Air ball

In basketball, an air ball is an unblocked shot that misses the basket, rim, net, and backboard entirely.[5]

For the video game, see Airball (video game).

Origin

The Oxford English Dictionary cites earliest printed use of "air ball" in a 29 January 1967 article from the (Hayward, Calif.) Daily Review, which reads: "Cal State, four times lofting air balls at an orange basket that may as well have been painted invisible."[6]

An air ball by an opposing player during a competitive game will usually prompt fans (primarily in the college game) present to chant “Aiiiir ball! Aiir ball!” repeatedly in a continuous drone to humiliate the shooter. Since the 1980s, it has become common to restart the chant the next time the shooter touches the ball.

Crowd behavior and consequences

In collegiate basketball home crowds were found to initially chant when the air ball shot was made from a distance and when it resulted in a lost possession. Home crowds were also more persistent in their chants when the shot was made farther from the basket. [7] An archival exploration showed that away players who shot an air ball had a lower success rate in the shot immediately after, as compared to home players launching the same shot, however, this difference was unrelated to the chant.[8]

gollark: See, that's *better*.
gollark: no.
gollark: No it's not. Paper isn't searchable and it doesn't support good backups and it can't be encrypted easily.
gollark: Not a piece of paper.
gollark: Yes.

See also
  • Brick (basketball)

References
  1. "Air Ball". sportingcharts.com.
  2. "Definition of air ball". merriam-webster.com.
  3. "air ball". oxforddictionaries.com.
  4. "air ball". dictionary.com.
  5. Definitions:
    • SportingCharts: Unblocked, doesn't touch the rim or the backboard.[1]
    • Merriam Webster: Completely misses the basket, rim, and backboard.[2]
    • Oxford: Misses the basket and backboard entirely.[3]
    • dictionary.com: Missed shot that fails to touch the rim, net, or backboard.[4]
  6. "air, n. 1". OED Online. Oxford UP. Retrieved December 1, 2012.(subscription required)
  7. "(PDF) "Air ball, air ball!": A study of collective crowd chanting in collegiate basketball". ResearchGate. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  8. "(PDF) The experience of ego threat in the public arena: A study of air ball shots performance in collegiate basketball". ResearchGate. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
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