June 26, 2018 9:14 pm

Wednesday, We Answer Cosmic Queries about the FIFA World Cup

There are few things I will voluntarily wake up at 5 AM to do: Get a prime tee-time at an exclusive golf course, work on a cool film set, and watch England play in the World Cup (Sorry USA). If you’ve been paying attention to the sports world, you know that the World Cup is well underway and you can bet I am up early watching it. It also helps I have one of the best soccer bars in Chicago right down the street from me. If you’ve never been to a soccer bar for an early World Cup match, do yourself a favor and go. The atmosphere is unlike anything else.

On this week’s episode of Playing with Science, we’ve caught the World Cup fever as well. Hosts Gary O’Reilly and Chuck Nice sit down with The Good Professor, John Eric Goff, to answer fan-submitted Cosmic Queries about the FIFA World Cup and the football world in general.

You’ll hear about the new FIFA World Cup Ball being used, the Telstar 18, and how it differs from previous iterations of balls from the past tournaments. We also discuss if the aerodynamics of this ball will impact players on corner kicks, goal kicks, etc. Then, Eric breaks down the science of the knuckleball and you’ll find out if striking a ball through the inflation apparatus has any impact on the flight pattern ­– a technique used by some of the world’s biggest stars including Cristiano Ronaldo.

Next, former British footballer Gary helps us understand the “toe poke,” we discuss if the abnormal daylight hours in Russia could have hazardous effects on players’ biorhythms, and we ponder where the best place on the planet would be to have a match.

Lastly, explore how different fields use different types of turf and the intense, meticulous process that goes into maintaining a soccer pitch. If you think the subject lacks seriousness, I can speak from personal experience. When I took a tour of Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, during an off day, we were told beforehand that it’s illegal to walk onto the pitch without permission and you might be arrested.

Be sure to watch the FIFA World Cup and if you want to hear more from Eric Goff on the Telstar 18, check out our episode: 2018 Soccer Tech: Beyond Sports & Telstar 18.

Please join us tomorrow night for Cosmic Queries – FIFA World Cup Edition right here on our website, as well as on our Playing with Science channels on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen