PLASTIC AND GLUE ARE FOR SUMMER CAMP
When I was young, there weren’t many opportunities to play soccer. It just wasn’t done that much. But I was hooked on the game, and had been since I was five years old, when I saw a snippet of a television show featuring soccer (it could have been a commercial, it could have been a documentary, I really don’t remember, except that I found it fascinating).
On those rare occasions when a soccer ball was available, along with other people who wanted to play, it would break my heart and discourage me to no end to see a plastic soccer ball with glued-on panels. They’re ugly, don’t feel right, and significantly detract from the joy of the game. Not to mention that when it’s cold, they feel like a round brick when they hit your skin.
Everyone knows that soccer balls should be leather, and hand stitched. Maybe, maybe I say, you can get away with a synthetic material for purposes of weatherproofing, as long as there is no glue involved. Glue and soccer balls go together like caviar and peanut butter.
So, the preceding being undeniably true, imagine my surprise when I saw this abomination from Adidas:
That’s right, it’s a plastic soccerball, with the panels glued on. They’re using a plastic soccer ball with glued-on panels to play the world’s biggest soccer tournament.
Now I’ve seen everything.
I’m not saying I want to go back to the soccerballs with laces, okay, but come on. It’s ugly, first of all, and even if it was leather, it would remain ugly. But it’s plastic as well, so that’s a double disgrace. And the glue . . . GLUE! Okay, Adidas calls it “thermal bonding” but I think we all know it’s glue. Paul Robinson, the England goalkeeper, is already on record as saying it’s an awful soccer ball, more akin to a volleyball in weight and feel. Further, he said that when wet, it is slippery to the touch even with goalkeeper gloves on. Please.
All of this, along with some fancy engineering to make the aerodynamics more amenable to bending and swerving shots, is done in the name of making the game more exciting by increasing the number of goals scored. Fine. I think we all agree that we like to see goals. But we don’t need to ruin the basics of the game to get them. Why don’t we just make the goals three feet wider and two feet higher? Why not have the goalkeeper blindfolded for the last fifteen minutes of each half? That would cause a flurry of goals. Well, except for the Galaxy, of course.
But I digress.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m way stoked about the World Cup, and this poor excuse for a ball isn’t going to ruin it. But still, it had to be said.
June 8th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Well said. I think the man-made leather and plastic composites used in most modern balls are horrible. They probably are more aerodynamic, they probably are lighter, they probably are faster, they probably do roll truer, but there is just something about a pure leather ball that makes the touch feel more authentic, more real.
It would be like using a basketball in the NBA that is made of plastic. Sure, it might be a better ball scientifically….but some things are better left to history.
June 8th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
I have to say the Zorro mask panels took a little getting used to, but I think this ball will be a good thing. Yes, the goalies are whining because the ball moves more in the air and is harder to catch. I can’t say having a few more goals scored is a bad thing. But to me, the #1 reason to stomach the glued panels is that it makes the ball pretty much waterproof. A stitched ball is going to absorb water and get heavy – this one won’t. I think that’s a good thing.
That said – I’m surprised the outer layer wasn’t made more supple. The interior linings could be the waterproof layer while the outer layer had some tack to it.
Of course at $130/ball, this isn’t going to be showing up on the local fields anytime soon and well still be using stiched panel balls like the soccer gods intended
Here’s hoping Adidas works a better surface into the next generation.
June 9th, 2006 at 6:39 am
Soccerdad, I don’t have much problem with the aerodynamic engineering stuff, but I can’t abide the fact they made a ball that is too slippery to catch with goalkeeper gloves. That just baffles me.
Pedrito, you’re my kind of man. I didn’t even get into the fact that I personally prefer the old 18 panel balls to the modern 32 panel (though it’s no dealbreaker; I like the 1970 Telstar a lot). I think the Mitre balls they use in the FA Cup are the best thing going these days. I’m not a Luddite or anything, but I just think you don’t mess with a good thing.
June 10th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Have you guys played a game with this new ball? It is great. I can’t get enough of it. Soft to the touch, easy on the head and you still have lots of control over its path when shooting. This is by far the best ball ever made.
On another note, you should checkou out this hilarious live commentary of England’s game this morning,
http://www.theangryadult.com/modules/articles/article.php?id=5
Cheers!
June 11th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Paul,
I just hate it when factual input ruins my well-thought-out screeds. Facts, even anecdotal ones, are anathema to clever wordsmith types such as moi-self.
I imagine at $130.00 a pop, I probably won’t be getting a chance to kick the Teamgeist around anytime soon. Thanks for the info, though
June 12th, 2006 at 6:10 am
At this late date it is nearly impossible to find a real leather ball anyway. The last one I recall was the Adidas Tango Verona circa 1995. The touch on that ball was unreal but it gained 3 pounds when it rained.
This ball moves but probably with more predictability than the Fevernova or the Questra did.
June 15th, 2006 at 12:51 am
That’s about the only drawback to leather, you’re right. When wet, it is kind of like kicking a cement block. Which is why I don’t mind a little high-tech waterproofing material now and then. It’s really the lack of stitching that sticks in my craw.
And the ugliness. Did I mention the ball is ugly?
It seems like they got the aerodynamics the way they wanted them, however. Have you seen this ball move? Wow. Rosicky’s first goal against the US was amazing.
Oddly, MLS has been using the same ball this season, and I haven’t seen the ball fly like it has during the World Cup.
I suppose we could start a rumor about FIFA ‘juicing’ the ball.
April 3rd, 2007 at 1:49 pm
You idiot soccer balls aren’t plastic. The inside is latex and the outside is high impact material.
April 3rd, 2007 at 5:14 pm
“high impact material”
Wonder what that’s made of.
Plastic?
December 4th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
wilson soccer balls:)
October 28th, 2008 at 9:17 am
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