Ancient Sports/Some of the First Sports to be Played
Most people you know or talk to play sports, and there are thousands of different unique sports. But how did they happen? What was their origin, and how far have they come?
The first sport ever played, although we don’t know 100 percent, is widely believed to be one of the three, wrestling, boxing, and running, around 15,000 years ago, if not more. These three sports started very simply. For example, in modern-day boxing, you will see a variety of techniques, punches, and overall strategies of fighting to win. But before, when it first started, they did it much differently. They would recklessly run in, punching each other and see who won. But as the sport progressed, more and more strategies were created, making it based more on technique than brute force. The origins
of boxing are also unsure.
Wrestling started as two people hugging each other, trying random methods of winning. In this case, death, but just like boxing, wrestlers started coming up with new techniques, submissions, and strategies for winning with modern-day wrestling based more on skill, although strength still plays a big role. The origins of France are unsure due to its adaptionin many countries.
And lastly, running is the most optimized sport out of the three. Running back then was almost the same as running today. But back then, people didn’t have the same strategies, and it wasn’t as optimized. The reason being today’s running is so advanced that the difference between first and last is usually in the milliseconds, and every movement done by the runner is done in almost the most perfect way possible.
One sport that is no longer played is Ollama, which was played by the ancient Aztecs in 400-800 BC. In some ways, this sport was similar to basketball as it involved a stone hoop rotated to its side, which you would try to hit the ball into. It was played with a ball of solid rubber, and players would wear heavy padding to try to hit it into the opponent’s hoop using elbows, hips, and knees. Ollama was often heavily betted on by nobles, and it also involved rituals as the losing player would most of the time get sacrificed.
Sports from the Medieval Times, 400-1500
Sports from 400 to 1500 AD were known for being boring and depressing, earning the nickname “the Dark Ages.” Although that was true, sports and activities were able to give the people some entertainment. Many sports from this period were predecessors of current sports.
One example of this is Colf. Colf was played a lot like golf since people would have wooden clubs and leather balls. People would take turns to see who could hit the target in the least amount of strokes or hits. The target varies from a tree to a wall or a hole. This sport did unfortunately cause some issues, as sometimes windows would get shattered or people would get hit. This resulted in the sport being banned from the streets and moved to open fields. This sport was usually played by nobles and rich people. But we don’t know everything about this sport besides those facts, as this sport could have been played in teams with different rules that don’t align with modern-day golf. This sport is believed to have originated in Scotland in the 13th century.
Another sport during this time was Archery. Although archery is believed to have been first played in 3000 BC, it was very popular in medieval times. There was even a law enforcing people 15-60 years old to learn archery in 1252. Archery is still practiced today; however, it is not as commonly found in everyday sports.
Modern Day Sports
A very popular modern-day sport is baseball. It first started in 1846 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Baseball is played with two teams, one pitcher pitches the ball while another person tries hitting the ball with a bat that could be metal or wooden. If the ball is hit in mid-air, the person who hits the ball (the batter) is out. If they hit the ball and no one catches it, they can run bases until it is grabbed and put on a base. If the batter runs all 4 bases, they get a point. Baseball is the 7th most popular sport played.
Another modern-day sport is basketball. Basketball is an extremely popular sport, especially in America. Basketball was created in 1891 by James Naismith. Basketball is a very fun sport played in 2 teams of 5 in which you bounce the ball up and down and try to get an opening to throw the ball into the basket or hoop. There are a lot of other moves and rules that exist and make the game more thrilling and competitive. Basketball used to be played with no dribbling and only passing and shooting.
Conclusion
Many sports have risen, fallen, and advanced. But those are examples of the different sports from each period in time. Ranging from basketball to archery. These sports have progressed severely from start to finish to get where they are today.