Highland Games

Palance Points: 4/5

Think there's something wimpy about men in skirts? Think again. Highland Games demonstrate the heartiest feats of manly strength and strength-endurance.


A caber being tossed at the
2000 New Hampshire Highland Games

A favorite amongst Scots ex-pat communities, you must see events like the caber toss to truly appreciate the balance and explosiveness required to excel. And although there may be lots of grunting, it's hard to tell if they're even breaking a sweat. Or, if they'd let you know what's really under that kilt!

Andy

Australian Rules Football

Palance Points: 4/5

If you've ever grown tired of cable "sports" like Billiards and Texas Hold'em, than you may have come across Australian Rules Football. I remember being both baffled and fascinated by this sport as a kid, which seemed to me a gristly blend of Rugby and martial arts. And why do the refs wear Pith helmets?



To paraphrase the encyclopedic Wikipedia entry, Australian rules football (a.k.a. Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply "football" or "footy") is a code of football played with an prolate spheroid ball, on large oval shaped fields, with four posts at each end. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time and the primary aim of the game is to score by kicking the ball between the posts. The winner is the team who has the highest total score by the end of the match.

It just goes to show you what you can learn by watching late-night TV...after you've tired of peeking a hole cards.

More information of current league play can be found at the Australian Football League website.