Gladiator Fights Are the Most Popular Form of Entertainment in the Modern World

Point of Divergence ... During the time of the Romans, gladiator fights were all the rage. The gore, the blood, and the torture that was seen on the arena floor could be considered, in some ways, tame compared to some of the entertainment we see on television now. Yet the gladiator fights died out around the time of the 5th Century, never to be seen in their brilliant bloody glory again, except in the imagination of modern man and occasionally on the big screen.

Lets for arguments' sake say that gladiator fights somehow survived Ancient Rome and made it to the modern era. My thought is that many countries in the world have their own arena, with the most well known arenas existing in Rome, Beijing, New York, London, and Johannesburg. Criminals and political prisoners number among those who are forced into the arena to compete. Those who manage to come out on top will compete for glory in the Olympic Games once every four years, where death or gold silver and bronze await them. How does the world change as a result of this?
 
I read some book in the 1980's in which a Major League Football team owner decided that his players will hurt at least one player on the opposing team for every game in the season. The Rating goes through the Roof as other teams also follow suit.
Eventually they start doing Gladiator fights with weapons first as Half time entertainment and then as the main events.
(Sorry I don't remember the paperback name or the author.)
 
You're not all that far off from a book titled "Killerbowl". That centered around something called the Street Football League, where the game was played in a cordoned-off area of a major city. Players were armed (clubs; brass knuckles; small knives; etc.). There were eleven on each side in uniform, meaning two-way play all the time. The kicker: each had a so-called hidden safety, armed with a sniper rifle. Don't recall the author, but that's akin to the idea you mentioned.
 
You're not all that far off from a book titled "Killerbowl". That centered around something called the Street Football League, where the game was played in a cordoned-off area of a major city. Players were armed (clubs; brass knuckles; small knives; etc.). There were eleven on each side in uniform, meaning two-way play all the time. The kicker: each had a so-called hidden safety, armed with a sniper rifle. Don't recall the author, but that's akin to the idea you mentioned.

Killerbowl was written by Gary K Wolf.
He better known for "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" which is the basis for the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit? "
It don't think it the book, I mentioned but I could be wrong.
 
Point of Divergence ... During the time of the Romans, gladiator fights were all the rage. The gore, the blood, and the torture that was seen on the arena floor could be considered, in some ways, tame compared to some of the entertainment we see on television now. Yet the gladiator fights died out around the time of the 5th Century, never to be seen in their brilliant bloody glory again, except in the imagination of modern man and occasionally on the big screen.

Except it's 100% real and probably resembled the gruesome videos released by drug cartels and terrorist groups or footage of mob executions and public beheadings more than anything else. Limbs getting hacked off and bodies sliced open IRL is pretty different than in the movies. Is there an audience for this? Sure, public executions were a big thing throughout history and are to this day in some parts of the world.

But it just seems too violent and not a productive way of dealing with criminals to survive the Christianisation of Europe, or not have some massive backlash against it. Like in Ancient Rome, training gladiators would be an expensive waste of money. Why should anyone be allowed to spend millions of money training child molestors or murderers to kill each other? Especially since gladiators in Ancient Rome were afforded privileges and given fame that most people would argue should not be given to people to whom the death penalty might be applied. Imagine some fame-seeking school shooter surrendering to the place, knowing that they can enter the gladiatorial arena and gain even more fame, to the degree their names are plastered on every TV screen in the nation (or world) as "sports heroes" or whatever.

So this isn't happening outside of an anarcho-capitalist society or if you change the very nature of gladiator combat. Make it like a HEMA, for instance. Battles would be fought by free people (not enslaved prisoners like gladiators) using a nice set of armour and weapons, and would end with the loser either being subdued or perhaps when bloodied enough. This would be a pretty violent sport, and wouldn't be very gentlemanly like modern fencing. But early forms of boxing, rugby, and American football were also pretty violent and tons of people died, so it would be acceptable. Maybe it develops in the Renaissance or something as a "revival" of ancient gladiatorial combat, although likely bears little resemblance to it.
 
There was a sci-fi book with this premise and the events were televised across that planets solar system with competitors from planets in the local star cluster.

It was an advanced society medically with limbs able to be re-attached etc, but the medical staff had to dress as Valkyries or similar (for TV reasons) when they swooped in to take casualties to hospital. They hated having to do that.

It was a good book, which I forget the name of now. 1970’s or 80’s.
 
The RAF decides it needs to drum up public support during WWII. So they arrange mock air fights. Clearly, using frontline fighters like Spits or Hurricaneswould be a misuse of desperately needed aircraft.

But the Gloster Gladiator was obsolete, so Gladiator fights happen. Heck, you could refuse to let actual RAF pilots take part, again, they're needed in the real fight, so use the women's auxiliary, the ladies flying transport planes. So you have Female Gladiator fights....
 
This is one of those ridiculous Star Trek, TOS episodes.

I love that episode.
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It's okay. I like ones that other people think are silly.

The Savage Curtain. Four good Vs four bad.

Charming Abe Lincoln! Sneaky Colonel Green!

"He (Surak) was very brave."

"Men of peace usually are, captain."
 
It's okay. I like ones that other people think are silly.

The Savage Curtain. Four good Vs four bad.

Charming Abe Lincoln! Sneaky Colonel Green!

"He (Surak) was very brave."

"Men of peace usually are, captain."

I like The Savage Curtain, too.
It is light years ahead of some of the other episodes from the third season.
 
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