Super Bowls

**bluewave** · 03-01-2006, 01:22 AM

The Los Angeles Times revealed last week that the NFL will use a new football on every play in the first half of today's Super Bowl, each marked to prevent counterfeiters from trying to sell phony ''game used" balls. But could the plan, which has been in effect the last few Super Bowls, affect the game, changing a team's fortunes or a man's career? Certainly most NFL quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers would tell you that changing the ball on every play easily could lead to more turnovers because the slickness factor. A year ago, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady privately grumbled about the new balls and the difficulty he had gripping them, saying they were far more slippery than normal. When Steelers receiver Antwaan Randle El was asked about the situation, he was at first shocked and then seemingly not amused. ''Every play?" Randle El said. ''That's not good. It's slick and slippery. Even when you go to tuck it, the ball's prone to come out a little more often than normal." This is not done during the regular season, when the ball becomes tackier and softer and easier to grip as the game progresses. But for today's game, 10 dozen balls will be rubbed down by a machine and then marked with a drop of DNA that will glow green when exposed to a laser frequency. According to the Times, the chance of replicating the DNA sequence is one in 33 trillion, which is good for stopping bogus collectors.