# Anglo Saxons have dominated the world **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 31, 2001, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxons-have-dominated-the-world/52527 "2001-01-31T06:09:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxons-have-dominated-the-world/52527/1 "2001-01-31T06:09:37Z")
in creating competitive team sports. basketball football baseball ice hockey rowing soccer cricket rugby tennis just off the top of my head. What’s with this penchant for inventing team sports ? ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxons-have-dominated-the-world/52527/2 "2001-01-31T14:02:05Z")
**Wealth.** I guess that’s more of an answer to do with the _success_ of the sports you mentioned than their invention, but I’ll stick with it. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxons-have-dominated-the-world/52527/3 "2001-01-31T14:10:10Z")
Since when is tennis a team sport? Sure, there’s a “US Tennis Team,” but the matches are one-one-on or doubles, which is really stretching the meaning of “team.” Also, are we sure that some of these sports don’t have roots in non-Anglo cultures? ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxons-have-dominated-the-world/52527/4 "2001-01-31T14:45:55Z")
Of the sports you list, soccer, cricket and rugby were invented in England before the beginning of the 20th Century and so probably count as “Anglo-Saxon” in origin (if the term means anything at all). Rowing is fairly universal, I believe tennis was invented in France and the reamining four originate in North America (where they have more or less stayed), so I don’t think it is fair to describe them as being of Anglo-Saxon origin. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxons-have-dominated-the-world/52527/5 "2001-01-31T15:48:38Z")
Well, my first thought was, “Pfui, what a silly proposition. People, and _men_ especially [:rolleyes: those goofy creatures so obsessed with statistics and _winning_] have always had lots and lots of team sports.” But you know what? I went looking for a list of the original Olympic games, and actually none of them looks like a team sport. [http://luna.cas.usf.edu/~murray/classes/ca/olympic-events.htm](http://luna.cas.usf.edu/~murray/classes/ca/olympic-events.htm) Foot Races: The Stadion A middle distance race (the hippios?) The race in armor Torch race Pentathlon Events Long jump Discus and javelin The Pentathlon Combat events Wrestling Pankration Boxing Equestrian Events Four horse chariot race Horse race So, maybe it is an Anglo-Saxon thing, after all? I went and found a list of the Summer Olympics 2000 events (I’m leaving Winter Olympics events out of this 'cause I doubt if the ancient Greeks did much figure skating), so look and see how many of them are team sports. The track relays would be team sports. Badminton. Baseball, basketball, and football. Team handball. Field hockey. Rowing. Softball. Synchronized swimming. Table tennis, if it was doubles. Tennis, ditto. Water polo. Volleyball. Yachting. Did I miss any? My next thought would be, But is it an Anglo-Saxon thing, meaning British and American and possibly German (not sure by what the OP means by “Anglo-Saxon”), or is it just an American thing? How many of these team Olympic events were invented by Americans? Is it maybe that the Americans codify and make more competitive what the British invent? [http://www.dallasnews.com/sports\_day/othersp/2012/events.htm](http://www.dallasnews.com/sports_day/othersp/2012/events.htm) Olympic events (for the Summer Olympics) 05/05/99 Archery Athletics (track and field) Badminton Baseball Basketball Boxing Canoeing: Flatwater sprint, Slalom Cycling: Track, road race, mountain biking Equestrian: Jumping, dressage, three-day event Fencing Football Gymnastics: Artistic, rhythmic Team handball Field hockey Judo Modern pentathlon Rowing Shooting Softball Swimming: Swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball: Indoor, beach volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling: Freestyle, Greco-Roman Yachting ---
**Author:** ![dal\_timgar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@dal\_timgar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dal_timgar)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxons-have-dominated-the-world/52527/6 "2001-01-31T17:52:34Z")
say you have a class structured society the lower classes outnumber the upper classes the lower classes need their attention/agression directed somewhere other than at the upper classes. have them compete against each other and reward the winners with useless trinkets. trophies, medals, stroke their egos. don’t teach them accounting so they understand wealth accumulation. when i was a sophomore in college, met a chinese kid from new york who told me that his kung fu master didn’t want to teach it to europeans because it would be turned into a SPORT. Dal Timgar ---
**Author:** ![Cheese\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cheese\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheese_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxons-have-dominated-the-world/52527/7 "2001-01-31T19:37:15Z")
Anglo saxon world domination will end soon with the thinnng ozone layer causing a skin cancer epidemic.