XFL. I love the black and red look. It's a dramatic change from plain brown footballs. One of the few things the XFL did right.
CFL. Love the full stripes around the ball. Would never want an established league like the CFL to go drastic like the XFL ball, so the CFL comes in a close #2.
NCAA. I like the half stripe across the ball. Adds a bit of character.
AFL. Although Arena Football, in my opinion, is a gimic sport... their ball isn't too bad. Arena Football is a different game and so is their ball.
NFL. Plain and boring. Just like the NFL itself.
PS - I just thought about something... what does the NFL Europe ball look like?
Looks like I'm the first poster, and I voted before I read your thread, amazingly I agree with you almost 100%, except on the NFL being boring, but the ball is, your right on with your arena league analysis, game and ball. I actually have an XFL ball, I'm hoping someday when Tommy Maddux(the leagues 1 and only MVP) is in New England I can get him to sign it, or maybe Rod Smart, aka, HE HATE ME, don't think it will be worth anything, but you never know, it's worth is dependant on what a collector is willing to pay for it, right?
The CFL used to be plain like the NFL ball is now. I like the stripes, adds to the character of the ball, although it does show the fluttering more if a bad pass whereas in the NFL, even if it is a flutterer, the pass looks better since no stripes. The qb's in the NFL probably like the plainness better. As a fan, I find the CFL ball easier to see live and on the tube but, as I say, open up more the true character of the ball more how it is thrown.
XFL ball is (was) a neat design, have one in my basement along with a CFL and NFL ball.
The NFL is the nicest ball to play and especially throw with. The lines of the CFL ball make it look bigger and not as sleek when you throw those tight spirals. I've owned all CFL, NFL offical balls including the worst one, the spalding J5V.
Update for all the people that are still under the assumption that the CFL football is still bigger…
It’s not.
They are the same size. Sad but true.
And for the person that said the XFL ball had no grip… have you really caught an XFL ball? I found that ball to have an insane amount of grip. I’d rather catch that than any other ball I’ve ever held.