#rule10

From Wikipedia

Handball (also known as team handball, Olympic handball, European handball, or Borden ball[1]) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outfield players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team. A standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes, and the team with the most goals scored wins.

There are a bunch of games I don't follow on a regular basis that are transfixing when I find myself watching them, including curling, cricket and team handball. Considering it combines the best of soccer and basketball, team handball seems like it should be super popular here in America, but no one plays it or watches it (though in school gym class, I remember playing a form of it that included the use of basketball nets, though that easily could have been Calvinball.) I can't even begin to figure out why it hasn't become popular here, because it is fast-paced, physical, high-scoring and easy to follow. It's basically everything Americans want from a game, with the exception of the dominance of Europeans.

Perhaps we haven't embraced it because it's not a sport? Grab a ball and let's find out...

Rule 1: It's right there in the name. Of course there are balls involved.

Rule 2: Per Wikipedia, "Field players are allowed to touch the ball with any part of their bodies above and including the knee." Hmm...that does mean no shins, ankles or feet. I am willing to give this one a pass though, as the original rule kept soccer from being a sport, and this is the antithesis of that ruling.

Rule 3: Team handball is not a form of transportation, so we're good.

Rule 4: Though the game is physical, there are penalties for excessive violence, or attacks from the side or rear. This isn't Thunderdome.

Rule 5: Far as I can tell, they wear sneakers. Everyone's got a pair of those.

Rule 6: When you've got 14 people running around a gym floor and they can actually play defense (I'm looking at you basketball) someone's likely to catch a ball off the face or take a hard fall.

Rule 7: Score more goals, get more glory. As it should be.

Rule 8: No sticks, no problem.

Rule 9: I'm reconsidering using this rule. The thing is, maybe once upon a time you couldn't bet on oddball games, but there's not much of anything you can't bet on today. If it comes down to a game only breaking Rule 9, we'll have to give it serious thought.

Rule 10: Futu-i! Romania has scooped up four medals in Men's Team Handball at the Olympics, most recently in 1984. It's a tenuous disqualification, but I've turned a blind eye twice before. This...this is too much to ignore.