In the world we have now, information is readily accessible. The trouble is that there is SO much information that you may not know where to start exactly. Today, we will be discussing some fun facts about the world of sports that you may not believe are real.
We believe this is a great topic to have as we certainly learned new things. The simple act of learning something new goes a long way in helping people enrich themselves. Also, they can share the information that they find and end up enriching others as well. That’s what we are certainly hoping is going to happen with today’s discussion!
Michael Jordan’s flop in high school
In Emsley A. Laney High School, a young Michael Jordan was just like any other kid. If you do not count his height, that is. Beyond that, he was just like any other kid his age that loved basketball. Naturally, for someone of his inclination and height, he wanted to try out for his school’s varsity team.
If you base it off your knowledge of what Jordan has accomplished in his life now, it will come off as a jest that he was actually cut from his high school team. He was deemed to be ‘too short’ if you can believe it. He later on got to join the junior varsity team of his school.
Helmets, please!
When you think of the sport of Football and Hockey, you can imagine bone-crunching tackles and hits. People generally accept this as the players are always wearing the necessary safety gear like pads and helmets. However, it was not until 1976 that helmets were actually required to be part of an athlete’s gear.
It was Craig MacTavish who was the last person to play Hockey without a helmet. It is rather hard to imagine there being a time where the safety of athletes was not the utmost priority but at least we have that now, right?
“Steagles” were a thing
During the breakout of the Second World War, two major football teams combined into a single team. These teams were the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was necessary because a large chunk of both teams enlisted for the war.
The merger happened in 1943 and they were actually called the Steagles. The following year, the Steelers did another merger but this time it was with a different team. Specifically, it was the Chicago Cardinals. While that would have been interesting if they kept it going, as the war ended, all the teams had enough people without having to merge.
Red is a buff
The perception of human is greatly swayed by outside factors. In the world of sport, this is no different. A study that was made in 2008 proclaimed that the color red was usually correlated with strength. So sports teams that usually had the red uniform were always perceived to be stronger or faster.
They are normally received better as well. So if you find yourself cheering or being intimidated by a team that wears red, according to science, that is just human nature at work.
Basketball was born from Rugby
Not a lot of basketball fans realize that their beloved sport was created because of another pre-existing sport. Back when rugby was exploding in Europe, a rugby coach by the name of James Naismith was wondering how to keep his players in top shape.
Rugby is a sport that was played outdoors and during the winter months, they could not exactly go outside to play. This meant that there would be several months that the rugby players would not be doing anything. Naismith developed a new exercise for his players in order to keep them active in an indoor setting.
That exercise was basketball. It was a little funny that the first basketball was a rugby ball but basketball lovers all over the world owe their thanks to rugby.
Japan golfers are interested in your hole-in-one hits
This is particularly true if you are playing golf in Japan. There is a cultural norm that Japanese people and guests subscribe by when in comes to golf. If a golfer manages to land a hole-in-one, it is highly customary for the golfer to throw a party for his or her closest friends.
It does not really have to be anything large scale but it is expected to hand out gifts. As such, Japanese golfers are insured for the chance of a hole-in-one. Securing an insurance premium for a hole-in-one is not as expensive as you would pay for a car or health but the payout is still rather hefty.
Japanese insurance firms know how important it is to keep cultural norms alive and will help their clients with this.
All that glitters…is not gold?
Every four years, the best of the best in the world of athletics compete in the Olympics. For anyone who is a professional athlete, getting a gold medal is the highest honor. However, how much gold is actually in that ‘gold’ medal?
As it turns out, not much—at least, not since 1912. Most gold medals made after 1912 are actually a combination of sterling silver and a little bit of gold. Just a little less than 1.35%! Despite this miniscule amount, this does not deter athletes and countries from sending in their best to claim that achievement.
In Closing
Knowing more about the world of sports is a great way to develop understanding and appreciation for it. One thing that we have noticed about the world of sports is that there is so much emphasis on scores and who’s getting paid the most. There is less and less interest in little facts that add so much to the whole sporting culture.
Sport is one of humanity’s greatest achievements. It is something that allows us a peek into our past and a great look into our journey through the millennia. Were these facts as surprising to you as it was for us? Let us know!