Yellow balls. What's that all about? Since the clocks have gone back, we've
been treated to the sight of yellow balls being hoofed around the field,
presumably because the yellow makes the ball more visible. I've yet to be
convinced that this is actually case, but seeing as yellow tennis balls are
infinitely more visible at Wimbledon that the old white ones, I assume
there's logic in the truth. But are there other hidden, perhaps mysterious,
reasons for the implementation of the yellow ball?
I investigate....
One slant on this yellow ball malarkey is that they appear to travel a lot
quicker and higher (anyone watching Pressman's efforts on Tuesday night will
testify to the height). Is it because they actually do travel faster or it
is because we can see the ball better so we can appreciate its trajectory?
Crazy, I know, yet examine the evidence. We all know that white reflects
heat and black absorbs, so one could argue that the yellow ball absorbs more
heat than the white ball making the air inside less dense and consequently
lighter. Rubbish, possibly, but feasible. Perhaps some student can persuade
his University to stump up the cash for a final year project? In cricket, it
is well documented that the white ball behaves differently to the red ball.
Whether this is due to the colour of the manufacturing of the leather is
open to question, but there is a difference. Are we seeing the football
equivalent or is it my imagination?
You could argue that the yellow ball give us an advantage as we can
camouflage the ball on our shirts whilst controlling it or when the ball is
whipping in with a background of yellow from the stands or the players.
Maybe this gave Mooney the crucial edge when burying his brace of headers on
Saturday. Having said that why are Spurs so rubbish with the white ball
then, or is it simply (he says jokingly) because Spurs are not very good?
Finally, the world could be waking up to the fact that yellow is the colour
to be seen in. Coldplay in their wisdom decided this to be the case,
obviously with the Golden Boys in mind, so it's only natural that the fickle
public should follow suit and turn to the colour yellow.
In conclusion, there is no conclusion. Yellow footballs are here because they provide greater
visibility and not because they remind me of party balloons! I do like
yellow balls and I know why we have them, but you can't surpass the white
ball because, at the end of the day, it's a more serious type of ball.