The Greatest Sport You Didn't Know Existed

Calcio Storico might be the greatest game you've never heard of. I fluently speak English; am a decent Spanish Speaker; and due to my Italian roots, I am able to confirm with Google Translate that this sport, in English, is called Historic Football.

(As you all I know, I have an obsession with sports documentaries. My favorite podcast, hosted by Barstool's Big Cat and PFT Commenter is called Pardon My Take. It is a sports podcast loosely based on Pardon the Interruption and First Take from ESPN.... however, Pardon My Take focuses more on the comedy side of things. Since quarantine led us to not have sports day-to-day, PMT has a weekly segment about a sports documentary. That is where I have been able to find all of these sports documentaries... so credit it to PMT)

Anyways, Calcio Storico is the first episode of the Netflix Series "Home Game". As you probably have never heard of Calcio Storico here is my best ability to describe it: Modern day Greek God Gladiators from Florence, Italy, play an annual rugby/soccer tournament to find out who the "team of the year" is. The only rule, is there is no rules. Basically, there is one ball and you do whatever you can to get the ball into the opposing teams net. Essentially, it is soccer, but you can use your hands, you can fight, you are inside of a cage, and if you shoot and miss, the other team receives 1/2 point.

Here is a short video that explains what I am talking about.

In my opinion, this has to be the coolest game ever invented. It is similar to the Hunger Games in the sense that you are born in one district, and if you were born in that district, that is who you play for. There is no switching teams. It is a game of sheer strength, endurance, and loyalty.

Here are some of the Athletes the documentary focuses on:

This is Riccardo Lo Bue. He plays "center pitch" for "The Red Team" (Santa Maria Novella... listen to an Italian-first-language speaker say "Santa Maria Novella" and its better than any accent you've ever heard). After watching this documentary, I can tell you that "center pitch" is similar to "The Goon" in hockey. Riccardo is a hard hitter, a scraper, he tries to clear the way for the "strikers" (just like in soccer, the goal scorers) to score a goal. He might be the most bad ass of them all. He just beats the shit out of anyone in his way.

This is Raffaele D'eligio, a player for the White team from Santo Spirito.

Rodrigue Nana - another player from the White Team, Santo Spirito.

Although many of the players do look like this, there are some more "average Joe's" out there as well. And THE MOST power to them because there is no chance in hell I would get in a cage with 54 other men and get my corpse ripped to shreds to throw a ball into the net.

Florence has GOT TO be the place where "Guido's" originated from. If you wanted to participate in one of the oldest traditions in Florence, you had to be that of a Greek God. So, when people from Florence wanted to participate, they had no other choice than to get as big as possible... aka Guido's. It probably passed along city by city, and it suddenly became more popular to try and be the biggest dude on the pitch. That is my explanation for the entire series of "The Jersey Shore".

Would I ever play in this game? Absolutely NEVER. I love competition. Everything I do turns into a competition. But would I want to go out to get my face pounded in while another dude takes a cheap shot at me from behind? No. It is more than physical strength. Dude's like this are so mentally tough that they think to themselves, I have to be training to be in peak condition by this date so I can play TWO MATCHES, AND THEN DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR. Crazy.

Which Avenger would be best for this sport? No doubt it is Captain America. You might think it is Hulk, Black Widow, or The Black Panther, however it is more than just combat. I'd put up the greatest science experiment of all time (which in all reality is steroids to make you into a Greek God) against these dudes any day of the week, because Captain America can: combat fight, run fast, and throw hard... which are three most important aspects of the game.

I wouldn't say this is the most thrilling documentary I have ever watched, but I would recommend it just so you can understand the game a little bit better!!!