They reminded each other it was a field like any other.

The grass experts from Maine had to remember that their decades of experience managing athletic fields still applied here, said South Portland Recreation Manager Rick Perruzzi, because everything else was extraordinary. Instead of the recreation fields of southern Maine, it was Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. High school athletes were replaced by the globe’s best soccer players, and a few hundred cheering parents by over 64,000 screaming fans and millions across the world watching on TV.

It was a pitch for World Cup games — arguably one of the most important competitions in sports, and these Mainers were selected to help manage the turf.

“It’s an experience of a lifetime,” said Frank Smith, the parks superintendent in Cumberland.

With Boston hosting seven World Cup matches over three weeks, the five full-time staff at Gillette Stadium (temporarily renamed Boston Stadium due to FIFA’s branding regulations) needed help maintaining the pitch for the games, as well as their other duties, including handling practice facilities for the New England Patriots. Seeking the area’s most experienced turf managers, the stadium’s management team sent out a call in November, inviting New England-based applicants to help with the World Cup. Bringing on extra staff for major events, such as the U.S. Open, is commonplace in the lawn care industry, said Perruzzi.

About 360 people applied to participate. In January, 36 experts in recreation fields and golf courses were selected, 12 for each week of matches. After getting trained in FIFA’s procedures during a friendly Brazil vs. France match in March, they began rotations last month. Starting June 21, three members of the World Cup Pitch Management Team brought their expertise from Maine for nine days.

They were led by Gillette Stadium Superintendent Ryan Bjorn, who grew up in Old Town and worked for Perruzzi in South Portland when Bjorn was in college.

While they each brought decades of knowledge of field care, preparing the field to meet FIFA’s standards was on another level, according to the Mainers. Each blade of grass had to be cut twice in two different directions, as well as rolled out. They repainted lines and watered the fields, all of which had to be ready six hours before a match, meaning some days, crews started at 5 a.m.

“FIFA has it down to a science,” said Perruzzi.

“I was a sponge. I absorbed everything I possibly could,” said Smith, who’s been working for Cumberland for 23 years. “I have some secrets I’m going to take back.”

“Seeing it on TV is one thing, but seeing it in person and seeing how fast and quick some of these athletes are, it’s quite impressive,” said Perruzzi.

The team also helped maintain other facilities that the Gillette crew normally manages alone. The temporary workers were paid $15 an hour, the minimum wage in Massachusetts. They would have done it for free, said Mike DiDonato, the Windham-Raymond school district’s grounds coordinator who was also part of the crew.

The prior enthusiasm for the game of soccer varied among the pitch management team, with some having watched every World Cup game for years, and others truly tuning in for the first time from the stadium.

“I can guarantee I watched more soccer in the last week and a half than I have my entire life,” DiDonato said.

Having worked in field maintenance for 26 years, DiDonato has been more of a fan of other sports. After witnessing World Cup matches firsthand, he’s now following along from Maine. For the first time, he’s invested in who takes home the cup.

When each day’s work and celebrations were done, the World Cup Pitch Management Team was put up at a mansion in Dedham, Massachusetts. The 12 strangers swam in the pool and played Wiffle ball together. Conversations about grass, fertilizer and sports soon turned more personal.

Both DiDonato and Smith said that, aside from the U.S. team, their experience in the stadium has them rooting for Norway. Witnessing the “Norwegian row,” with fans chanting and mimicking the rowing of a Viking longship in unison, as well as the overall enthusiasm of the thunderous fans, was incredible, they said.

“Nobody really knew each other that well going into this, so we had no choice but to bond quickly,” said Smith.

They’ll all keep in touch, said Smith. Their text group chat is already asking “When’s the reunion?”

Field maintenance can often go unnoticed, said Perruzzi. While some World Cup viewers may not think twice about the grass the cleats fall on, the people behind the field’s perfection will know that millions of people saw their work.

“It felt like we accomplished something,” said Perruzzi.

Returning to the mowers and paperwork of caring for fields in Maine was a shock “back to reality,” said Smith. The past nine days had been a blur, he said.

“All I want to say is I just feel so blessed to be a part of it, and to meet those guys from some other places. I’m just so proud of it, everybody is,” said Smith.

With them, they brought back the Adidas shoes that FIFA required them to wear, scarves and other memorabilia from the matches, and a new career highlight.

“In my working career, the World Cup will not be back here in the United States. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for myself,” said DiDonato. “It’s kind of the pinnacle of what I’ll do.”

Well, maybe. He’s only recently gotten into soccer.

“Unless I get asked to work on the Super Bowl field,” he said.