The cynic in me, the journalistic side, always wants to meet the unveiling of a new match ball with something along these lines:
“Is it round? Does it roll? … Then it’s just another ball.”
But then the soccer nerd in me takes over and, like a few other folks, I suppose, I do get a little excited about a new match ball. Major League Soccer has one – sort of, anyway.
The new ball is the updated Adidas Prime.
The official releases boasts of a “cutting-edge panel bonding technique” that creates a more aerodynamic construction for improved control and consistent ball movement. Honestly, they’ve been trying to improve on a pretty simple concept for 40 or 50 years, and I’m not sure how much better a round piece of synthetic leather can get.
Still, it looks pretty cool, I suppose.
And perhaps it’s just a little softer than the previous version of the Prime; MLS players were initially surprised at how hard it was when introduced during preseason training camps about 11 months ago, and wondered if it might help passing teams that kept the ball more reliably on the ground?