Field Goals: Joe Nedney vs. Ziggy
Geeks and football have rarely been a winning combination, as anyone who has ever seen Revenge of the Nerds or Glee can attest. But that didn't stop a competition-robot team from taking on a professional football player in a kickoff showdown last year. Ziggy, a 340-lb. powerhouse in the robot-fighting world, was pitted against the San Francisco 49ers' kicker Joe Nedney. The competition, held in the run-up to the seventh annual RoboGames, a robot sports extravaganza, started at the 20-yard line, and as each made the kick, they gradually moved back. It was at the 40-yard line that a strong wind hit and Nedney's experience trumped Ziggy's mechanisms. But the human was a gracious winner, pointing out the robot's strong suits. "He could probably take all the boos from the fans and the ridicule by the media with a pretty straight face. He probably wouldn't go to bed upset about it," he told Wired. "This Ziggy's got quite a poker face."