From the 1960s until the late 1990s, ABC broadcast “The Wide World of Sports” a weekly Saturday show hosted by Jim McKay. This series took sports fans on an adventure around the world, looking at different sports played in other countries.
It showed viewers sports that they might never have heard of before. In America, sports fans love the four major sports: baseball, basketball, football and hockey. This show broadened the outlook of the true sports fan.
So, here are a few sports that get plenty attention in their little corners of the world, and one of them has actually sparked a TV show here in our own backyard.
Jai-Alai
First played in the 19th century, Jai Alai was, at one point, considered one of the most dangerous sports in the world. Since then, many changes have been made to the equipment to prevent some of these injuries, but not all.
Jai Alai can be dangerous, as the ball travels at high velocities. It has led to injuries that have caused players to retire.Fatalities have even been recorded. The sport is usually played indoors and involves eight teams of two or eight individuals who rotate in and out after each point. The player or team that scored stays on the court while other team is replaced by another team or player in waiting.
Players wear helmets and team uniforms to go along with their cesta, a long curved, weaved glove that all players must wear on their right hands. The sport is most popular in Latin America, the Philippines and other Hispanic countries.
Laamb-Wrestling
The national sport of Senegal, laamb wrestling, is a breakout sport in Africa. It is a combination of Greco-Roman wrestling and Sumo wrestling that also incorporates hand strikes.
The big names of the sport compete in large events that take place in soccer stadiums, which can fit anywhere from 15,000 to 50,000 people. Fights usually don’t last longer than a few minutes but the ceremonies before each match can take up to an hour.
This is where the sumo aspect comes into play. Each of the wrestlers will come out from the locker room with his team of supporters and coaches and they will perform a traditional dance, before dousing themselves in liquids given to them by shamans from their neighborhoods. These liquids are supposed to bring them good luck, health and fortune for their upcoming fights.
Laamb wrestling is competed on all levels, from small neighborhood events to the grand-scale events of professionals. The big-name athletes can make good money from winning fights and scoring endorsements.
Bocce
Bocce is a bowling-like game, usually played on grass or asphalt surfaces, which originated from games that were played in the Roman Empire. It was developed through the years in Italy into the game it is today. It is played with two teams, either one, two or four players per team, and the point is to get one of the team balls closest to the smaller ball, known as a jack.
Players are allowed to knock their opponents’ balls out of the way in an attempt to get their ball closer and earn the point, and they can do this by either rolling the ball or throwing it using an under arm motion. Strategy is an important part of winning this game. Unlike many of the other sports listed here, Bocce can be safely enjoyed by people of all ages.
Arm Wrestling
Strength and technique play a huge part in this sport, but intimidation, more than anything, can win more matches. Two players compete in a best of five match. The goal is to pin their opponent’s arm on the pad, with the winner’s arm being on top.
Competitors have their own technique that works for them but it takes a well-rounded arm wrestler to become a world champion. More goes into training for an arm wrestling competition than you may think. The workout regimen that these arm-wrestlers put themselves through can be quite strenuous.
The sport inspired the movie “Over the Top,” starring Sylvester Stallone, and a new TV series on AMC called “Game of Arms.” Andrew “Cobra” Rhodes stars on the show and was a consultant for the Stallone movie. He got the nickname “Cobra” because of the technique he uses in his matches, twisting his wrist so his arm looks like a poised cobra. Rhodes has been arm wrestling for more than 30 years and is a 16-time world champion.
It isn’t just a bunch of macho guys who ride motorcycles and hang out in bars. These athletes take their sport seriously because it’s how they make a living.
Hurling
Originated in Ireland, hurling is a sport similar to field hockey, rugby and lacrosse. The sport is played on a field with goals on each end, which look similar to an “H”, with a net below the cross-bar. If the ball is struck above the bar and in between the posts, teams earn one point, and a ball struck into the net is worth three points.
Each hurling team consists of 15 hurlers on the field at all times. Each player wears a face mask to prevent being hit by the ball. The hurlers use a wooden stick called a hurley, which looks like a flat baseball bat, and a ball called a sliotar, a small leather covered ball. Hurlers can hit the sliotar up to speeds of more than 90 mph. This is how players pass and shoot the ball, by throwing the ball up in the air then striking it. There are many professional leagues around the world but none as competitive or as well recognized as in its home land of Ireland.
