So, the update is supposed to come in early 2003. PUMA is going to be the new supplier of the ball. I haven't seen anything about it yet. The last headline I saw was on MLSNET on October 18th. www.puma.com is going to have more info as well as the MLS official site. Anyone else hear anything? I'm excited to see what they come up with. Although, I thought the Kappa match ball had rights until the end of the 2004 season originally. Guess I was wrong or something changed. The fans will be able to vote again, it suggests. Here's a link to the old article. http://www.mlsnet.com/content/02/mls1018puma.html It also states that, "PUMA will unveil the Chicago Fire Jersey and licensing plan at the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, to be held on January 17th in Kansas City." Again, excited.
It is that dimpled, golf-ball like surface that will be used... there are also 4 or 5 boomerang-like designs throughout the ball... it's different... but it's pretty cool methinks...
hey dumbass calm down... i wasn't talking about the whole damn thing. i was just looking for a SLIGHT mentioning of MLS or the BALL. wich by the way i eventually FOUND... so why don't you get off of your high horse and fucck off. theres no need to be an ass just for the hell of it
You have to guess that it'll be that new dimpled design. It's a little like the dimples on a golf ball. I got one for my kid for Christmas - haven't been able to kick it around because of the snow, but it looks pretty cool. (Having a kid who plays is great - you can buy this stuff for him which makes you a great guy, your wife doesn't bitch because it was for the kid, and you get to play with it. A good deal all around)
It may be pretty cool, from a technology point of view. But do we really want a ball that is straighter? Perhaps I am wrong, but that would diminish curving crosses, or shots around walls, or other varieties of adding "English" to the ball during the game.
the description says "unbeatable controlled and straight trajectory" so i'd assume you can still have the same spin and curve applied on shots. besides, it's FIFA approved, and it's not like FIFA is made up of idiots or anything.
dimples are a joke Dimples on a soccer ball are PURELY a marketing ploy... Dimples work on a golf ball because of its small size and surface area, and the depth of the dimple in relation to the size of the ball. For a dimple to work on a soccer ball the dimples would have to be MUCH deeper... Anyway, the seams for the stiching already have a similar effect on a soccer ball. Someone posted a paper writen by a scientist about the effects of dimples. I cant find that thread though. I have seen one of these balls in person. The dimples are VERY slight. I feels like a decent ball. It is no Select, no top Nike or Adidas Match ball. But it seems to be on par with the Kappa MLS ball.
I think I played with one of those balls--if it's the same top of the line Puma--this summer and it didn't make much of an impression. It doesn't fly like the Fevernova (or that first MLS ball by Mitre, that thing was a balloon) but it's a decent ball. It plays a little like that Umbro USL ball. You can get a good touch on it and it will respond if you strike it correctly. Should have little impact on the game.
I think this is the article you were refering to: http://pete.uri.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0206C&L=socref-l&P=R17237