Stumbled across this article, which I feel is illustrated best by daft as a brush (toqué comme une brosse?) yet remarkably talented Montpelier fan Rémi Gaillard.
As the ball undergoes top-spin, it causes the velocity of the air around the top half of the ball to become less than the air velocity around the bottom half of the ball. This is because the tangential velocity of the ball in the top half acts in the opposite direction to the airflow, and the tangential velocity of the ball in the bottom half acts in the same direction as the airflow.
NE1 says
I have watched this; I have shown it to my wife. We are both impressed, My wife less so. I will show this to my son tomorrow. He loves football, He may not be able to bend a ball from a corner into a goal though. I once saw Chris Waddle score directly from a corner into a goal for Bradford City Vs Huddersfield town, this made me happy.
Whilst FIFA and Sepp Blatter are essentially a bad thing, football as played by those that live it (and I include my son) remains a force for good.
Having ‘re-read the last sentence, it was meant to say love it. But live it serves just as well.
DougieJ says
yep. at its core, it’s the sheer fascination of watching a sphere being propelled through the air with finesse. These Remi Gaillard videos bring about a Proustian rush for me – memories of the sheer pleasure of hitting a ‘crossbar’ or ‘post’ being somehow greater than scoring a mere goal.
Bingo Little says
You are absolutely spot on. It’s one of the very best things in the world.
To my mind, playground football is the game’s ultimate iteration. Kids playing without fear, trying out all sorts of crazy tricks, heads full of fantasy. Games played with 20-a-side and not enough room to swing a cat. Keepers selected because they own winter coats thick enough to dive on concrete. Games that end 25-24. Goals that live on in legend for years afterwards.
On Monday night I had dinner with one of my oldest mates and we reminisced over a kid we used to play football with 25 years ago. His “thing” was that he never celebrated the goals he scored, and he scored plenty of them. When I say “never celebrated”, I mean not so much as a flicker of joy across the face, let alone a pump of the fist. He simply turned on his heel, totally poker-faced, and jogged back into position. Coolest thing I ever saw, I’ll never forget it.
Anyway, all a bit of a ramble, but the point is: THAT’s football. FIFA can play the World Cup at the bottom of the ocean, it still won’t tarnish the sheer joy of a kickabout with your mates.
Sitheref2409 says
Easier with the modern balls. My Dad maintains he saw a goal direct from a corner when he were but a lad, at Dunfermline Athletic, with one of the old leather balls.
The ref was so surprised he demanded it get taken again.
Matthew Best says
More about the Magnus effect: