Do they keep them indoors or heated until put in the game? Someone said they do and I just wanted to confirm?
Do they keep footballs heated in cold weather?
- Thread starter raiders72001
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Topflight
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Re: Do they keep footballs heated in cold weather?
Nick Lowery, the Jets' 39-year-old field-goal kicker, said today that he regretted an incident during Sunday's game against the New England Patriots at Foxboro, Mass., in which he slapped a 20-year-old New England ball boy. A National Football League spokesman said the league was looking into the incident and would not speculate what disciplinary action, if any, Lowery faced.
When Don Silvestri, who made the second-half kickoff for the Jets, told Lowery that the ball was rock hard in the 26-degree cold, Lowery said he walked toward the ball boy, David Foscaldo of Foxboro.
I asked him if a guy was keeping balls warm," Lowery said. "He gave me attitude. He started coming toward me."
Lowery said that Foscaldo cursed him. At that point, Lowery slapped the ball boy.
"I guess that's when security took him off," Lowery said. "After the game, I looked for him to make sure he was O.K. with it. We shook hands. He said, 'I'm mad because they almost arrested me.' I said, 'Well, it's over and forget about it.' "
Although Lowery neither admitted nor denied today that he had slapped the ball boy, he said: "Let's say I reacted in an inappropriate way."
On Sunday night, Frank Ramos, a Jets spokesman, said Lowery had told him that he had slapped Foscaldo. "It happens in the heat of battle," Ramos said, "and it happened only after the guy became abusive."
Today, Lowery said: "He was 180 pounds and 20 years old. This wasn't a Wimbledon ball boy. But nobody looks good in this incident. I regret it. In the heat, or in this case the cold, of the moment, I lost my cool. If I had to do it again, I would do it differently."
A hard ball does not travel as far as a warm one. In cold-weather home games at Giants Stadium, the Jets, like many other teams, keep a bag of balls on their heated seats for the game officials to use for both teams.
"That lets the quarterback throw the ball more easily," Lowery said. "It's a courtesy thing. It's no big deal. It's not like we need the ball steaming, just so it isn't rock hard."
Greg Aiello, an N.F.L. spokesman, said that while heating a bag of balls was a common practice, league rules prohibited heating of individual balls.
"We were contacted by the Patriots," Aiello said, "and we're looking into it, trying to gather the facts. It's an unusual incident."
Matt Bahr, the Patriots' kicker, said: "You don't lay hands on anyone. No matter what was said, that's when you have to turn away and walk away if it was that offensive."
Steve DeOssie, the Patriots' long snapper and a former Jet and Giant, said both teams played with a cold football. He said that applied to Bahr and Bryan Wagner, the Patriots' punter.
"You didn't hear Matt Bahr or Bryan Wagner complain about kicking cold footballs," DeOssie said. "That's life in the N.F.L."
FOOTBALL;Lowery Says He Regrets Run-In With Ball Boy - New York Times
Nick Lowery, the Jets' 39-year-old field-goal kicker, said today that he regretted an incident during Sunday's game against the New England Patriots at Foxboro, Mass., in which he slapped a 20-year-old New England ball boy. A National Football League spokesman said the league was looking into the incident and would not speculate what disciplinary action, if any, Lowery faced.
When Don Silvestri, who made the second-half kickoff for the Jets, told Lowery that the ball was rock hard in the 26-degree cold, Lowery said he walked toward the ball boy, David Foscaldo of Foxboro.
I asked him if a guy was keeping balls warm," Lowery said. "He gave me attitude. He started coming toward me."
Lowery said that Foscaldo cursed him. At that point, Lowery slapped the ball boy.
"I guess that's when security took him off," Lowery said. "After the game, I looked for him to make sure he was O.K. with it. We shook hands. He said, 'I'm mad because they almost arrested me.' I said, 'Well, it's over and forget about it.' "
Although Lowery neither admitted nor denied today that he had slapped the ball boy, he said: "Let's say I reacted in an inappropriate way."
On Sunday night, Frank Ramos, a Jets spokesman, said Lowery had told him that he had slapped Foscaldo. "It happens in the heat of battle," Ramos said, "and it happened only after the guy became abusive."
Today, Lowery said: "He was 180 pounds and 20 years old. This wasn't a Wimbledon ball boy. But nobody looks good in this incident. I regret it. In the heat, or in this case the cold, of the moment, I lost my cool. If I had to do it again, I would do it differently."
A hard ball does not travel as far as a warm one. In cold-weather home games at Giants Stadium, the Jets, like many other teams, keep a bag of balls on their heated seats for the game officials to use for both teams.
"That lets the quarterback throw the ball more easily," Lowery said. "It's a courtesy thing. It's no big deal. It's not like we need the ball steaming, just so it isn't rock hard."
Greg Aiello, an N.F.L. spokesman, said that while heating a bag of balls was a common practice, league rules prohibited heating of individual balls.
"We were contacted by the Patriots," Aiello said, "and we're looking into it, trying to gather the facts. It's an unusual incident."
Matt Bahr, the Patriots' kicker, said: "You don't lay hands on anyone. No matter what was said, that's when you have to turn away and walk away if it was that offensive."
Steve DeOssie, the Patriots' long snapper and a former Jet and Giant, said both teams played with a cold football. He said that applied to Bahr and Bryan Wagner, the Patriots' punter.
"You didn't hear Matt Bahr or Bryan Wagner complain about kicking cold footballs," DeOssie said. "That's life in the N.F.L."
FOOTBALL;Lowery Says He Regrets Run-In With Ball Boy - New York Times
Journeyman
EOG Master
Re: Do they keep footballs heated in cold weather?
absolutely, they show this often.
absolutely, they show this often.
Journeyman
EOG Master
Re: Do they keep footballs heated in cold weather?
I think in recent years they did do away with allowing a special designated ball to be used for punting didn't they?
I think in recent years they did do away with allowing a special designated ball to be used for punting didn't they?