They say that soccer is a gentleman’s game for hooligans, and rugby is a hooligan’s game for gentlemen. But what’s a hooligan’s game for hooligans?
Well, that would be the Atherstone Ball Game, the 824th annual playing of which was just held this past Tuesday in the town of Atherstone, Warwickshire.
This year do something special for the missus for Valentines. Take her to the The Atherstone Ball Game (This is actually being held today. Some of you Brits pls give us some links to this years action. Pretty Please lol) pic.twitter.com/F82B8Q6OFx
— Mad World (@ItsAMadWorld) February 13, 2024
Fists fly at Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire despite police crackdown on violence at the event. The 824th 'medieval' ball game took place on Shrove Tuesday (February 13, 2024) #Atherstone #AtherstoneBallGame Full video: https://t.co/bJJTPp7luA pic.twitter.com/5tOwfKCLMI
— Urban Pictures (@Urban_Pictures) February 13, 2024
“The game itself has few rules,” according to the Atherstone Ball Wikipedia, “two being that play is restricted to Long Street and participants are not allowed to kill anyone.” Just about everything else flies, and like most years, the lubricated British lads had no qualms including fisticuffs in their playing repertoire, despite the efforts of local police to stop them.
“I live there, and it’s kind of like the Purge,” one person tweeted.
So, is it like a penalty if you kill someone?
— @DetectiveBurke (@detectiveburke) February 14, 2024
The game lasts two hours from 3 pm to 5 pm, and whoever is in possession of the specially made ball when the horn goes off is the winner. Also known as “medieval football,” the game commemorates a “match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire.”
“Even after reading the explanation I have no idea what’s happening,” another viewer wrote.
The game is typically started by a celebrity guest who drops the ball off the roof of a nearby building into the crowd. Children are allowed to leave school early, and local shops are boarded up. “The ball is decorated with ribbons before the game, and prizes are also awarded to anyone who gets hold of one,” the Wiki writes, “as well as to the person who gets the golden penny, thrown into the crowd shortly before the game commences.” No, this isn’t Harry Potter.
Pancakes and violent ball games return this Shrove Tuesday!
— British Pathé (@BritishPathe) February 13, 2024
Here's the 1962 Atherstone Ball Game.
Full clip here: https://t.co/X4vZ236itG pic.twitter.com/SpyuPRBXqS
When you’ve got the Atherstone ball game at 1pm but a night shift on the M1 roadworks at 1am pic.twitter.com/6c4K7pGd6m
— Atdhe Nuhiu (@ATDHENUHIU13) February 13, 2024
A lad I worked with won it twice - hard as nails and crackers also.
— Charles Cresswell (@cresswellhibbe1) February 13, 2024
The best bit, they would all sit in the pub after without any malice.
Nobody loves tradition more than the British, and it’s nice to see that their cultural practice of going to the pub, fighting in the street, and going back to the pub will be preserved for years to come.
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