youtube/watch?v=1RpPtgzPY_o#t=1674 Few sports played on Earth can boast beginnings as early as baseball, but hurling isnt far off. Rules were made official in 1885 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and published in local newspapers throughout the country. It is believed that hurling arrived in Ireland well before Christianity, as mention was made of the game in original fifth century Brehon Law. At first sight, it looks like a cross between lacrosse, baseball, American football and soccer. Perhaps even a bit of hockey. A hurling team is made up of fifteen players, all armed with a hurley, a piece of wood shaped like an axe. Like many other sports, the goal is to rack up more points than the opponent, and in hurling, this is done by scoring goals (into the net) and driving balls through the crossbars (above the net, between the bars). A goal is worth three points, and a ball that passes between the crossbars is worth one point. Its worth noting that a hurling ball, or sliotar, is just a bit smaller than a baseball and made of both cork and leather. Imagine baseball players, each with a bat, moving the ball down the field any way they can, and driving the ball into the net or over the crossbar. For two 35 minute periods, the action almost never stops. The crowd has no reason to stop cheering, part of what makes these matches so exciting is the constant engagement and drama. At any given point, a ball can be driven nearly the entire length of the 150-yard pitch. Like in soccer, only certain types of tackles are legal, and there are strict rules on which type of tackle is allowed. This is important because the players wear nothing for protection besides a helmet with a few metal bars to protect the face. The interaction between players sometimes seems quite precise, and sometimes seems desperate and haphazard. Either way, the precision and skill required to field a small ball traveling at close to 90 miles per hour does not go without notice.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 14:08:14 +0000
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