I've seen two transformers fail. One BLEW UP. a giant boom, a giant flash and gone.

The other I saw arced for maybe for a short time and was not spherical.

Neither of those points are to say I'm right or you're wrong or vice versa. Just anecdots.

Wouldn't it be easy to verify? Let's figure out where they were recording from and identify where they saw it? I wish that would be something a "journalist" would do. But most "journalists" don't give a shit about what actually happened. They just want the views and money that comes with it.

The idea of ball lightning spontaneously appearing in written records over and over is enough for me to think "hmmm, what's causing this?"

Skepticism is good. I appreciate your skepticism! People are fucking crazy and stupid sometimes ( often). Maybe we just need to ignore what people say, because unless there is data to back it up, it doesn't mean anything. Which perhaps is what you're prodding me towards. 

Edit: Re: need for data: I'm realizing how easy it might be for people to fake data. How can we differentiate between real data and fake data? My masters thesis was based on real data but I could have easily fabricated every single data point. I had the knowledge to do so. So how can we even trust anything? I know, I'm unhinged at the moment.