{"product_id":"the-shared-origins-of-football-rugby-and-soccer","title":"The Shared Origins of Football  Rugby  and Soccer","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn todays hypercompetitive world  contact sports bring about fierce rivalries between fans  between players  and even between countries. From the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines in grid iron football  to the Australian Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks in rugby  to Real Madrid and Barcelona in association football (soccer)  contact sports incite a passion few other games can replicate. Though these modern contests of brawn might vary in ways both subtle and significant  they draw on a common history that dates back centuries. Overcoming rulers  conquerors  and religious leaders  the games of ancient times survived and flourished to become the sports we know and love today.  In The Shared Origins of Football  Rugby  and Soccer  Christopher Rowley reveals how ball games arose and took shape into seven distinct forms: American football  association football  Australian rules football  Canadian football  Gaelic football  rugby league football  and rugby union football. Rowley traces ball games back to the Mayans in Meso-America and the Han Dynasty in China  through ancient Egypt and Greece  and on through the Cradle of football in England and Scotland. His narrative includes the relatively recent development of rules  codes  and leagues and concludes with the current state of football around the world.  The Shared Origins of Football  Rugby  and Soccer takes the reader through this unique odyssey in world history by bringing to life the little-known games of the past. Rowley recreates ancient games from around the world based on surviving documents and illustrations  and relates first-hand accounts of fossil games still played today. Through careful research  the common ancestry of our modern seven codes of football is finally pieced together to create a fascinating history of the world of football that we know today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44986822656053,"sku":"ByrdShop_1442246189","price":130.84,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781442246188.jpg?v=1770918574","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-shared-origins-of-football-rugby-and-soccer","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}