What is that floating stuff during a World Cup match?

June 10, 2006 10:21 AM

World Cup 2006... any idea what that floating stuff is in the stadium during the Sweden vs. Trinidad and Tobago match right now? They look like large out of focus white things.
posted by bobo123 to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Best answer: BBC says it's dandelion flowers.
posted by the cuban at 10:29 AM on June 10, 2006

I'm watching on ITV and I thought they were dandelions as well. Not sure why there would be dandelions on a football pitch though, I presume the grass gets cut at least once a day.
posted by afx237vi at 10:49 AM on June 10, 2006

Dandelion fluff is currently floating all over the place here in Berlin, so it is likely to be in other German cities as well. The stuff floating over the pitch probably originated somewhere else. I haven't seen any dandelions near my house but fluff has been floating by my windows for about a week. Disclaimer: IANWTWC (I am not watching the world cup).
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 11:07 AM on June 10, 2006

Yup, definitely dandelion seeds, according to my cousin who was at the match.

Poor Swedish players, the match is already being called "a resounding fiasco"...
posted by gemmy at 11:10 AM on June 10, 2006

That kind of fluffy white floating seeds can also be from cattails. It's amazing just how much fluff each of those seed pods contains.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 12:34 PM on June 10, 2006

I thought it was feathers. I was wondering if someone in the crowd had executed a chicken Ozzy concert style.
posted by fire&wings at 3:31 PM on June 10, 2006

I thought it might have been hooligans throwing shit, but not at a game in Germany...
posted by Mr. Gunn at 8:23 AM on June 12, 2006

According to a newscast I just saw about this exact subject on German TV, it turns out it's the byproduct of female poplar trees shedding their seeds.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 11:02 AM on June 12, 2006