At the 1976 Pro Bowl, Ray Guy, a punter for the Oakland Raiders, punted a
ball that hung mid-air long enough for officials to question whether the
pigskin was filled with helium. The ball was found to be filled with air,
but since then many have tossed around the idea that a helium-filled
football would outdistance an air-filled one. Students at Ohio State
University conducted an experiment to test this myth. They used two
identical footballs, one air filled with air and one filled with helium.
Each football was kicked 39 times and the two footballs were alternated with
each kick.