Playing With Balls — Giz AU’s Tribute To All Things Sports

It’s match day. Everything we’ve done before has been leading up to this moment. Socks are pulled up. Jerseys cleaned and pressed. Shorts are still short. We’re taking the field, singing the national anthem, jumping from foot to foot as the crowd cheers in anticipation. Inside, our stomachs are clenched like fists, waiting for that whistle to signal kickoff. And when it comes, we’ll be ready. Because this is Gizmodo’s tribute to all things sports.

There’s something quintessentially Australian about sport. Even for those among us whose biggest sporting achievements are winning a Grade 3 chess tournament, something about sports is ingrained in the national psyche. We’ve all played backyard cricket. We’ve all watched a grand final. We’ve all celebrated our team’s victory and mourned their losses. It’s as Aussie as barbecues and drinking beer.

So for Grand Final week—which started on Saturday with the AFL’s top two teams battling it out for supremacy and concludes next Sunday with the NRL’s final match of the season—we’ve decided to look at the tech behind our favourite sports. Expect to see posts on some of the most high-tech sports around, the best sports iPhone apps, the top sports video games, ludicrous fitness gadgets and heaps more.

So settle in, order a pizza, keep the beer fridge fully stocked and get ready for sports galore. The ref’s blown his whistle, and the match has begun…

Playing with balls is Gizmodo AU’s week-long look at the technology behind the sports we love, from the jerseys to the balls and everything in between. Go the Tahs!