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Culture #3: The World of Sports
Got the update done. Another sporting one, politics will return in the next update.
Culture #3: The World of Sports
The Olympics Leave Greece:
After the first modern Olympics were held in 1882, the International Olympic Committee made the decision to move the games out of Greece. They hoped that having the games held in different countries would help to attract interest in the Olympiad. Because of influence by IOC president William Penny Brookes, it was decided that the Second Olympiad would be hosted in London in 1886. The 1886 were set to coincide with the International Colonial Exposition in London. Along with colonial pavilions by the British East India Company and other British colonies, athletes from several British colonies competed in the Olympics. Some of the new countries with athletes competing for the first time in the Olympics in 1886 included Argentina, Canada, the Netherlands, British India, and Australia.
Some of the highlights of the Second Olympiad came from the new events that premiered in 1886. One of the most popular new competitions of the London Olympics was in cricket, which had grown in popularity in Great Britain and her colonies. Teams representing Great Britain, France, and Australia held a round robin series of test matches[1]. It ended up that the final game between rivals Britain and Australia was the deciding match for the gold medal as they had both beaten the French team. Other new sports were added that were also of particular interest to the British attendees. These included archery, equestrian events, rowing, and football. In the rowing event, the Balliol eights team won the gold medal for Great Britain, beating out the Columbia team which won silver.
Football also saw its Olympic debut in London as Great Britain, Belgium, and the United States sent teams to compete. The matches were the first international matches played between teams representing the British Isles and the United States. Two teams from Great Britain, Sheffield FC from England and Queen's Park from Scotland, along with Harvard University from the United States and Klub Atletik Gent from Belgium competed in the games. Harvard University made it to the gold medal match by defeating Queen's Park 3-0, but lost to Sheffield FC 6-1 in the gold medal match. Queen's Park defeated K. A. Gent for the bronze medal. As both teams were from Britain, both the gold and the bronze were given to Great Britain while the United States brought back silver.
A Whole New Ball Game:
After the formation of the Mesoamerican Union, interest in the pre-Columbian cultures of the isthmus spiked in the country. The government encourage this interest, as many leaders thought that the revival of Mayan elements would help to create a national unifying culture in Mesoamerica. At the time, several ballcourts had been discovered throughout Mesoamerica and the southern Mexican states. In 1890, Augusto Gamboa, a professor at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, adapted the discoveries made at the ballcourts to create a new more modern version. Gamboa devised a set of rules for what he called Poktapok after the closest Mayan term for the pre-Columbian version and played the game in a small court with a traditional rubber ball which players attempted to get through a ring mounted on either side of the court. The game was originally played with seven people on a side. While players were holding the ball, they were not allowed to move from their position and had to throw it to other players on their team[2].
The first game was played between two sides at the Universidad de San Carlos near the end of 1890. Over the next decade, the game spread throughout Mesoamerica. While there were few attempts to organize professional leagues across Mesoamerica, several teams were created and in 1901, the first successful professional league was formed. The Liga Nacional de Poktapok first had six teams, each representing the capitals of the country's six provinces. The first seasons were played in outdoor fields with temporarily set up end hoops, but starting in 1905 permanent courts were built. The league expanded to ten teams by 1910, and poktapok spread to Costa Rica and the southern Mexican states during the 1910s and 1920s. Poktapok became one of the most popular sports in Central America and today there is a minor following of the sport in Cuba and other areas with large Mesoamerican immigrant populations.
[1] The matches were held over a month, but back then they only played three matches per series. And yes, I've probably got some of the terminology wrong, so feel free to correct me.
[2] This is similar to the original rules of basketball in OTL, which Naismith partly based on the findings of the Mayan game (according to what I read on Wiki). Poktapok will probably replace basketball in TTL.
Culture #3: The World of Sports
The Olympics Leave Greece:
After the first modern Olympics were held in 1882, the International Olympic Committee made the decision to move the games out of Greece. They hoped that having the games held in different countries would help to attract interest in the Olympiad. Because of influence by IOC president William Penny Brookes, it was decided that the Second Olympiad would be hosted in London in 1886. The 1886 were set to coincide with the International Colonial Exposition in London. Along with colonial pavilions by the British East India Company and other British colonies, athletes from several British colonies competed in the Olympics. Some of the new countries with athletes competing for the first time in the Olympics in 1886 included Argentina, Canada, the Netherlands, British India, and Australia.
Some of the highlights of the Second Olympiad came from the new events that premiered in 1886. One of the most popular new competitions of the London Olympics was in cricket, which had grown in popularity in Great Britain and her colonies. Teams representing Great Britain, France, and Australia held a round robin series of test matches[1]. It ended up that the final game between rivals Britain and Australia was the deciding match for the gold medal as they had both beaten the French team. Other new sports were added that were also of particular interest to the British attendees. These included archery, equestrian events, rowing, and football. In the rowing event, the Balliol eights team won the gold medal for Great Britain, beating out the Columbia team which won silver.
Football also saw its Olympic debut in London as Great Britain, Belgium, and the United States sent teams to compete. The matches were the first international matches played between teams representing the British Isles and the United States. Two teams from Great Britain, Sheffield FC from England and Queen's Park from Scotland, along with Harvard University from the United States and Klub Atletik Gent from Belgium competed in the games. Harvard University made it to the gold medal match by defeating Queen's Park 3-0, but lost to Sheffield FC 6-1 in the gold medal match. Queen's Park defeated K. A. Gent for the bronze medal. As both teams were from Britain, both the gold and the bronze were given to Great Britain while the United States brought back silver.
A Whole New Ball Game:
After the formation of the Mesoamerican Union, interest in the pre-Columbian cultures of the isthmus spiked in the country. The government encourage this interest, as many leaders thought that the revival of Mayan elements would help to create a national unifying culture in Mesoamerica. At the time, several ballcourts had been discovered throughout Mesoamerica and the southern Mexican states. In 1890, Augusto Gamboa, a professor at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, adapted the discoveries made at the ballcourts to create a new more modern version. Gamboa devised a set of rules for what he called Poktapok after the closest Mayan term for the pre-Columbian version and played the game in a small court with a traditional rubber ball which players attempted to get through a ring mounted on either side of the court. The game was originally played with seven people on a side. While players were holding the ball, they were not allowed to move from their position and had to throw it to other players on their team[2].
The first game was played between two sides at the Universidad de San Carlos near the end of 1890. Over the next decade, the game spread throughout Mesoamerica. While there were few attempts to organize professional leagues across Mesoamerica, several teams were created and in 1901, the first successful professional league was formed. The Liga Nacional de Poktapok first had six teams, each representing the capitals of the country's six provinces. The first seasons were played in outdoor fields with temporarily set up end hoops, but starting in 1905 permanent courts were built. The league expanded to ten teams by 1910, and poktapok spread to Costa Rica and the southern Mexican states during the 1910s and 1920s. Poktapok became one of the most popular sports in Central America and today there is a minor following of the sport in Cuba and other areas with large Mesoamerican immigrant populations.
[1] The matches were held over a month, but back then they only played three matches per series. And yes, I've probably got some of the terminology wrong, so feel free to correct me.
[2] This is similar to the original rules of basketball in OTL, which Naismith partly based on the findings of the Mayan game (according to what I read on Wiki). Poktapok will probably replace basketball in TTL.
- wilcoxchar
- Word Count: 810