Topic: Fireball has a new ball! My prayers have been answered!!!

[Anderson]

This is exciting. Fireball is no longer a Tornado wannabe, which is great since I'm not a big Tornado fan. Congrats to Brad Laurine and the rest of the Fireball crew on this. This is a HUGE step forward in my opinion. Can't wait to get my hands on the new ball. I had been experimenting with every ball imaginable. I was told Warrior's ball might be best and was just looking around for one yesterday. Now I get this news. Take it from a Fireball owner. This is a great table. The ball was the only missing piece. Very excited and can't wait to play on the tour with this new ball.

http://www.fireballtablesoccer.com/joomla15/team-blog.html?start=1

[big al]

all i play with is the Warrior and Tornado balls..but mostly Warrior since thats the only table i got. but i did see the web site on the new Fireballs..kind of curios of how they will play..so i emailed debbie at the foosball shop, she said they will be in soon. when they do i know ill order me some. i can tell you this the Warrior balls are excellent in control..especially when brush passing, and stopping on the drop of the dime.....i keep hearing talk about the Fireball tables, tell me how good are they when compared to a Tornado. also how hard is it to get parts.

[Anderson]

As far as parts go, I guess at some point parts will be available at most foosball stores online. I've noticed a few things are now available here at foosball.com. I'm not going to blow any smoke and tell you that this table is better in quality than the new Tornado. The iceboxes are pretty sweet, if you play Tornado. Being a Bonzini player at heart, I enjoy the new Fireball because it's not a Tornado. It especially allows a backpin, but also a euro front pin if this ball really is what it says it is. I do hope the new ball still allows for the pulls and rollovers that all Tornado players love, since I'd like to see a melting pot of styles. Let me know where we can get the new ball when you find out. The only complaint I have about the table is the sides are curved to slightly to keep the ball from getting trapped on the side, something that the side strips on Tornado take care of. My understanding is that Fireball removed this. It effects passing if your trying to brush pass close to the wall. I'll order some warrior balls too when I order my "Fireballs", just to test and see. I really love the ITSF B-ball on Bonzini, but it has no grip on Fireball and is just too light, the rods having so much more momentum beyond Bonzini. Fireball is a quality table. I have the ITSF model. The table weight a ton so is very sturdy. The 4 way ball exchange is pretty cool for practice, assuming of course that Fireball has fixed the earlier issues of the ball sometimes getting stuck inside the goal mechanism. Keep in mind that I got my table during the try-and-see phase, used after one tournament in Atlanta.

[big al]

the only way ill get my hands on one is if they ever have a Fireball tournament here in the pacific on the Big island of Hawaii..thats where the last tournament was in 09 that was with Warrior. the next is in nov. with Tornado. i guess the only thing i dont care for just by looking at the table is the goofy looking men they could have been more creative..ahh.. but what can you do. if your looking to get Warrior balls email Christine at c.fuchs@warriorcustomgolf.com tell her Big Al sent you from Hawaii..also Debbie at debbie@foosball.com said that they might be getting some Fireballs sometime in june. she also got wraps, and other goodies.

[Old Meister]

Hey Big Al, c'mon over to the Washington State Open the last week of May. That tournament is on Fireball and it is a good one! Check it out on nwfoosball.com .

[big al]

thanks for the invite!! i would fly up in a heartbeat!..but when you got 4 kids and a wife......well need i say more?..maybe i might see you and your buddys in nov. for the Tonado tournament at Waikaloa on the Big island...

[BradLaurine]

"Balls" said the Queen, "If I had a pair I would be King".

Now, that I have your attention.

Fireball indeed has a new ball.

http://www.fireballtablesoccer.com/joomla15/team-blog.html?start=1

This link contains the pictures and the explanation of what the ball is like.

Debbie at Foosball.com will have these new balls available in early June.
Parts for the Fireball are also available. What Debbie doesn't have, I will have.

