The ball

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

...but fundamentally, they're still brown. That's kind of the pedestrian part. I mean, with manufacturing technology in this day and age, the most boring color in the universe is the one they stick with?

I mean, even gray would give an industrial vibe to it. These balls scream "same old, same old." Those old XFL balls were a BRAND. These are plain. Even if you put the rest of the stuff like the league logo and the brand of the ball, it's still the same brown football as every other league uses.

I'm still not impressed.

Isn't dark brown the best color against the back drop of a green field?

Only if the field stays green. In the dead of winter, natural grass has a tendency to go dormant, a huge problem during the original XFL... and when that happens, the field turns brown, especially after wear and tear. Four of the current XFL stadiums have natural grass surfaces, one of which is Washington, a relatively cool winter climate. The other are Dallas, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles.

Then you have St. Louis, an indoor venue that is notoriously dark (a factor in the Rams leaving). Most indoor leagues use lighter colors or at least panels to compensate for the lower lighting.

Personally, I would go with something red, perhaps with a little bit of Day-Glo influence to help it stand out in any surface condition.

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

...but fundamentally, they're still brown. That's kind of the pedestrian part. I mean, with manufacturing technology in this day and age, the most boring color in the universe is the one they stick with?

I mean, even gray would give an industrial vibe to it. These balls scream "same old, same old." Those old XFL balls were a BRAND. These are plain. Even if you put the rest of the stuff like the league logo and the brand of the ball, it's still the same brown football as every other league uses.

I'm still not impressed.

They might not even be brown, by the time they unveil their actual league football. That’s my point. They haven’t landed on a designer yet.

The issue with that is that the color of the ball may very well have an impact on its texture and slipperiness. That was part of the reason the NFL stopped using white balls during night games many years ago. If they were going to go with a different colored ball, they probably would have to test that color material first to make sure it's usable.

From the five balls shown... 1, 3 and 5 look like standard leather and they probably can't be changed all that much. I can't really tell the material 2 and 4 are made of; they don't look like a usual leather ball. That material might be more flexible in terms of color pattern.

[Tank55]

We've seen repeatedly that the 2020 version wants to be different in different ways than the 2001 version. We had the black and red ball in 2001; I would imagine everyone should be bracing themselves for a mostly brown and white version in 2020. I thought a brown and white ball with the same pattern as the 2001 ball would have been cool, but I don't expect that to be under consideration either.

[Sounder]

What could possibly be more different...... and easier to see by the players and the fans in the stadium and on TV than a red, white and blue ball like the old aba had? Y'know......a grevious mistake the aba made was that they never patented the colors of their ball. Manufacturers everywhere produced those balls and sold them without a dime going to the league. Sales of that ball made millions.

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[MikeMitchell]

...but fundamentally, they're still brown. That's kind of the pedestrian part. I mean, with manufacturing technology in this day and age, the most boring color in the universe is the one they stick with?

I mean, even gray would give an industrial vibe to it. These balls scream "same old, same old." Those old XFL balls were a BRAND. These are plain. Even if you put the rest of the stuff like the league logo and the brand of the ball, it's still the same brown football as every other league uses.

I'm still not impressed.

They might not even be brown, by the time they unveil their actual league football. That’s my point. They haven’t landed on a designer yet.

The issue with that is that the color of the ball may very well have an impact on its texture and slipperiness. That was part of the reason the NFL stopped using white balls during night games many years ago. If they were going to go with a different colored ball, they probably would have to test that color material first to make sure it's usable.

From the five balls shown... 1, 3 and 5 look like standard leather and they probably can't be changed all that much. I can't really tell the material 2 and 4 are made of; they don't look like a usual leather ball. That material might be more flexible in terms of color pattern.

Some good points. It all remains to be seen.

The original XFL ball was extremely cool. Unfortunately, it was all style and no substance. The balls were too slippery and needed to be sanded down or doctored.

I can see the white X pinpoints, for lack of a better term, remaining when the league does land on a football design. The question is would the white pop more on a different colored football. The 2 and 4 balls, almost look they have a matte type finish. As if they are going to have better grip.

I really believe that the XFL, is putting time a lot of time, thought and technology and testing into every single aspect of what they will do in the league. The players are giving the league input on the footballs. From the info, I got so far, they really liked the material and feel of them. Especially the receivers. They are able to see the X coming at them. It helped them catch the ball better. That's the first wave of testing. We got 6 more of these showcases to go, plus the Spring League game testing. All of this happens before the ball is chosen and then designed. Logo, scheme etc

[Tank55]

Maybe other people already picked up on this, but a recent Twitter video shows tiny Xs on one of the test balls.

[LeoNY]

Maybe other people already picked up on this, but a recent Twitter video shows tiny Xs on one of the test balls.

I didn’t catch that. That looks amazing. Again, just like everything with the XFL. Attention to detail. The X’s on the points of the ball are strictly there to enhance the game play. They look cool too.