Sunday, June 11, 2006

The ball in football

Over the next month we will be subjected to scores of old football pundits on TV telling us that goals are easier to score these days and that balls don't fly the way they used to. They will then go on to tell us that back in their day football boots were army surplus boots so you didn't break your metatarsal, pitches were rock covered mountain sides so you didn't dive when tackled in case you fell off, and the balls were made of cow bladders filled with lead to stop the crowd stealing them so they flew just 2 feet when you kicked them.

If you want to know about the new football causing havoc with goalkeepers check out this story from Gizmodo. The ball is called the +Teamgeist from adidas. It is the roundest ball ever with just 14 panels instead of 26 or 32 and has been compared to a baseball, it's practically waterproof, bounces in a more predictable manner, and maintains it's pressure better than previous balls. Made for the World Cup in Germany its black and white colors are supposed to represent the German team colors. I have to say it looks a lot better than that daft yellow Nike thing the Premiership uses during the winter. The +Teamgeist costs £75 from adidas and if it gives us more wonder goals from 40 yards I don't care how funny the pundit thinks it flies.

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