1.
Basketball term for a
shot that misses the
rim,
backboard, and
everything. Often used by fans of the opposing team as a
derogatory chant while
free throws are being attempted, or after such a shot.
2. In pinball, any time the ball travels through the air instead of remaining on the table. Modern pinball machines with ramps and loops and multiball and ways to make pinballs move fast are much more susceptible to airballs than earlier machines. The ultimate in airballs, though, has to be the short series of sport-themed games from Gottlieb, Frank Thomas's Big Hurt and Shaq Attaq. In Big Hurt you were encouraged to shoot balls over an open ramp and attempt to hit a home run by jumping all the way to the bleachers. In Shaq Attaq the object was to shoot baskets. In both games, the crack of balls against the glass was commonly heard. (Good thing they use tempered glass in pinball machines.)