ADA, OH (WLIO) - For 59 years, hard work and dedication have been what gets teams to the biggest game of the year: the Super Bowl. For the same amount of time, the pride of Ada, the Wilson football factory, has put those same qualities into making the ball that could make history during the game.
“People are just really impressed with the process. They never think that much work goes into manufacturing a full-grain leather, high-quality football,” said Kasey Patton, Ada Wilson plant manager.
At every step of the process, the workers know they are assembling the most important piece of the biggest game of the year.
This past Sunday, as the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles celebrated making it to the championship game, a group of employees at Ada’s Wilson football factory stamped their names on leather that will be used to make the balls for Super Bowl Sunday.
“This is an amazing company, this is an amazing factory, this is an amazing group of people. For me, being a plant manager, this is really a dream job,” Patton said.
At every step of the process, the workers know they are assembling the most important piece of the biggest game of the year.
For 59 years, hard work and dedication have been what gets teams to the biggest game of the year: the Super Bowl.
“They realize what they do here. They know that their product is going to be on the biggest stage in the world. Everyone will be tuning in in two weeks for the game. Whether their team is there or not, they are still going to be looking to see how their ball is performing during the game,” Patton said.
Both teams will receive 108 footballs from the Ada factory, and they will travel through many hands before the players get a chance to use them.
“After the balls are laced and molded, they then go through an extensive quality check. We test 10 different points on the ball for quality. They then straighten the laces, make sure they are nice and tight, and get packed and sent to the teams at that point,” Patton said.
Just like the players, some of the Ada workers will be heading to New Orleans to showcase their talents for NFL fans.
“Myself and part of my team will be flying out on the 2nd and will be setting up a mini roadshow at the NFL Experience at the convention center. We will be sewing and turning footballs at the convention center in New Orleans,” Patton said.
You can see how the Wilson employees’ hard work paid off during the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 on Fox.
