Ancient Olympics
This sacred sanctuary dedicated to Zeus was the location of the Ancient Olympic Games.
What is Olympia?
The Haudenosaunee described lacrosse by this name because of its spiritual origins.
What is “The Creator’s Game”?
This expensive medieval sport required access to trained birds, land, and significant free time.
What is falconry?
This major economic transformation caused British cities to grow rapidly and helped create the conditions for modern organized sport.
What is the Industrial Revolution?
This organization was formed in London in 1863 to create common rules for football clubs.
What is the Football Association (FA)?
Olympic athletes swore an oath before this god to obey the rules of competition.
Who is Zeus?
In 1794, a lacrosse match between these two Haudenosaunee nations helped celebrate assistance and repair political tensions.
Who are the Mohawk and Seneca?
These organizations gave urban craftsmen and merchants a sporting opportunity that did not require the horses, armor, and aristocratic status associated with tournaments.
What are crossbow guilds?
This change in workers’ schedules became widespread during the 1870s and created a predictable period for both playing and watching sports.
What is the Saturday half-holiday?
The Football Association adopted this many original Laws of the Game in 1863.
What is 13?
This athlete was fined for cowardice after fleeing before his pankration match.
Who is Sarapion?
More than 1,500 of these specially constructed sporting spaces have been discovered across Mesoamerica.
What are ballcourts?
This medieval sport began among ordinary townspeople but was later adopted by nobles and royalty, showing that sporting culture could move up the social hierarchy.
What is real tennis?
This transportation technology allowed teams to travel farther for away matches and helped turn local competition into regional and national competition.
What are railroads?
Unlike soccer, which developed from several existing football traditions, this sport was deliberately created in 1891 with a written set of rules from the beginning.
What is basketball?
This Macedonian ruler had to prove Greek ancestry before Olympic officials would allow him to compete.
Who is Alexander I?
In the Popol Vuh, the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque are summoned to this supernatural realm to play ball against its rulers.
What is Xibalba (the Underworld)?
Success in this medieval competition could display a knight’s skill and wealth while also helping him build reputation and valuable social or political connections.
What is a tournament / jousting?
This Victorian belief connected physical fitness with Christian morality and argued that sport could build discipline, courage, teamwork, and “manly” character.
What is Muscular Christianity?
These two major restrictions in the 1863 Laws helped separate association football from more physical, handling-based versions of football.
What are no carrying the ball and no tripping/hacking?
After winning an Olympic pankration match, this athlete was declared champion even though he had died during the contest.
Who is Arrhichion?
Mesoamerican rulers and elites sometimes had themselves depicted doing this, showing that sport could communicate political and social status.
What is playing the ballgame / being depicted as a ballplayer?
Medieval sport was divided by social class less because every activity had explicit class-based rules and more because these factors determined who could realistically participate.
What are wealth, land, free time, equipment, training, and social status/access?
Growing cities gave modern sport players and spectators, railroads gave it distance, and the Saturday half-holiday gave it this crucial ingredient.
What is predictable shared leisure time?
This inventor created basketball in 1891 and wrote its original 13 rules.
Who is James Naismith?