I will explain one thing about the parts. The parts business on a Fireball table suck. The men don't break. The Fireball men are setting a new standard for durability. Jim at Foosball . com gave me hell because I couldn't get a man replaced that finally broke on a 8 to 9 year old table.
That kind of lasting power is unheard of by T standards.
So, lets see... Rods don't bend, fastest rods on the planet, men don't break, bearings don't wear down, rods, men and handles can go in and out super easy, steady as a rock leg design and the feet on those legs are vastly superior.
Granted the T table is the leader. The T table is built like a tank and it plays well, but it does play as well as the Fireball.

Looking forward to more comments.

Thanks, Brad   

[Anderson]

Well Brad, now that we've got a ball coming to us, I want to add that the NUMBER ONE REASON I bought a Fireball was the three piece bearing and the ability to exchange a rod without removing the men. I literally can change from a Fireball rod to a Tornado rod in LESS than 30 seconds, so if I want to practice for a Tornado tourny, I can do so without having to own one. Don't get me wrong, can't wait to get my game ready for a Fireball tourny, but I've been playing Bonzini(Rene Pierre) for 15 years, yet I wanted a table where I could work on different styles of play, and at a price I could afford. I still want a Bonzini, and I will have one someday, but I found and posted a picture here a while back of a Fireball with rods from different tables installed, including a Bonzini rod. HOW DO I GET MY HANDS ON THAT SET OF BEARINGS? I realize I'd have to get the rod and men through Bonzini, but to have a Bonzini 3-rod to practice would be amazing, although you couldn't ever get the same feel of table surface. Still, as a hobbyist, I think it's amazing to have friends come over and have a choice of rod to play with. It gives new meaning to the word multitable. This is one thing that NO OTHER TABLE HAS!!!! I hope that Fireball can find a way to market this further. Good luck to all of you at Fireball. I cannot thank you enough for providing new blood, strong new blood, into the foosball arena. For the record, I currently have, aside from my Fireball rods, a Tornado 3-rod, a TS 5-rod and 3-rod, all cut to length for my fireball. I also have a telescoping Garlando goalie rod(meant to order a 3-rod but it was my error so I kept it) and I found a way to fit it on the table. It would be nice to have appropriate bearings. PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN. Thanks!

[jinhopark]

...Rods don't bend, fastest rods on the planet...
Looking forward to more comments.

Thanks, Brad   

Brad:

Can you tell me if the Fireball rods have the same dimensions and specifications as Tornado rods?  I bet all those guys that are on the hunt for the elusive "Merkel rods" would be interested in knowing there is a better alternative out there for them.

I also am a fan of the Fireball handles, so I'd be curious to know of these handles will fit on a Tornado rod.

Thanks!

[Anderson]

The Fireball rods are the same diameter(essentially) since I have a Tornado 3-rod for my Fireball, but I had to cut it to length which means the Tornado rods are longer. Fireball rods are designed so that the lengths are just that when you remove the three-piece bearing, the bumper fits in the hole so that the rod will clear(come out) from the far side. After that, the rod can be completely removed because the hole is big enough to fit the handle through. It's genius really.

[jinhopark]

Anderson:

Crud so it sounds like the Fireball rods are shorter than the Tornado rods, so they probably won't fit the Tornado tables then...

[big al]

im in the business of breaking men...i swear i must order new men every other month..if the Fireball men are that strong then who gives a monkeys uncle how ugly they look!..guess i could get use to it.

[BradLaurine]

Fireball rod is slightly shorter about a 1/4 inch. I have never tried to put one on the Tornado table. However, I just happen to be going over to China on Friday and I will bet I can have a bunch of rods made to fit the T table. I don't have to have them made in black. They will weight about the same and have the holes drilled to match the T rod (they might already be correct).

The Handle for the Fireball will fit the T rod and vice-a-verse. 

Tonight, I will look at this as a real option for T rod replacements.

Brad

[Anderson]

Jinho, actually they might fit, but most likely the edge of the rod actually disappears into the hole, but not all the way through and out, when fully extended to deadbar pull.

[WillD92]

With the ball being "t-sip orange" color I will be eager to beat the hell out of it. Gig'em.