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| History of Football - The American Indians |
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Soccer is the most popular sport in the world.
How did it start and why is it so popular ? There is little known about the beginning of ballgames in North America. The Native American Indians played football or "Pasuckaukohowog" from approximately 1620. Although it is highly likely that they were actually playing football earlier. The word "Pasuckuakohowog" actually means "they gather to play ball with the foot". Possibly, these games were incredibly violent, it was quite often that players had injuries, some of them would retire with broken bones. The game was almost a war with up to 500 players on each side. The players understood the violent nature of the game as they would often disguise themselves with lots of war paint and ornaments to avoid retribution after the game. The pitch was often a mile long with goals at either end. The game could last for hours and often carried on from one day to the next. At the end of the game, both sides would meet for a celebratory feast. During the British colonization of North East America, the Indians had to move to the west, many of them were also captured to be slaves. By the time, the colonists introduced another popular ballgame which was the origin of "American Football". The Indian ballgame was totally forgotten. |
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