The footballs used in the Super Bowl have the names of the two competing teams, so they couldn’t be made until late yesterday. A work crew showed up at the Wilson factory in Ada, Ohio during halftime of the second game. They had some pizza and made a little TV party out of it. Then when the game was over and they knew who would be in the Super Bowl they started making footballs.
They worked all night, until five or six this morning when a new crew came in. By the end of today they will overnight 100 footballs to the Philadelphia Eagles and another 100 to the New England Patriots.
The N.F.L. is the only major sports league whose balls are manufactured in the United States. World Series baseballs come from a factory in Costa Rica. Basketballs in the N.B.A. finals first bounced on the floors of factories in China.
Wilson football factory, Ada, Ohio
Tours conducted by factory employees, ready to answer your football manufacturing questions can be booked in advance by calling 419-634-9901 for $5/adult.
- 217 N. Liberty St., Ada, OH
- Directions:
- From Hwy 235/N. Main St., turn east at the stoplight onto E. Highland Ave. Drive three blocks. You’ll see the parking lot for the little factory on the right.
