World Cup Blunder
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is coming to a close this Sunday. It will be up to Netherlands vs. Spain in the finals to decide who the victor will be. It has been an eventful month thus far, and I’m sure the final game won’t let us down. But it hasn’t been an easy road for some. Of course, you all remember the French team and their meltdown or team USA’s inability to capitalize on key scoring chances, but I want to talk about the most important key to this World Cup - The BALL!
As you’ve heard from the many players and coaches thus far, and you’ve probably witnessed for yourself, the Adidas made ‘Jabulani’ soccer ball has been somewhat of a nightmare. It has been known to knuckle in the air, which causes it to dance. This effect has caused goalkeepers fits as they aren’t able to track the ball as well as previous soccer balls they have used in the past. It has also caused the strikers headaches as well. They are the guys that try to score goals for their respective teams. Their argument has been that the ball tends to fly in crazy directions, often times missing the goal badly.
The Jabulani ball has garnered so much criticism that NASA recently conducted tests to see if the complaints were valid. Indeed they were. NASA states that the ball becomes unpredictable at speeds above 45 MPH. Since the average speed of a kicked soccer ball is about 60 MPH, you can imagine the inconsistency with which the ball flies. Another key factor that should be taken into consideration is elevation. These games are being played in South Africa, mainly in Johannesburg, where the elevation is 5,900ft. The thinner air is causing the Jabulani ball to dance more frequently.
The video above demonstrates the knuckle effect the Jabulani ball has. This was a video shot from the aerodynamic experts from NASA’s Ames Investigation Center. In the video is US soccer player Stephen Beitashour from the US Soccer League San Jose Earthquakes. You can clearly see the effect the ball has at slow motion. Some of the players are comparing this ball to a volleyball because of how smooth it is. The smoothness of the ball is causing it to not rotate and therefore causing the erratic movement.
During my research and preparation for this blog, I came across something interesting. Originally, I wanted to compare Nike’s new T90 Ascente ball to the Adidas Jabulani ball. While I was in the process of doing so, I found something that really stood out to me. Adidas did the due diligence of putting their ball through all of the computer generated tests: the wind tunnel, the spherical test, the water resistance test, and so forth. But what they failed to do was actually get the ball on the field for extensive player testing. In my opinion, this really hurt Adidas. While technology is imperative in creating these amazing pieces of sporting equipment, the hands on approach of using real people is equally important. I’m not a huge supporter of Nike, but they did all the tests in the lab, and then they took the ball outside and had elite players from different regions of the world test the ball. If we compare this to our life, or even our career, do we always make thorough, educated decisions, or do we typically move forward quickly without completely testing all of our options?
If I remember correctly, the NBA tried using a synthetic leather ball a few years back without really letting the players test it. How did that work out for the NBA? Not so well, they stopped using it halfway into the season and went back to the original leather basketball. In conclusion, there is an argument for substance over style. While the Jabulani ball might be new and pretty looking, is it really worth it? Or should soccer stick with its roots and use the traditional ball that we all know works just fine? I guess we’ll find out in Brazil 2014. (Opinions of this blog are the sole views of the author.)
As you’ve heard from the many players and coaches thus far, and you’ve probably witnessed for yourself, the Adidas made ‘Jabulani’ soccer ball has been somewhat of a nightmare. It has been known to knuckle in the air, which causes it to dance. This effect has caused goalkeepers fits as they aren’t able to track the ball as well as previous soccer balls they have used in the past. It has also caused the strikers headaches as well. They are the guys that try to score goals for their respective teams. Their argument has been that the ball tends to fly in crazy directions, often times missing the goal badly.
The Jabulani ball has garnered so much criticism that NASA recently conducted tests to see if the complaints were valid. Indeed they were. NASA states that the ball becomes unpredictable at speeds above 45 MPH. Since the average speed of a kicked soccer ball is about 60 MPH, you can imagine the inconsistency with which the ball flies. Another key factor that should be taken into consideration is elevation. These games are being played in South Africa, mainly in Johannesburg, where the elevation is 5,900ft. The thinner air is causing the Jabulani ball to dance more frequently.
The video above demonstrates the knuckle effect the Jabulani ball has. This was a video shot from the aerodynamic experts from NASA’s Ames Investigation Center. In the video is US soccer player Stephen Beitashour from the US Soccer League San Jose Earthquakes. You can clearly see the effect the ball has at slow motion. Some of the players are comparing this ball to a volleyball because of how smooth it is. The smoothness of the ball is causing it to not rotate and therefore causing the erratic movement.
During my research and preparation for this blog, I came across something interesting. Originally, I wanted to compare Nike’s new T90 Ascente ball to the Adidas Jabulani ball. While I was in the process of doing so, I found something that really stood out to me. Adidas did the due diligence of putting their ball through all of the computer generated tests: the wind tunnel, the spherical test, the water resistance test, and so forth. But what they failed to do was actually get the ball on the field for extensive player testing. In my opinion, this really hurt Adidas. While technology is imperative in creating these amazing pieces of sporting equipment, the hands on approach of using real people is equally important. I’m not a huge supporter of Nike, but they did all the tests in the lab, and then they took the ball outside and had elite players from different regions of the world test the ball. If we compare this to our life, or even our career, do we always make thorough, educated decisions, or do we typically move forward quickly without completely testing all of our options?
If I remember correctly, the NBA tried using a synthetic leather ball a few years back without really letting the players test it. How did that work out for the NBA? Not so well, they stopped using it halfway into the season and went back to the original leather basketball. In conclusion, there is an argument for substance over style. While the Jabulani ball might be new and pretty looking, is it really worth it? Or should soccer stick with its roots and use the traditional ball that we all know works just fine? I guess we’ll find out in Brazil 2014. (Opinions of this blog are the sole views of the author.)
