It is getting close to World cup time. Even though Ireland will not be in it due to Henry's big hands. I am excited about the tourney. Not sure who I will cheer for yet but I am pretty sure I will cheer for any team that is playing France. The unveiling of a new ball is always a little bit fun and interesting. How many different things can you really change in a ball? It seems every world cup there are new advancements with balls. Well here are some excerpts taken from the Toronto Sun and The New York Times about the ball.
The Jabulani (which means “to celebrate” in isiZulu) is the 11th World Cup ball Adidas has designed — and according to product line manager Chris Niall, the early feedback is positive.
“The players like it,” said Niall. “(It has been tested) in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and some of the MLS teams have been given the ball in advance, and it is well approved by the players.”
Former Toronto FC star Danny Dichio said ball technology has come a long way since he first broke in with Queens Park Rangers in England in the early 1990s.
“When I first started, we were using medicine balls, it was that long ago,” said the 35-year-old Dichio, who retired in September. “But you can see significant changes in the ball even over the past few World Cups.
“Now you come in with a ball like this ... compared to when I first started playing, it’s night and day.”
Dichio realizes that some people might wonder why Adidas bothers to tinker with the ball so much. But he says world-class athletes deserve a world-class ball.
“Without (a good ball), the game is nothing,” said Dichio. “The puck never changes in hockey, but (in soccer) the ball is everything. I’ve been in games before where a referee changed the ball three times because people were complaining about it.
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