Getting The Footballs Rolling
You can't play a game of football without — footballs!
And Dave Price visited the team that puts NFL footballs on the field.
The Wilson Sporting Goods factory in Ada, Ohio, is home to the first people to have possession of the ball in every NFL game, including the Super Bowl.
It's the only plant that makes footballs in the United State, and turns them out for all NFL games. The facility has made all the balls used in all the Super Bowls from the first one in 1967.
Factory manager Dan Riegle is well aware his people are part of what he calls "the biggest event, probably, in the United States every year, the Super Bowl. When they kick that game off, that's the pride of our year for our employees. We're there, we're there, we're the focus, we're the ball. Without us, the game would be pointless!"
Riegle says the pieces of cowhide used to make the ball have numbers in them "so, if there's a problem with the product, we can compare the number to see who worked on it."
But stitcher Heather Nicely told Price she never worries that an angry player will blame a ball for a bad game, tear it apart to get at the numbers, and come at her.
Fellow stitcher Glen Hanson has been sewing balls together for 34 years. Kiddingly asked by Price if he has any advice for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning or Chicago Bears QB Rex Grossman, since Hanson knows the equipment better than anybody, Hanson smiled and responded simply, "I don't (think) they'll have any trouble with the football" itself.
Footballs are sewn together inside-out. It's Charles Moore's job to turn them, by pulling them down over a thick, metal spike-like tool to make them look like footballs. He's been doing it for 43 years. Price tried his hand at it, with little luck.
Ball Lacer Rita Rowe admitted to Price, with a chuckle, "I don't know nothing about football," and proved it by saying she doesn't know where the Bears play.
The next step is to put a "bladder" in the balls, then lace them shut.
Last but not least, the balls are inspected. They need to weigh between 14 and 15 ounces, and should be 21 inches long.