CYmIc

— Craig Miller (@junior_miller) January 30, 2022

Did anyone ever really like those? Do people like them now? Have they ever gotten a recruit to come to the school? Have they ever scared a recruit away?

I don’t know. You tell me. I’ll hold final judgment, but things NC State fans don’t seem like they’re going to follow along.