Handball...it's not what you think

So, I got to go to another match last night.  VIP.  The whole deal.  It was a handball match.  For those of you who grew up in what we'll call a "regular" school in the US, when I say handball, what do you think of?


There's a wall, right?  And you hit the ball against the wall hard enough that your opponent can't return the ball, or something like that, right? This wikipedia article might refresh your memory (I personally like that there's a variation called prison handball...it just feels right haha)

So, in Europe, and of course, the rest of the world, this sport with the same name is totally different.  *side note* We like to give the US crap for stuff like 'soccer' instead of 'football', but there are good reasons why. Did you know that (according to etymonline.com) the word 'soccer' came about by taking the name Football Association, shortening to Assoc. and then adding the '-er' similar to how rugby used to be called 'rugger' in university slang? Did you know that in Italy, a major power in the soccer world, it's called il calcio and not il futbol? "I did not know that, Michael.  Thank you for enlightening me"

The Norwegian babe in the bottom right corner is my new girlfriend.  Her name is Stine Oftedal. Learn it.

So...thoughts? (I literally sat for like 2 minutes just staring at that "so" that I had typed, not knowing what to say after) It was honestly really cool to watch a sport that I'd never watched before and to try and figure out the rules. It's like a cross between indoor soccer (goals/goalie), basketball (pace and dribbling), rugby (contact/aggression), and maybe like... Quidditch? (because of its...quirkiness?)  I'll discuss the quirkiness later. 

The ball is like a small soccer ball, but with more bounce (so they can dribble) and it apparently has some tacky material (tacky like tactile, not tacky like sans class) on it so they can grip it better with one hand. No one can enter the goalie's "box" (though here, it's more like a half oval) except the goalie.  So shots on the goal have to be fast and crazy to make it.  This, combined with the ball's small size, leads to the aforementioned quirkiness. (I'm sincerely trying not to laugh in my office right now, which means I'm shaking with silent laughter...)

So, the goalie has to defend a goal from a relatively small ball flying at a relatively high velocity.  Sounds similar to soccer, right?  Well, for some reason, it just isn't.

Why did I say this reminded me of Quidditch?

Aaand...SPAZZ hands

I feel like I'm watching someone dance to cotton-eyed Joe at a church youth dance.  These were taken during warm-ups before the match, and the players were just chucking ball after ball at the goalie (to get her warmed-up) and her legs were FLYING up in the air! It was both awesome and hilarious.  Fortunately, during the match, there's a lot less relentlessness in the number of consecutive attacks.  Once they shoot, they either score, or the goalie recovers the ball. Most of the time they score...hence why it's like basketball - lots of running back and forth after each team scores.
    
Anyway, we do have handball teams in the states, but it just hasn't gained the steam that soccer has (as far as "import" sports go).  Maybe it just needs time.

And now an homage to my love, Stine

 

I swear I'm not crazy.