Romero 1
Cristian Romero
Professor Castillo
English Comp 2
12 May 2015
A Beautiful Sport Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the Americas and Europe. It has a realistic and absorbing history in the world of sports. It has been said by FIFA that soccer was being played in China during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. During the Han Dynasty in China, people dribbled leather balls by kicking it into a small net. Recorded facts also support that Romans and Greeks used to play ball for the amusement of it. Facts point that in Kyoto Japan, kicking the leather ball around was a popular sport. People believe that the modern way of playing soccer was started in England and that is why England today is one of the biggest country in the world to be involved in soccer and why so many fans are insane about it there. Some amusing facts even indicate that the first soccer ball used was the head of a Danish brigand. During the Medieval times, the form of soccer before the one we have now used to allow many ill infractions like punching, biting, kicking and gouging. The main idea of the sport was to carry the ball to a target spot. People grew an incredible bond of the game that they would invade the field all day long. Sometimes the competition was so intense and soccer matches got so wild that there were a lot of acts of violence during the game. It is also said that soldiers were so passionate to the game so much that they would missed archery practice to watch it. King Edward III, king of england, banned
Romero 2 soccer in 1365 due to the growing incidents of violence and military fulfillment in the sport. In 1424 King James I of Scotland also stated in the Parliament— "Na man play at the Fute-ball" which translates to “No man shall play football”. The origins of soccer, when and where it began, are still unknown.. There is no doubt that the game has been around for more than three thousand years. Modern day soccer is credited to the Britain people. It was also known as the association soccer, with England and Scotland being the co-founders of the organized game of soccer. Now that you know some history about this sport and know more of the effects soccer can have on people. It could even lead to wars or creating crimes. The sport doesn’t just cause evil. You have the world cup. People from all around the world get together for this electric main event that only occurs every 4 years. What is so great about the world cup? No matter what you call it, no other sport in the world comes close to matching the worldwide passion for the beautiful game. Soccer is a worldwide game. It is the world’s most popular sport, played in every part of the planet, every corner of it. It is a fact that the World Cup is the biggest and most watched sporting event in the world. It brings us to the question: Why? Why will billions of television viewers around the world watch some part of this summer’s World Cup?
As common and glib as this may sound, soccer is so much more than just a sport for millions of people around the world, it is a concluding cultural expression. “Football is universal language that we speak with different accents,” said Tim Vickery, a Rio-based soccer journalist.

Romero 3
“The biggest patriotic act that most people engage in is cheering on their team during the World Cup. It reaches people who have no interest in football otherwise. It reaches them at a profound level because it is their country and their people being represented in the eyes of the rest of the world.” (Tim). By no mean, the power of national representation is very unique to soccer but the World Cup still manages to obtain a more passionate, intense and almost religious like following from more fans around the world than any other sport event, including the Olympics. “Unlike the Olympics, the World Cup is the only truly, single-sport global event,” stated Nigel Reed, soccer commentator for CBC Sports. “The tournament has a way of enabling citizens to