Are rugby balls and American football balls actually balls?

[purplepoppy]

A ball is a sphere, a round three dimensional globularp object with no corners and equal on all sides. We don't call an egg a ball, so why do we call rugby balls and American football balls balls?

Because ellipsoidal bouncy tossy thing is too long

Anything that bounces is a ball

They identify as balls

It's to get around tax regulations

I actually know

[AI Opinion]

You’re right that in strict geometry, a ball is spherical. 🏀
In sports though, “ball” became a general word for any main object that’s thrown, kicked, or carried in play.

Rugby and American football started from older football games that used round balls. As shapes evolved for better aerodynamics and handling, the name “ball” stayed out of tradition and simplicity. 🏉🏈

[AviatorTom]

I've heard that Rugby balls (yes, Rugby was created in Rugby England) were originally round, but they kept rolling away from the action, so they elongated them into their present shape. American football was created after rugby, and originally used rugby balls. Over the years, the ball changed, especially as passing surpassed running and kicking in the 1940s and 50s, becoming the American football we see today.

So, they are called balls because their ancestors were round. Today, they identify as balls, and people just accept it.

Plus. it's a lot easier for the sports announcer to call them balls than elongated oblate spheroids.

[goaded]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/27PSHASlGUU

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

The first dictionary I opened clearly anticipated the issue, with meaning Nr 3:

ball /bôl/

noun
A spherical object or entity.
A spherical or almost spherical body.
Any of various movable and round or oblong objects used in various athletic activities and games.

[Kelley1]

That would depend on your definition of balls. If your definition is limited to round or nearly round, they wouldn't be balls. However, generally, the definition does not require being round to be considered balls. Footballs and testicles are not round, but they are called balls.

[NathanDavis]

not all balls are round...

soccer balls are NOT perfectly round either

there's been only one ROUND ball in soccer... the Jabulani, and everyone hated it and it was never used again in professional sports, lol

[browsingthroughthe]

@purplepoppy it always all about the balls - duh 🙄😂 🏈 🏉 ⚽

[browsingthroughthe]

I voted they identify as balls

[Iron_Man]

Well, they are not like tennis balls and baseballs balls and a man’s balls. But they are balls, soccer balls, rugby, balls, basketball balls, and the best footballs 🏈

[Iron_Man]

By the way, the best football in the world is the NFL football 🏈

[Iron_Man]

Here’s a copy and paste for you

football The official NFL game football is named "The Duke". Details About "The Duke"Manufacturer: Made exclusively by Wilson Sporting Goods, which has supplied the NFL's official balls since 1941. Origin of Name: Named after Wellington Mara, the late owner of the New York Giants, who was nicknamed "The Duke". Material: Crafted from 100% genuine Horween leather with raised pebbles and distinctive laces for grip.

[AngryCarl3]

They are definitely balls. There's no law of physics stating a ball has to be a perfect sphere.

[AngryCarl3]

Having said that, the English commonly refer to rugby as "egg chasing", so maybe egg is the correct term.

[exitseven]

websters dictionary says.

a spherical or ovoid body used in a game or sport.

[KostasKouvalis]

I mean, birdies/shuttle cocks aren't actually birdies, nor shuttles, no cocks.

[Abbycado]

Technically, nope.

[browsingthroughthe]

But it's about the balls, right? 💯👍🏻

[OlderAndWiser]

Why does it matter?

[Anonymous]

Oblong spheroid sound right?