Sports have been a staple to every culture and civilization in our history. Chess has
its origin in Ancient India, the Olympics were organized by Greeks to appease the gods,
and Gladiators fought each other in Rome just because Romans loved the sight of athleticism
and bloodshed together. But, Gladiators weren’t the only ones going extreme with their sporting
activities in old times. Today on Nutty History, we’re exploring the deadliest sports in history.
Venatio was a special gladiator event where human gladiators were pit against lions,
leopards, tigers, bears, and other such wildebeests in the colosseum. The animals
were left to starve in cages before the event to make them extra ruthless and desperate. You know,
just to make the interspecies battle more ferocious. People loved the sight of bloodshed,
no matter if it was a triumph for gladiators or the beasts overpowering and shredding them limb
to limb out of anger and hunger. Only if Snickers had existed back then. It’s hard to tell whether
Venatio was more of a sport or a punishment because the more you look into it the more it
sucked for everyone who participated in the sport. At least the audience had a good time which kind
of makes you question their judgment. In the name of this sport, Romans committed every possible
animal cruelty you can imagine. According to a historic account, Titus claimed that
on a single day, over ten thousand gladiators were fighting more than five thousand beasts.
Those numbers might seem hard to believe, but the sport of Venatio does bear some
responsibility for the extinction of many species in Europe. Big oof! Those poor doggos and kitties!
But people love the sight of bloodshed no matter if it was a triumph of gladiators or
the beast tearing them linda limb out of anger and hunger. Hmm! If only they had a Snickers
back then! You know you’re not you when you’re hungry. Bloodthirsty death lion have a Snickers!
Jousting is considered a noble sport, a more civilized version of gladiator fights where
knights would ride their horses towards each other aiming to knock the other person with their tall
lances which clearly seem to be compensating for something. Though we believe that Jousting
was a medieval sport, Ancient Egypt had made it cool thousands of years ago. Just to make
it more exciting Egyptians used to joust in the river Nile. They rode boats instead of horses
and used their oars to knock the opponent out. Oh how fun and considerably safe that you fall
in the water and not on rocky ground? Well, no you’re wrong and the river’s filled with
crocodiles. As the sport of Fisherman jousting was played in the open river,
crocodiles would flock around the boats and pounce on any unfortunate soul who would lose the game.
So according to crocodiles: Fun? Yes, because of Free Food. Safe? Haha, not so much!
Buzkashi is a game played in the region of Afghanistan, which is basically polo,
however with one twist. Instead of a ball, the two teams compete for a carcass of a goat! This
centuries-old-game of animal cruelty not only still exists, but is considered the national game
of Afghanistan. Buzkashi is a fast-paced game, where players have to pass the goat around among
the team and throw it into a giant hole. As goats can weigh up to 90 pounds, this is not easy nor
a safe feat. Many players, even the experienced ones, have fallen off their horses while carrying
the goat or in attempts to grab it. Even if you survive, there is a high chance you will break a
major bone or two in fall, or get some permanent damage. However, if your team wins, you get to
roast the goat and feast on it. And to think all our moms scolded us for playing with our food.
Bull Leaping existed long before Bullfighting and it was exactly how you might be imagining it.
A bull charges at you and you try to leap over its horns to the other side. Obviously, there
was always a chance of being rammed by a bull or getting stabbed by its horns in your no-no place,
because one’s legs would be split over its head in the attempt. Bet you felt that on the other side
of the screen didn’t you? If you are thinking who found the idea of this sport fascinating, you have
to know that bull leaping was invented in the 13th century BC; when there was not a lot around to
do. The sport originated in ancient Indus valley civilization and somehow made its way to Minoans,
the precursors of ancient Greeks. Yep, the same kingdom that is known today for the Minotaur!
Interestingly both Minoans and Indus Valley civilizations worshipped bulls back in their time.
Ulama is in not so unknown to the modern world, thanks to the movie El Dorado.
An ancient counterpart to basketball, the game required some serious coordination and hips
that can compete with Shakira because you needed your hips to control, pass, or shoot the ball,
instead of limbs. This was also perhaps the first game in recorded history to use a rubber ball.
Still, you had to have a lot of strength and dexterity to shoot the ball in hoops with their
haunches. Ulama is the only sport on this list, which involved no bloodshed during the gameplay.
That came after! Just like a lot of other things in Maya civilization,
this game too was often associated with human sacrifice. During a certain era of the Mayan
civilization, the captain of the losing team would be sacrificed to appease the gods.
Those are the highest stakes I’ve ever heard in a sports, am I right?
What about you? Which of these games do you think you can compete in? Any other ancient sports worth
putting on the list? Tell us in the comments down below. And thanks for watching Nutty History.