Author Topic: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years  (Read 2380 times)

roo_ster

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Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« on: December 09, 2013, 02:40:25 PM »
Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
http://isteve.blogspot.com/2013/12/greatest-record-in-sports-finally.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu73YSmtiXU

Quote
Today Matt Prater kicked a 64-yard-field goal in the thin air of Denver to finally break the NFL record of 63 yards first set in 1970 by Tom Dempsey in the humidity of New Orleans.

Why was Dempsey's feat my favorite record? Because it was the exact opposite of the modern era's Ivan Drago-style scientific athletic accomplishments.

The only reason the Saints' coach sent in the field goal unit with 2 seconds left and down by one was because he thought the Saints were on the Lions' 44-yard-line, not their own 44.

Back then, the goal posts in the NFL were on the goal line, not the back of the end zone like today, so the coach thought he was calling for a 51-yarder. The NFL record at the time was 56 yards, so 63 yards was unthinkable.

Dempsey, who was born missing a hand and half of his right (kicking) foot, booted it in the obsolete straight-on style. And Dempsey is said to have had quite a hangover after enjoying Saturday night New Orleans-style. The players had gotten drunk because they were mad at the owner for firing their coach Tom Fears and replacing him with the kind of idiot who couldn't tell which 44-yard-line his team was on.

Dempsey was famously violent for a kicker. Since he couldn't break any fingers on his stump, he was notorious for using it as a club on kick returners.



Truly a subjective assessment, but a decent contender.  

Also, the idea of a drunk & belligerent club-footed and club-handed pro football player not only playing, but holding a record for 43 years is something I find refreshing.

« Last Edit: December 09, 2013, 02:43:34 PM by Roo_ster »
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roo_ster

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.”
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geronimotwo

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2013, 05:58:51 PM »
funny, I didn't see the bronco game, but I was thinking about that record on sunday and wondering when it would fall.  looking at dempseys boot it's a wonder that anyone could beat it.   
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CNYCacher

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2013, 01:13:57 AM »
Quote
Dempsey is said to have had quite a hangover after enjoying Saturday night New Orleans-style.

Having been the recipient of a Tuesday night New Orleans-style, I can't imagine playing football on a Sunday.
On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
Charles Babbage

Sergeant Bob

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2013, 08:55:10 AM »
funny, I didn't see the bronco game, but I was thinking about that record on sunday and wondering when it would fall.  looking at dempseys boot it's a wonder that anyone could beat it.   

I think I remember at the time, some were talking about making it against the rules to use a shoe like his. Of course, no one moaned about it till he got the record.
Personally, I do not understand how a bunch of people demanding a bigger govt can call themselves anarchist.
I meet lots of folks like this, claim to be anarchist but really they're just liberals with pierced genitals. - gunsmith

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geronimotwo

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2013, 09:19:26 AM »
Quote
Today Matt Prater kicked a 64-yard-field goal in the thin air of Denver to finally break the NFL record of 63 yards first set in 1970 by Tom Dempsey in the humidity of New Orleans.

as an aside,  while it may not have been as thin as denvers air, wouldn't more humidity make the air less dense?
make the world idiot proof.....and you will have a world full of idiots. -g2

Sergeant Bob

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2013, 09:59:41 AM »
as an aside,  while it may not have been as thin as denvers air, wouldn't more humidity make the air less dense?

I think not, as some aircraft engines used to use water injection to make the air denser for increased thrust.
Personally, I do not understand how a bunch of people demanding a bigger govt can call themselves anarchist.
I meet lots of folks like this, claim to be anarchist but really they're just liberals with pierced genitals. - gunsmith

I already have canned butter, buying more. Canned blueberries, some pancake making dry goods and the end of the world is gonna be delicious.  -French G

geronimotwo

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2013, 10:59:38 AM »
water injection wasn't used to control air density, it was used to keep the engine from knocking under higher compression with turbocharged engines. 
make the world idiot proof.....and you will have a world full of idiots. -g2

roo_ster

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2013, 11:36:56 AM »
Denver is at ~5200ft above sea level and is less dense that NO air at sea level.

Also, humidity is water vapor dissolved into the air.  Damn skippy more humidity makes for denser air.
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roo_ster

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.”
----G.K. Chesterton

geronimotwo

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2013, 12:37:41 PM »
Denver is at ~5200ft above sea level and is less dense that NO air at sea level.

Also, humidity is water vapor dissolved into the air.  Damn skippy more humidity makes for denser air.

I agree, Denver has less dense air.   what I was commenting on was the writer adding the humidity part as if that made it even harder to kick the ball that distance, when in fact the opposite is true.  here is an excellent explanation.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/wdensity.htm

Humidity and air density  

Most people who haven't studied physics or chemistry find it hard to believe that humid air is lighter, or less dense, than dry air. How can the air become lighter if we add water vapor to it?  

