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As someone who doesn't follow the NFL I am surprised that they allow the teams to supply their own balls. Seems it would be less complicated and achieve an even

by robryan 12y ago

As someone who doesn't follow the NFL I am surprised that they allow the teams to supply their own balls. Seems it would be less complicated and achieve an even playing field if everyone had to use the same balls supplied by the league. Does this happen in baseball/ basketball as well? From an Australian perspective it seems unusual.

skwirl 12y ago
Quarterbacks like their footballs to be broken in a bit, and they all have their own preference for doing it. They lobbied the NFL years back to let them break in the game footballs and the NFL said OK. They have to use official NFL footballs and they are SUPPOSED to be properly inflated at game time. Each team uses their own footballs while on offense. I doubt this happens in basketball because the same ball is being handled by numerous people on both teams, so it wouldn't be fair to let one player or team break the ball in to their own preferences. The same would be true of your AFL. In the NFL, teams are using their own broken in balls, and the quarterback is (usually) the only guy who has to actually throw it. Baseballs only last a couple of pitches and offense/defense are completely different games, so I seriously doubt anyone is allowed to do anything to any ball before the game. When a pitcher gets a new ball it is already pre-rubbed in a special mud, and they can rub it in dirt a bit but they can't put anything that will stick to the ball on it as it gives the pitcher an advantage.
sehr 12y ago
They all use the exact same model of ball, they're just not carried around by league officials to every game.
Reebles 12y ago
Baseballs are heavily regulated in game due to the long legacy of doctoring the ball to achieve otherwise impossible movement on pitched balls. Each ball in play goes through the home plate umpire before making it to the pitcher/catcher. Of course in baseball you'll still occasionally see the pitcher with a hidden "foreign substance" used to doctor the ball once they get ahold of it. Back 20ish years ago it was not too rare for a pitcher to be discovered with a nail file or scratching the ball on their belt buckle. Generally this is seen as "part of the game", and well, there are admitted spitballers/nail-filers in the hall of fame and nobody really cares. Nowadays, if a pitcher gets caught with a "foreign substance" (usually pine tar), they are usually suspended for a few games, the media goes into a frenzy, and retired baseball players say they all did it too.
zcdziura 12y ago
We have to remember that the NFL, after everything is said and done, is a business. They want to make money any way they can. A great way to do that is by having its teams score lots of touchdowns. But not just any touchdowns: passing touchdowns. There's nothing as exciting to watch as a quarterback throwing a hail marry into the end zone and having the receiver diving for it. Those kinds of plays are more likely to happen if the ball is broken in to the quarterback's liking. The ruling seems weird, but that's probably why the NFL allows its teams to supply their own game balls, instead of providing fresh ones for every game.
Bulkington 12y ago
In baseball, cheating is a worthwhile art and a science. http://a.espncdn.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1380568.html http://a.espncdn.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1380568.html

by robryan 12y ago

skwirl 12y ago

Quarterbacks like their footballs to be broken in a bit, and they all have their own preference for doing it. They lobbied the NFL years back to let them break in the game footballs and the NFL said OK. They have to use official NFL footballs and they are SUPPOSED to be properly inflated at game time. Each team uses their own footballs while on offense. I doubt this happens in basketball because the same ball is being handled by numerous people on both teams, so it wouldn't be fair to let one player or team break the ball in to their own preferences. The same would be true of your AFL. In the NFL, teams are using their own broken in balls, and the quarterback is (usually) the only guy who has to actually throw it. Baseballs only last a couple of pitches and offense/defense are completely different games, so I seriously doubt anyone is allowed to do anything to any ball before the game. When a pitcher gets a new ball it is already pre-rubbed in a special mud, and they can rub it in dirt a bit but they can't put anything that will stick to the ball on it as it gives the pitcher an advantage.

sehr 12y ago

They all use the exact same model of ball, they're just not carried around by league officials to every game.

Reebles 12y ago

Baseballs are heavily regulated in game due to the long legacy of doctoring the ball to achieve otherwise impossible movement on pitched balls. Each ball in play goes through the home plate umpire before making it to the pitcher/catcher. Of course in baseball you'll still occasionally see the pitcher with a hidden "foreign substance" used to doctor the ball once they get ahold of it. Back 20ish years ago it was not too rare for a pitcher to be discovered with a nail file or scratching the ball on their belt buckle. Generally this is seen as "part of the game", and well, there are admitted spitballers/nail-filers in the hall of fame and nobody really cares. Nowadays, if a pitcher gets caught with a "foreign substance" (usually pine tar), they are usually suspended for a few games, the media goes into a frenzy, and retired baseball players say they all did it too.

zcdziura 12y ago

We have to remember that the NFL, after everything is said and done, is a business. They want to make money any way they can. A great way to do that is by having its teams score lots of touchdowns. But not just any touchdowns: passing touchdowns. There's nothing as exciting to watch as a quarterback throwing a hail marry into the end zone and having the receiver diving for it. Those kinds of plays are more likely to happen if the ball is broken in to the quarterback's liking. The ruling seems weird, but that's probably why the NFL allows its teams to supply their own game balls, instead of providing fresh ones for every game.

Bulkington 12y ago

In baseball, cheating is a worthwhile art and a science. http://a.espncdn.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1380568.html http://a.espncdn.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/1380568.html