Plastics play a role in virtually every element of football – from supporting player safety to bringing the level of play to new heights. Thanks to everyone who entered our contest to win $100 worth of tailgating supplies, including snack bowls, barbecue aprons, mitts and/or attire, from your favorite NFL or college football team!
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By: Barry Eisenberg , SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association
The first weekend of NFL football is in the rearview mirror and the college football season has been in full swing longer than that. While the actual ball is made of leather (and not pigskin or a pig’s bladder as in days of yore), plastics play a huge role in the modern game.
For several decades, plastics have been the material of choice for innovations in trying to minimize football injuries. The NFL administration has become increasingly concerned about head injuries and is studying concussions in particular. As seen in the video above, there was a scary collision that left Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley dazed and stumbling as he tried to walk off the field. Sure enough, Stewart, was diagnosed with a concussion.
Head protection has come a long way since 1866 when one of the first appearances of protective football headgear (earpieces held together with leather harness straps) occurred at Lafayette College. But the most significant advancements in helmet innovation didn’t come until the advent of new resin materials in the 1930s. In 1939, the first plastic helmet — stronger, lighter, and more durable than leather — was introduced by the Riddell Company and the leather helmet was obsolete within 10 years.
Today’s helmets are made from molded polycarbonate shells with foam padding (either polyurethane, polystyrene, polypropylene, or ethylene vinyl acetate) inside. As we blogged about last December, today football helmet companies are competing to come up with new plastic and foam engineering designs that will greatly reduce the number of concussions that occur in today’s game.
In addition, thermoformed plastic mouth guards can help protect the hard and soft tissues of the mouth from damage caused by traumatic blows and collisions. They are also designed to absorb the shock of impact to the head.
But plastics also play a role in the protective pads football players wear beneath their uniforms. Most shoulder pads consist of a shock absorbing foam material with a hard plastic outer shell. Hip and tailbone pads are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and protect the hips, pelvis, and tailbone. Thigh and knee pads are made of plastics and inserted into pockets constructed inside the football pants. Football pants themselves are manufactured in nylon mesh or nylon and spandex for a tight fit for games.
The front and back of football jerseys are usually nylon, with spandex side panels to keep it taut. The idea is to make it so tight that an opposing player has trouble grabbing hold of the jersey. Jerseys have a wide strip of Velcro (usually a combination of nylon and polyester) at the rear that connects with Velcro inside the waistband of the pants.
At a typical college or pro game, plastics are also used in multiple places on the field – from the kicking tee to the foam-padded down and distance markers on the sidelines and the bright colored pylons that mark the corners of the end zone.
And don’t forget the field itself. Many stadiums employ synthetic grass fields with individual blades made from plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and nylon that mimic the soft but sturdy texture of natural grass. Besides saving water resources and eliminating the need for fertilizer, most “artificial turf” is completely recyclable as well.
Reprinted with permission from inthehopper.org, SPI’s business blog.
© 2010-2013 American Chemisty Council, Inc. All Right Reserved.
Didn’t realize plastic was used in the synthetic grass fields!
I will be rooting for the University of Miami this year.
I had no idea AstroTurf and the like are recyclable.
I found that the pads that go under the pants tailbone hipbone and knee pads and also thigh pads are made from plastic, having played football for nearly my whole life this comes as a suprise for me.
I did not know that the helmets that i wear in my high school games are plastic i thought these were light metals
I root for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! I am surprised that plastic is used for the pads.
That’s an ingenious way of thininkg about it.
I am surprised by the use of plastics in concussion research. We hear a lot about the NFL’s desire to reduce concussions. It is nice to see that plastics play a role in keeping the players safe, especially those that play on my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.
J-E-T-S jets jets jets & UCF Knights. Not surprised by anything mentioned in article. Although you could mentioned the medical equipment, splinting, decals, stadium seating, bags, bobble heads, foam fingers, straws, hats, banners, etc. The list can go for days. (of which almost all of the plastic can be recycled and recyclable).
And in all the stuff I’m going to win from you guys:)
I was surprised and pleased to learn that artificial turf is made from recycled plastic! Less water, and a smaller carbon footprint since you don’t have to run any mowers. Go Lions!
I love the yoga bag! It’d go great w/my new biodegradable yoga mat! I go green by nruocnagieg my co-workers to recycle since it’s something my family has done for years. I actually sometimes have a pile of their plastic bottles on my desk at the end of the day to take home and recycle b/c recycling is not available in their neighborhood. I’ve even recruited two of my managers to help me recycle items from our boxed lunches after we had a group conference call at the office one day.I also use cloth grocery bags it’s cut way back on the plastic bags from the grocery store!
Actually, I knew most of that. I didn’t realize the field and those little black pebble thingies in the field were made of recycled plastics though.
I’m a Cowboys fan and a USC Trojans fan!
I’d like to spell out the name of my favorite NFL team, “PATRIOTS,” in thousands of thermoformed plastic mouth guards!
I never really thought about the fact that player’s protective pads have plastic in them!
