Most of the fabric innovations are not about making a player better, but making them more comfortable. Making tops that are more comfortable, more breathable, lighter, a better fit are all positives. Not sure why anyone would have an issue with that?
Would you suggest that we go back to the leather balls that double / triple in weight when they are wet? Maybe lose all the improvements in the playing surface too? Switch back to black, heavy boots?
The main innovations in ball design that Nike introduced were mainly with the goal of improving consistency - so the ball responded more consistently when hit by the player. The internal bladder used, the different layers of the ball casing itself, the shape and size of the panels (Nike had a patent for the size ratio between the pentagons and hexagons used to make the ball, for example). The goal was always to create as round a ball as possible.
Actually, this ball, the Geo Merlin was Nike's first ball that featured this patented ratio (hence the word GEO in its name):
With regard to the visual design of the ball, they had traditionally been symmetrical in their pattern. With the T90 Aerow, Nike wanted a graphic design that would create flicker when the ball moved. Visual scientists found that this helped players see the ball earlier in its flight, and also were able to better judge its flight itself.
This design became iconic and, not insignificantly, really stuck out in football pics that appeared in newspapers and online. This is one of the reasons why Nike was more or less happy to let adi keep the world cup ball deal. One, adi had a long-standing relationship with FIFA that was hard to break. But also, rather than have a ball that was visible once every 4 years for a month, they would rather have the ball used in the world's top football leagues season-in and season-out.
The design was slightly modified for the next design:
The reason for this is that despite the ball being incredibly accurate when kicked, the downside to the original design was that when the ball rolled in a particular way, the graphic made the ball look like it was wobbling - which doesn't help your claims of it being accurate!
I personally love all the innovation and progress made with the technology - and will stay curious as to where it will evolve in the future.
On a linked note, leading up to the 2003 rugby world cup, I was working with the England Rugby Team and helping the Nike players find the right boots etc. I presented the Nike Free concept to Sir Clive Woodward as something to incorporate to help the players strengthen the intrinsic muscles of their feet. He was all over it - loved it. He said that one of the things they were doing was working with eye specialists to help the players train up the muscle related to their eyes. The thinking was even small things like that would help elevate the performance level of the players. It might only be a very minute difference, but at that highest level they can make a difference.
