Let’s face it. A lot of NFL fans are pretty upset about the whole underinflated-football-cheating-scandal better known as “Deflate-gate” surrounding last year’s Championship win by the New England Patriots against the Indianapolis Colts (unless, of course, you are a Patriots fan). Even more fans are unhappy with the lenient penalty and punishments imposed on Tom Brady and the Patriots organization following the investigation.
Well one Indianapolis Colts fan, Jacob Ayres, has decided to express his displeasure in the Deflategate matter by starting a crowdfunding campaign to create and sell his own version of a Patriots’ Superbowl ring. Using a website called Kickstarter, Ayres hopes to reach a funding goal of $750 to begin developing a more stylized and “way cooler” version of his 3D printed “Deflategate Superbowl Ring” depicted here.
Kickstarter was created to be a new way to fund creative projects that can be in the areas of films, games, music, art, design and technology. It is an “all-or-nothing” funding site, so creators have to reach their funding goals in order to receive the funds to develop their project. From the looks of it, Ayres isn’t doing so well. Backers of Mr. Ayres’ project can pledge in three dollar amounts – $20, $40 or $50. With each pledge, backers will receive a package – the “Players Pack”(3D printed Deflategate ring and 3 buttons), “Deflategate Concerned Fan” (Players Pack plus a letter to either Roger Goodell or the Patriots organization), or “Deflategate Angry Fan” (Players Pack plus letters to both Goodell and the Patriots organization). So far, Ayres has zero backers and zero pledges. He has until May 31 to reach his goal.
To produce the final version of the Deflategate Superbowl Ring, Ayres plans to use 3D printing technology and a website called Shapeways. 3D printing is the process of making three dimensional objects from a digital file. The virtual design can be made in a CAD using a 3D modelling program to create a new object, or with a 3D scanner (digital copy of an object).
Microsoft Kinect is a hardware that uses 3D scanning, and is a definite sign that future smartphones and other handheld devices will soon have 3D scanners integrated into them.
Shapeways allows creators to use any 3D printing app and modeling software to design a product. Users can upload their model into Shapeways where they will mass produce and sell the product in the global marketplace.
Hats off to Ayres for trying to engage football fans by merging sports fans, 3D printing, and Kickstarter. But with only 12 days left and two pledges for a total of just $60, his campaign is quickly losing air and could fall flat.