I will be rootin’ for the Dallas Cowboys!:)
goooooooo ohio st
I’m rooting for the Bengals, and I’m amazed to learn that ‘artificial turf’ is completely recyclable – Go Plastics & Go Bengals!
It’s great to read and learn just how much plastic is involved. Without you there would be NO football!!!!! Scarlet and Gray baby….. OSU!!!!
I thought the original leather helmets were leather over a plastic shell…Kinda like wearing a gucci bag on your head. No protection whatsoever! GO CHICAGO BEARS!!!!!!
Go Canes, I used the mouth guards, but never sit and think about the benefit I get from it.
Appreciation for this ifornmation is over 9000-thank you!
It’s easy to take for granted how much plastics take a role in football. The artificial turf being able to be recycled was surprising to me. Hadn’t heard that before.
Let’s Go Packers!!
I’m so glad we can recycle plastic and use it for good things.
I guess I never realized the foam padding is actually a form of plastic. GO BIG RED!!! GO HUSKERS!!!
Plastics have been significant in the development of the game. Did not realize that plastics followed leather in the development of helmets. Hook ‘em Horns. University of Texas all the way!!!
This alitcre is excellent but I would like to know more about what I can do. Can youplease have this author continue writing similar pieces? The tone wasn’t judgmental to those of us who have yet to make these types of changes but authoritative enough tomake me think about wanting to. Interesting piece.
Cool plastics used in pads..did not know that
Go Packers
Plastic plays a vital role in our daily life, ranging from shreaded cheese you buy at the store to sporting equipment. This is a well written article. Go Seahawks and Razorbacks.
There’s plastic in football? I thought it was all pigskin and blood. Arizona State Sun Devils. Fork-em!
It is amazing how many things pertaining to football are made from plastics. I was most intrigued by the fact astro turf was made of plastics and also recyclable! Gos to show how we take for granted the impact of plastics in our every day lives!
Proud member of the Raider Nation!
Wow! Plastics make up so much of the football game, from protective wear to the field itself. I would love to see plastics advocating for more protection in helmets and better officiating for those QB’s. I was surprised to see that the jerseys are specially designed to ward-off defenders, clever! Thanks for the information, and Goo Denver Broncos!
It is amazing how far the padding technology has come since the days when I first started playing as a kid. I didn’t realize plastic was used in so many facets of the game. Go Dallas Cowboys!
OK I Know I have a problem, my name is Mike and I am a Browns fan (hanging head). I was most suprised that plastic is used in knee and thigh pads. The ones I played with years ago in High School were a thick foam like pad. If I had plastic I might not be going to need the plastic knee replacments I will probally have one day!
I never realized that astro turf was made of a plastic.I also never would have guessed that it could be recycled.
I’m rooting for the chicago Bears
I think I prefer the Plastics. As much as I enjoy the bgiger, bolder detail of the metals, the pose-ability of the plastics just cannot be outmatched. Plus, it’s soooo much easier to re-pose plastics Plarzoid
When my KU Jayhawks are scoring touchdowns, I didn’t realize the goal line pylons where plastic. Rock Chalk Jayhawks! Go KU!
I’m rooting for the Green Bay Packers this season!
What surprised me most about how plastics are used in football was that turf systems can be either filled or unfilled – in a filled system, a material such as crumbled cork, rubber pellets, or sand (or a mixture) is spread over the turf and raked down in between the fibers, making the surface feel more like natural grass.
As a former football player, I’m well aware of the importance of plastics in the game. I think the velcro that keeps the jersey tucked in was a great idea, and I never knew that that was plastic. My favorite quad is the Vikings.
Without plastics the level of safety would be no where of what it is today. Without plastic the game would be be of a lesser level of quality than it is today. Without plastics there would be not as much enjoyment than we have today.
Nice to hear that most artificial turf can be recycled. Go Chargers
With all the recent controversy about head injuries, I am proud our plastics are designed to perform their roles in this life-saving head-protection gear under even the harshest conditions — e.g. repeated full-speed collisions by professional players at -40F !
Go Steelers with your awesome D ! (how about a 7th Superbowl trophy for Pittsburgh?)
I’ve notice how a lot of NFL players now use a plastic eye shield over their helmets to prevent “eye pokes.” The shield must be pretty tough to handle all the tackles but also maintain its clarity so the player can see well. My favorite team is the NY Giants and some of them wear the eye shield, too!
Michigans offense is quite impressive but the defense stinks. I think even the St. Louis Sharks could score on this defense. With that said, I had a chance to work a little bit on the new sports turf, this stuff is great. Now if they can make a product to saves the knees.
If you were to remove the plastics from the game, there is very little cloth left to wear. From the head to the shoes, plastics play a major role in the game.
Rooting for the University of Cincinnati football team. Go Bearcats!
a self-managing and fully recyclable turf field is the best innovation in several years outside of the helmet technology at play right now.
i am always rooting for the chicago bears and the michigan wolverines
I am always rooting for my favorite team the NY Jets to play hard and avoid serious injury. I am most surprised to learn that some artificial turfs are largely recyclable. Good to know. I am hoping to be able to install a variation in my yard to replace the St Augustine grass that needs constant watering.