|
Halifax firm tackles sports memorabilia
CrossOff.com to help authenticate 100 Super Bowl footballs
By Eva Hoare / Business Reporter
| 
|
When Superbowl Sunday kicks off Feb. 3 in New Orleans, a Halifax company will
have just as much on the line as the teams vying for the championship. CrossOff.com, which operates a sports authentication firm called DNA
Technologies, has teamed up with a California business to make sure the 100
footballs used in the big event will not be counterfeited. Heather-Smith Dacey of CrossOff.com (based on Barrington Street in Halifax),
said that through the partnership with Professional Sports Authenticator, the
footballs marked with a synthetic DNA strand to ensure that counterfeiting
can't happen. PSA is located in North Beach, Ca. "These footballs are worth a lot of money," said Ms. Smith-Dacey. "When they hit
retail or auction (marking is) how we make sure they're legitimate." CrossOff's technology will be used to mark the footballs, said Ms. Smith-Dacey,
marketing manager of DNA Technologies. CrossOff bought DNA Technologies in October, and this is the Halifax firm's
contract through PSA on this event. But PSA and DNA have been named official authenticators of footballs used in two
previous Super Bowls. Ms. Smith-Dacey said her firm is very excited about this involvement with a
major sporting event. "Sports (authentication) is one of our targets." Before the game, DNA-laced ink is applied to each football, PSA product manager
Steve Ryan said in a recent news release. "There is a specific chain of custody with the footballs," Mr. Ryan said. "NFL
officials then take them to a secure location, where they are issued throughout
the game. As each ball leaves the field, we verify its authenticity using a
specially calibrated laser." The DNA mark becomes fluorescent green when illuminated at a particular laser
frequency. The authenticity marking lasts for years, he said. The ink has a 1-in-33-trillion chance of being accurately reproduced by
potential counterfeiters, Mr. Ryan said. Sports collectible counterfeiting is a huge business worldwide, say CrossOff
officials, and the aim is to thwart such attempts. PSA-DNA authentication was used to protect Mark McGwire's 70th-home-run baseball
in 1998 and Sammy Sosa's 66th home run ball the same year, the release said. Other major historical items have also been marked by using the partners'
technology, including Hank Aaron's career 715th home r-un baseball and bat;
1999 World Series baseballs and bases; and 15 red, white and blue autographed
basketballs used in tip-offs at this season's NBA opening games, the DNA
Technologies release said.
ehoare@herald.ns.ca
| 