Scientists have known this for a long time. The first was Isaac Newton, who stated that humid air is less dense than dry air in 1717 in his book, Optics. But, other scientists didn't generally understand this until later in that century.

To see why humid air is less dense than dry air, we need to turn to one of the laws of nature the Italian physicist Amadeo Avogadro discovered in the early 1800s. In simple terms, he found that a fixed volume of gas, say one cubic meter, at the same temperature and pressure, would always have the same number of molecules no matter what gas is in the container. Most beginning chemistry books explain how this works.

Imagine a cubic foot of perfectly dry air. It contains about 78% nitrogen molecules, which each have a molecular weight of 28 (2 atoms with atomic weight 14) . Another 21% of the air is oxygen, with each molecule having a molecular weight of 32 (2 stoms with atomic weight 16). The final one percent is a mixture of other gases, which we won't worry about.

Molecules are free to move in and out of our cubic foot of air. What Avogadro discovered leads us to conclude that if we added water vapor molecules to our cubic foot of air, some of the nitrogen and oxygen molecules would leave — remember, the total number of molecules in our cubic foot of air stays the same.

The water molecules, which replace nitrogen or oxygen, have a molecular weight of 18. (One oxygen atom with atomic weight of 16, and two hudrogen atoms each with atomic weight of 1). This is lighter than both nitrogen and oxygen. In other words, replacing nitrogen and oxygen with water vapor decreases the weight of the air in the cubic foot; that is, it's density decreases.

Wait a minute, you might say, "I know water's heavier than air." True, liquid water is heavier, or more dense, than air. But, the water that makes the air humid isn't liquid. It's water vapor, which is a gas that is lighter than nitrogen or oxygen. (Related: Understanding water in the atmosphere).

Compared to the differences made by temperature and air pressure, humidity has a small effect on the air's density. But, humid air is lighter than dry air at the same temperature and pressure.
 
 
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Stetson

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2013, 12:58:49 PM »
Colder air is denser than warmer air too.  There was a study done about fieldgoal kickers and temperature, I forget by who and I am constrained on searches at work, but for every 10 degrees below 32F (0C) the estimate is 5 yards of disance lost.  Temp at the time of the kick was 14F.

Sergeant Bob

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2013, 01:23:15 PM »
Learn something every day.

Quote
Use in aircraft[edit]

Water injection has been used in both reciprocating and turbine aircraft engines. When used in a turbine engine, the effects are similar, except that normally preventing detonation is not the primary goal. Water is normally injected either at the compressor inlet or in the diffuser just before the combustion chambers. Adding water increases the mass being accelerated out of the engine, increasing thrust, but it also serves to cool the turbines. Since temperature is normally the limiting factor in turbine engine performance at low altitudes, the cooling effect allows the engine to be run at higher RPM with more fuel injected and more thrust created without overheating.[3] The drawback of the system is that injecting water quenches the flame in the combustion chambers somewhat, as there is no way to cool the engine parts without cooling the flame accidentally. This leads to unburned fuel out the exhaust and a characteristic trail of black smoke.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_injection_(engines)

Colder air is denser than warmer air too.  There was a study done about fieldgoal kickers and temperature, I forget by who and I am constrained on searches at work, but for every 10 degrees below 32F (0C) the estimate is 5 yards of disance lost.  Temp at the time of the kick was 14F.

Hence, the effect of water injection increasing air density. OK, so it's a bit of a stretch :P
« Last Edit: December 10, 2013, 10:05:30 PM by Sergeant Bob »
Personally, I do not understand how a bunch of people demanding a bigger govt can call themselves anarchist.
I meet lots of folks like this, claim to be anarchist but really they're just liberals with pierced genitals. - gunsmith

I already have canned butter, buying more. Canned blueberries, some pancake making dry goods and the end of the world is gonna be delicious.  -French G

geronimotwo

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2013, 01:34:03 PM »
Learn something every day.

Hence, the effect of water injection increasing air density.


 =D
make the world idiot proof.....and you will have a world full of idiots. -g2

Bigjake

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2013, 09:36:41 PM »
Science aside, that was one belligerent SOB  :P

geronimotwo

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Re: Greatest record in sports finally broken after 43 years
« Reply #13 on: December 11, 2013, 07:22:14 AM »
Science aside, that was one belligerent SOB  :P
weren't many of the players during that time period?

i wouldn't be surprised if the new record is broken within a year or two. 
make the world idiot proof.....and you will have a world full of idiots. -g2