Who's got balls?
Who's got balls?
How Sebastopol resident Joe Beland painted his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
When Joe Beland first started hand-painting footballs—something which is traditionally done to commemorate a career, season, game or team—the name of his operation was simply “Joe’s Footballs”.
“It’s a weird connection that players have with footballs,” Beland said of why his service has a market. “You see them holding the football a certain way, like they're making a physical connection with it. I've had players cry. They send me videos where they open it up and go, ‘Oh my god, I can't believe it.’ It brings back great memories for them, and it flatters me to do it.”
Over the course of 19 years, Beland, who also works for The Home Depot in Windsor, has sold footballs to some of the game’s most legendary players. But, it wasn’t until he changed his name to “Joe’s Got Balls” that he gained traction among the younger generations.
“NFL players and college players—they're very egotistical,” Beland said. “They like to talk about themselves a lot, but when they see something odd, they gravitate toward it, and they start talking to me. That's why we changed our name to “Joe's Got Balls.” It the generation of players who are out there—the way talk and how they are. It just seemed to fit.”
Beland has gained a reputation in the football community for a style that differs from many of his competitors. Rather than flexing his artistic muscles to create unique variations on mascots or colors, Beland sticks to the basics.
“When the balls are shipped in, I first clear off the panel,” he said. “That has to dry overnight. Then the next day, I go ahead and I prime it, and that's got to dry overnight. And then I got to paint that panel white, and that's got dry overnight. So you're talking about 20 minutes of work per ball, and I alternate between them. When the artwork part comes in, that’s a good 30 minutes straight. When that's all done, you got to wait for that to dry completely, because I'm going to clear coat it afterwards and then ship it out.”
Before designing, Beland gets each client on the phone to ask about the story behind the event or person/group they want to commemorate. Encouraging them to recount their experience often sparks unique anecdotes, like it did for one offensive lineman, Dean Miraldi, who blocked a well-known Bo Jackson touchdown.
“Toward the end of the game, Bo gave the ball to Miraldi and said, ‘Hey, that run would never have happened if you didn't block me,’” Beland recalls being told.
With Miraldi’s project and others, Beland also does research to maybe find details of an old logo or other markers that can bring the recipient of the football closer to the past. The game Morildi was commemorating was on Monday Night Football, for example, and so Beland painted the ABC TV station logo.
“I want them to have a full memory,” Beland said.
Moraldi’s ball had also dried out over the years and had a cracked bladder. Thankfully, Beland is able to wax balls like these and have the bladder replaced to make them seem brand new. While the thrill that football players get from receiving their painted football from Beland has never waned, a steady line of customers has not always been in the bag.
In the early days, Beland would set up shop outside of pee-wee and high school football games in Sonoma and Napa counties to market his service. But, with each prospective buyer that ignored him, it all felt more and more like a waste of time.
He recalls one occasion in particular, when he had painted a football for a high school game that was being shown on local television. Given the torrential downpour which was taking place, Beland worried that the paint on the ball would begin to drip once he took it out of the bag to show on camera during an interview.
“I don't remember the interview,” Beland said. “All I remember is looking at the football and going, do not run. Do not just go over the place.”
While the football held up fine, Beland says this anxiety was representative of the start of his career. It was akin to the famous stand-up comedian who recalls bombing in front of a near-empty and distracted crowd or the billionaire CEO who recalls getting laughed out of the room by investors when he was just an aspiring entrepreneur.
Like those risk-takers who have been battle-tested before him, Beland says he couldn’t have done it without being urged on by a loved one.
“When you start your career, you don't think it's going to go somewhere until later on,” Beland said. “In a moment, you're going, ‘This sucks.’ ‘I don't want to do this.’ ‘I hate this.’ And I said this so many times: ‘I'm done.’ ‘I'm not doing footballs.’ ‘This is embarrassing.’ ‘I had a bad day today, and I don’t want to do this anymore.’ But my wife was persistent. She was a rock through this whole thing. She would say, ‘Just keep doing it.’ ‘Don't stop.’ ‘Something good will come out of it.’ And it finally did.”
On a trip to New Orleans, Beland coincidentally found himself in a sports bar with an entire wall of painted footballs. Beland got the bar’s owner to call up Archie Manning, a former New Orleans Saints quarterback and the father of Eli and Peyton Manning, to see if he wanted any more footballs. And the Mannings did want more footballs, and so did their friends.
“The egg cracked open, and players were noticing,” he said.
In no time, he was painting footballs to put in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and on ESPN broadcasts.
Beland says that retired players keep coming back to him not only because they have their own kids who are now football players, but also because as they get older they like to go further into the early days of their career.
“A lot of pro players tell me they like to remember their achievements throughout the years,” Beland said. “They like to have people see what they've done a long time ago and when. What's important to the pro players really isn't the accomplishments during their [NFL career]. It's back in college and in high school when they weren't so recognized. That's what got them there.”
Like footballs themselves, which have been handmade in the same way for close to a century now, Beland believes there is still power in owning a gift that was made by a person instead of a machine.
“You can go to Kinko's and get it made,” he said. “That's fine. And some players go, ‘Well, I could probably get it a little cheaper if I just take it to Temu.’ Well, go right ahead, because usually I get those back with them saying that something is wrong with it. But I never get footballs coming back to me. You're not only getting your football painted by a guy who does it for NFL players, but it's artwork done personally for you. He spent time doing it for you.”
After selling over a thousand balls for $230 a pop, Beland has never once gotten a call from an unsatisfied customer. While to some purchasing a printed—not hand-painted ball—would seem like a better way to ensure precise lettering and decals, Beland’s wife claims that he could be a world-renowned surgeon with how steady his hand is.
And—let’s face it—he’s got a lot of balls.
Want a football of your own? Contact Joe Beland at (707) 495-6405 or Beland20@yahoo.com