Hoosiers are crazy about sports. Just this past November, we cheered our local high school football team on as they won 2nd in the state championship. A few weeks ago, we watched the Super Bowl with family and friends and laughed about the funny commercials with co-workers the next day. Just around the corner, March Madness awaits, as college basketball teams prepare to play their big tournament. We cheer on our favorites in baseball and can’t wait to see if they make it to the World Series. Sports are in our blood.
The documented history of sports goes back over 3,000 years. The first sports often involved preparation for battle or hunting. Representations of wrestlers dating around 3,000 B.C. were found on stone slabs from the Sumerian civilization. Monuments to the pharaohs of Egypt dating around 2,000 B.C. show evidence of several developed sports. The ancient Greeks are famous for starting the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. In the late Middle Ages, sports became less violent and more recreational. Sports teams as we know them today are due to Western culture, primarily 19th century Britain. Sports have been around for centuries.
To find out more about famous Hoosiers in Sports, join us Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. EST as we welcome Bruce Johnson, LaPorte County Historian. Bruce will share an interesting presentation on well known athletes from Indiana. You can register for the event here and receive a reminder three days in advance or just show up. It’s sure to be an informative evening as we connect with our fellow Hoosiers in learning about our athletic heritage.