Captain of the Tailgate: Balls

by Dan Kadar on Nov 19, 2010 4:53 PM EST

Every Friday over the past several weeks we've be talked tailgating. That's thanks to a cool sponsorship deal with Captain Morgan. You know, the maker tasty sweet spiced rum with the wacky pirate mascot. Mmmm.

Today's topic is balls. No, not the gargantuan pants danglers Les Miles drags around. We're talking footballs, you sick freak.

After eating and boozing it up, there's always some time to kill before kickoff. Instead of having a real conversation with a real person, we choose to throw misshapen flaps of pig epidermis at each other. It's wonderful. However, this wonder can quickly be ruined by a poor football.

Picking the right football to tailgate toss is a tricky thing. To get one that absolutely doesn't suck, you have to spend some money. You have to watch how much money you're spending because it can quickly cut into how much booze money you have. Logic people.

My football choice is the Wilson WTF1845 ultimate composite official size. It's lighter toned than official NFL footballs, which led a friend to ask if it was made with chicken skin. Sadly, it is not. The WTF1845 has two big pluses. First, it's kind of sticky to give you good grip. If you have little girlie hands, this helps you throw a tighter spiral and look more Andrew Luck and less Jake Locker (zing).

The ball also has a little more point to it. So when you see someone grabbing your drink, you can really do some damage beaning him in the head. Oh, and the ball is only $20. So, that's this week's Captain of the Tailgate. Now, Marissa Miller.