Ph-ootball!

The raiders played a great game on Friday at Aloha Stadium. I thought they did well despite having some obvious ups and downs throughout the game. However they managed to pull out in the end. Not to say that the game wasn't interesting, but, I started noticing how the player used the odd shape of the ball and physics to complete their passing plays. The first thing I noticed was that the ball was oddly shaped. It was shaped like a...well...football. I guess some people call it an olive shape or something like that but, it was really a very odd shape. However, the ball is made in that odd shape because it makes it aerodynamically different. Because of the points at opposite ends of the ball, it allows it to fly more smoothly through the air. This helps to explain why throwing a spiral is best. Like a bullet, as the ball rotates through the air, it becomes straighter and faster and is more likely to go into the arms of your receiver. Also, I guess with a bit more elongation in the center, it is easier to hold onto when someone tries to run the ball. However, this odd shape made it difficult to catch the ball if it is rolling or if someone dropped it. Then again, your not really supposed to drop it anyway right? There were some other cool physics things I noticed during the game like projectile motion, momentum, and of course, net force. But overall, I presume it was the skill of the player that made the Raiders come out on top!