German television makers dream of such quotas: more than 100 million viewers watch a match live in front of the TV, We are talking about the Super Bowl, the final of the American professional footballer – the media event in the USA. About the ball but, the real star of the game so, you learn little in this country. What is that, this strange egg?

Tough

American football is not exactly squeamish. Right after the first match in New Jersey in 1869, it was clear that the right ball had to be sturdy, grippy on top of that, and above all, it should not lose its breath all the time. Over the decades, the ball has gone through a number of improvements that have made it what is still called „The Duke“ – nickname of a popular American football professional of the 1930s. The Duke is the official game ball of the professional league National Football League (NFL). It has been in its present form for decades: brown cowhide, sewn together in four parts to form an elongated ellipse that tapers at the ends. At one seam there is additionally a white lace. It ties the hole through which the innermost bladder is inserted during manufacture. Right next to it is the valve for inflating. On the leather there is an imprint with the manufacturer name Wilson and the NFL logo. In addition to the lace, the leather itself, which has a grainy texture, also ensures grip.

Inside the „Duke“

Because something has to keep the air in the ball, there is a plastic bubble inside. It is three-ply, of which two layers are made of polyurethane. What the third consists of, no one knows except the manufacturers – this is a closely guarded trade secret. In contrast, the production of the ball is not secret: First of all, a piece of leather is used to cut four identical pieces, which are stitched together except for a larger hole. Through the remaining opening, the bubble is introduced and finally the ball completely sewn. All sewing is done by expensive professional balls by hand. With proper pressure, it is then tested for durability. By the way, the valves were long metal, similar to those on car tire, Since this always led to injuries, they were replaced by rubber in the first half of the 20th century. With the Vorverschnürung, the so-called Prelacing, around 1920 was finally the Aufschnüren the ball to introduce a new bubble superfluous.

development

The development was mutual: The rules of American football changed, and with him the ball. Sometimes, however, the improved ball made certain things possible, such as the passing game. Thus, the first balls were difficult to grab and throw, even when the elliptical shape was introduced quite early. In addition, they lost their breath all the time, and at first it took half an hour to pump them up. Only with the invention of a syringe-like device, precursor of today air pump, this time shortened to a decent five minutes. However, since Wilson became the official manufacturer of NFL balls in 1941, the balls have finally been standardized. It was also manufacturer Wilson, who replaced the previously used pigskin with cowhide. The grip improved Wilson since 1955 with a special upper, also called Grip-Tite, which is especially useful in wet conditions. And if the white lacing used to be made of cotton, today polyvinyl chloride is used – that simply keeps you better. To date, Wilson is the undisputed number one in the production of football balls in the professional and leisure sector.

Not just for professionals

In the professional league NFL simple brown leather balls are used. Likewise at colleges, but here the balls have white stripes on both ends. In high schools, however, one uses plastic or mixed forms of both. The game balls also differ in size and weight: smaller, lighter forms are available for children and adolescents. The professionals reserve the American size 9, also called „official size“. Such a ball for competitions must of course be standardized. He has a length of 28 cm. Its weight is between 397 and 425 g. For less ambitious or casual players, the so-called replica are interesting. Their upper consists of a plastic-leather mix, but in size and weight they are the same as the real professional balls.