Posted on 02/05/2006 3:30:39 AM PST by beyond the sea
Super Bowl quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Hasselbeck are worried about using the new balls that will be used for every play in the first half of Sunday's Super Bowl XL per the NFL.
The main headache for passers is that the league never did a competent job of rubbing off the slick surface covering every football, ones they plan to donate to charity and give to the Hall of Fame and to the coaches and players in the game as souvenirs.
Unlike baseball, the league's officials have never been diligent in rubbing off the slippery surface covering every football. Big Ben will be wearing gloves due to a right thumb injury, and he believes he should be able to grip the new footballs.
"My only concern is how the receivers and guys like Jerome Bettis deal with the slippery new footballs," Roethlisberger said. "I understand the reason for putting so many footballs into play for this game, but I do know how difficult it is for my teammates to catch them."
Hasselbeck didn't know about the league's system of using a new football for every single play in the first half of the championship game.
"I don't like the new footballs, but I'm sure I will be able to deal with them," Hasselbeck said. "It's part of the deal, and every player on the field has to handle this situation. Most of the new footballs will be given to charity and that's a good thing."
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.foxsports.com ...
Nnnnnooooooooo don't ping me with the answer pppplleeeese...I want to watch what happens...including the final score.
I already know how it is going to come out.
Steelers 24
Seahawks 13
Talking about the players, not Freepers.
;-)
You musta read those Australian papers already!
what if the balls get schwetty.
schwetty balls
I’m thinking they would work a bit better with some air taken out.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.