www.timespots.

net

The Brief History of Football:

The Ancient Greeks and Romans are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet. The Roman game harpastum is believed to have been adapted from a Greek team game known as (episkyros) or (phaininda), which is mentioned by a Greek playwright, Antiphanes (388311 BC) and later referred to by the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215 AD). These games appear to have resembled rugby football. The Roman politician Cicero (10643 BC) describes the case of a man who was killed whilst having a shave when a ball was kicked into a barber's shop. Roman ball games already knew the airfilled ball, the follis. Documented evidence of an activity resembling football can be found in the Chinese military manual Zhan Guo Ce compiled between the 3rd century and 1st century BC. It describes a practice known as cuju, literally "kick ball"), which originally involved kicking a leather ball through a small hole in a piece of silk cloth which was fixed on bamboo canes and hung about 9 m above ground. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC220 AD), cuju games were standardized and rules were established. And that was how I developed a passion for the game. Soccer is the world's most popular sport. It is the national sport of most European and LatinAmerican countries, and of many other nations. Millions of people in more than 140 countries play soccer. The World Cup is held every four years. Soccer is one of the most famous international sports. Soccer is known world wide and is played in the Olympics.Football is a game played on a rectangular field (hundred twenty yards long and fifty-three yards wide) by two different teams, each with eleven members, with an inflated cowhide ball in an oval like

www.timespots.net

www.timespots.net shape. The purpose of the offensive side is score as many times as possible while the defense tries to stop that. To score, the offense must run the ball down the field to the opposing team's end zone or by kicking it through the goal post. Since football is considered a full-contact sport, many injuries can occur by "blocking, body checking, and grabbing." In this way, it is considered to be somewhat like rugby. Even with the roughness, it is considered the most popular American sport, attracting thousands of participants. The most renown game takes place in January and is called the Super Bowl, which is attended by some sixty thousand fans and watched by a hundred and thirty television watchers just in the United States. Some of the equipment that is used by the teams is jerseys, cleats, helmet, and pads. The jerseys are to help identify each player from the other and the opposing team. The cleats are special shoes that help the players get a firm grip in the field. The helmet has face mask to protect the player from having something jab him in the face. On the bottom of the helmet, there is a strap that keeps the helmet in place when hit hard. Inside the helmet, there are pads to cushion the head when tackled to the ground. Beneath the jersey, there are more pads to cushion the body when tackled to the ground.

www.timespots.net