For a brief period, the "Knuckleball" technique broke football, but absolutely nobody could understand why... All of a sudden, balls were swerving chaotically through the air, making it near-impossible for goalkeepers to react. This turned into such a problem that Adidas called in NASA, who determined what was happening after running some tests. Turns out, soccer balls had gotten so round that they couldn't grip the air, resulting in a phenomenon called drag crisis (AKA--the Knuckleball.) ⭕️💥 I'll level with you--this is my absolute favorite technique in football, however, FIFA disagreed. They determined the balls were giving players an unfair technological advantage, which resulted in a major design change from Adidas... For the 2014 World Cup, they increased the panel count, deepened the seams, and added a bumpy texture (similar to a golf ball.) The result? Less round balls = less knuckle, and less knuckle = better flight. To this day, this is how footballs are produced, which is why--in the modern game--true knuckleballs are extremely rare. Do you think it's time for them to make a comeback, or was FIFA right to nerf this overpowered technique? 🤔
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