WMC 2014 > Tournament > history
The noble sport of football has its roots in ancient rituals, as M. Meiers groundbreaking article under the lemma Apopudobalia (Ἀποπουδοβαλία) suggests: "The details remain unknown[, even though] ἄνδρες ἀποπουδοβαλόντες are already verified in 4th century BC […] thanks to the Gymnastika by Achilles Tacticus (fr. 3)".[1] Subsequently, the sport gained some popularity during the late Roman Republic. It's not a strech to assume that at this point the sportsmen had already amassed loyal supporters from the nobilitas and proletarians alike, as the listing of some of these apopudobalontic celebs in the pseudo-Ciceronian text De viris illustribus (3,2) proves.
During the Roman Empire's northward expansion in the 1st and 2nd century AD, the Apopudobalia are likely to have become an integral part of Roman lifestyle in Britain, alongside vinum dulce and garum. Archaeological surveys of the last decades have indicated that the cultivation and popularization of the noble sport is tied to the development of the Roman military and its periphery, as shown by the numerous camps with (artificial) turf walls and (usually four) openings apparently functioning as goals, among other clues. However, past scientists have glossed over the sportive-cultish aspects by making up military terms.[2] At least since the decline of the Roman hegemony, the sport had sunk into obscurity in all halfway civilized regions of Europe. All? No, one small village in Cambridgeshire preserved the fundamentals making out the body of rules through oral tradition from one generation to the next and the other way round. Starting there, the ball rolled anew over continental Europe from the second half of the 19th century onward, and soon the rest of the globe.[3] The mythical beginnings of archaeological football go back to the 1970s AD, when everyone and his dog still wore flare trousers and sideburns. Thanks to the oral lore and the accounts of a carefully selected group of representants associated with different institutions, we can partly grasp the orgiastic rituals that were being held during those secret encounters on big green fields. This phase of cultural development is called "Praepedifolium" by modern scientists. At this juncture, reference should be made to the legendary duels between Cologne and Bonn, or the authentic reports concerning Bonn's away games in Bavaria. Aside from that, there have been numerous small tournaments between just a few different insitutes, carried out inbetween irregular time intervals and with a comparably loose and familiar atmosphere, often not lasting more than a single day. After the big gathering in 1990 on the field of Poll, it was apparently decided to establish a "Winckelmanncup".[4] The small amount of reference points for the pre- and early history of the WMC demonstrates once again the importance of a thoroughgoing investigation concerned with the tournament's genesis, as it is still understudied, even by those archaeologists most specialized in the archaeoapopudobalontic field. Further surveys conducted by the DFG (Dresdner Fußballgemeinschaft) are recommended; the official historiography omits the vital role these Dark Ages played in the evolution of the tournament. Not until the presence of the reformatio Bonnensis, decreed by the Rhenish primary rocks of Medusa Hofgarten in 1991, did the WMC enter the stage of factually backed world history – the declaration is to this day regarded as the starting point for the everlasting "Pedifolium". No more and no less than nine teams fought in this competition that is only winnable with the dubious blessing of Zeus on one's side, in order to get trophys, triumphal processions and animal sacrifices (also known as BBQ) dedicated to them. In the year 1 RB (see above), the panarchaeological, cultual-sportive feast was held near the Danube (Carnuntum) instead of the Rhine. In accordance with the tried, tested and trusted principle of annuity it was determined to move to a different venue each year, resulting in the phenomenon known today as migration period and many homines novi subverting the old nobility and broadening the starting field. The countless drinking vessels prevalent in the archaeological contexts seem to affirm that the convivial atmosphere as well as the religiously strict obedience to the rules that determine the procedure of libations were already common and eclipsed the competitive aspect. In the year 11, after the appearance of the WMC-redeemers in the Rhineland, the number of participating teams exceeded 20 for the first time. Soon, more and more classical scholars squeezed their library-steeled bodies for several days into a tight, nifty jersey. The social circumstances of the participants seem to have gone through some slight changes: While the guests of the party used to belong to the class of students who studied Classical Archaeology for the most part, now undergraduates of Pre- and Early History, Mediaevil Studies and non-universitary social individuals enriched the starting field. That is how the tradition of the WMC was nourished and refined at different sacred sites in the Central-European world during the past two decades, and, all the more remarkable, without a hiatus. The analysis of several beer bottles' and cans' provenience concluded that there's a widely spread WMC diaspora which is still continuing to grow. Apart from the German-speaking part, other countries represented in the holy rites include Great Britain, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Netherlands, hence the three-day festival promotes the amicable meeting and communication of the young and the young-at-heart archaeologists from all over Europe. The famous Henge Kickers from Dresden have thankfully proven to be worthy custodians and preservers of this fateful and eventful history, and you can find a PDF with a list of most past tournaments and the participating teams over here. The current five-year-ladder of WMC Teams is also available as PDF, with Furia Moravica Brno, Festung Tübingen, UAM Poznań Diggers and the Karpeiken from Berlin on the top ranks - because of pure luck, obviously. The Eternal Ranking Chart of WMC-participants that is carved in the Großen Zschirnstein has survived for the most part, and attempts have been made to decrypt its Ancient Saxon inscription, so that Spartacus Berlin can still consider itself the pinnacle of the sugar loaf of archaeological football. After two decades of WMC tournaments, the WMC magazine was published in late June 2011 (running to 80 pages), due to which the guys from Dresden forever gained a cozy front seat in our hearts and on the Mount Olympus of WMC-related literature. Nonetheless, there are still many questions left regarding results and names of players and teams from the early days of the WMC. Please contact the Dresdner Henge Kickers, either by submitting an entry to their guestbook or via lordoftheballs[äd]freenet.de. |
[1] DNP I (1996) 895 s. v. Apopudobalia (M. Meier) - Brill Online, 2013. Reference. 23 October 2013 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/der-neue-pauly/apopudobalia-e128870>
[2] Cp. the football-like Cuju (Ts'uh-chüh), that was established in China since the Qin-Dynastie in China and whose humble origins go back to military exercises as well: s. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuju and H. Brinker, Laozi flankt, Konfuzius dribbelt. China scheinbar im Abseits. Vom Fußball und seiner heimlichen Wiege. Welten Ostasiens 9 (Bern 2006) with further references. [3] A few selected examples for readers who are seriously interested in the history of football: F. Reiter, Der Kick mit dem Ball. Die Geschichte des Fußballs (Berlin 2009); K.-H. Huba (Hrsg.), Fußball Weltgeschichte (Munich 2007); K. U. Bertrams, „O wonnevolles Fußballspiel“. Der akademische Hintergrund einer volkstümlichen Sportart, Studentenkurier 3, 1998, 13–15; F. Peabody Magoun, History of football from the beginnings to 1871. Kölner anglistische Arbeiten 31 (Bochum-Langendreer 1938); K. Koch, Die Geschichte des Fussballs im Altertum und in der Neuzeit² (Berlin 1895). - cf. on the existential necessity of football since antiquity: St. Geiger, Sokrates flankt! Eine kleine Philosophiegeschichte des Fußballs (Berlin 2002) and M. Python, The Philosophers' Football Match (Munich 1972). [4] Friendly notice by W. Messerschmidt, Dezember 2013. |
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