The One Where Italians Aren't Wusses -- Photo of the Week 23 Nov 2009

Has anyone heard of Calcio Fiorentino? It's an early form of football that has been eclipsed by less violent modern-day sporting events like rugby, professional wrestling, and trying to take photos of Mike Tyson in an airport.

It very well could be the manliest game ever, allowing "tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking," but forbids "sucker-punching and kicks to the head." Now, I'm no advocate of sucker-punching (aka Blounting), but where the originators decided to draw the line between strangling a guy and punching them when they're not looking seems a bit, oh, what's the word...arbitrary to me. I saw no rules either way on "folded metal chair taken from the stands" or "tazing."

This PotW was chosen from this collection; I liked it mostly because there is obviously a WWF-style piledriver about to take place. Go Italians for continuing to play a virtually ignored and obsolete sport.


It's a short week, all. Happy Monday, indeed!