Wild Card

    Volleyball has been around for quite some time now, but it all started in Holyoke, Massachusetts. William G. Morgan started this game back in 1895. William originally named the game "Mintonette." Since then, the sport of volleyball has grown to be one of the big five international sports and is governed by the FIVB. There are 220 affiliated national federations, making it the largest international sporting federation in the world. Volleyball has grown drastically over the years, and for good reason. This is a sport that is exciting for everyone involved, whether you are playing, reffing, or a fan in the bleachers. In the last two decades, volleyball has had success in the FIVB World Championship, the FIVB World League, the FIVB World Grand Prix, the FIVB World Cup, and the FIVB Grand Champions Cup, along with the Olympics. With such an intriguing sport like this, there was no way it could be restricted to staying in the United States. 

    The game of volleyball did not take long to start spreading like wildfire. First Canada in 1900, then Japan in 1908, the Philippines in 1910, then Burma, China, India, Mexico, and South American, European, and African countries. In 1913, volleyball was being played on the Asian continent at the Far-Eastern Games in Manila. At first, it was common for other countries to adapt their own rules before the ones we have now were set in stone. For example, Asia played with "Brown" rules, which meant that they used 16 players. Through the years, rules started to fall into place as the numbers grew in the sport. In 1916, there were an estimated 200,000 people participating in volleyball. 1918 was the year that they decided that six was the maximum number of players you could have on the court for your team at once, and in 1922 they decided that the maximum number of times you could touch the ball was three before it had to be sent over the net. These two rules are still the same today. 

    Volleyball is a men's and women's sport that is played by all ages. Depending on where you are in the world, you will see which is more popular. For example, in South Arkansas, you are not going to find much men's volleyball, or much volleyball at all, for that matter. Sure, you see a lot of high schools with volleyball, but it is not as competitive in Arkansas as it is in Texas. Each state you visit will have a different level of competition and athletes than the last. Men's volleyball is most popular in either Texas or Wisconsin, but if you do a broad search of where men's volleyball is most popular, your answer is Brazil. Although women's volleyball is more popular, men's volleyball is starting to grow rapidly, with 36 of the 50 states having men's volleyball in high schools. 

    The sport of volleyball has taken off in Brazil. Volleyball is more popular in Brazil than in the United States. Brazil is a country where volleyball is played equally by men and women, whereas the United States is predominantly female. Brazil has won some of the top rankings in national tournaments. There are also quite a few coastal areas in Brazil that allow volleyball to be played recreationally. Russia is also a competitive volleyball country with a talented team. Volleyball is more of an adult sport in Russia, and you hardly ever see children playing the sport. Then the United States comes in at number three on the popularity scale for the sport of volleyball. U.S. volleyball is popular for all ages and is very competitive at each level, whether it is a club, high school, or college. The next most popular country is Japan, and like the United States, you can play from the time you are a child to the professional level. Tokyo is a very popular spot to play volleyball in Japan. China is next on the list, and they have a right to be and multiple Olympic gold medals to prove it. Volleyball in China is more popular than any other sport. Italy has a history with volleyball dating back to World War 1. Soccer is a very popular sport in Italy, so volleyball gets to have its moment in cities where soccer isn't as large. The list goes on to mention Cuba, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Bulgaria, Peru, Argentina, and Australia. The sport of volleyball gives each country something in common, and it is the love for this sport. Every year, volleyball brings teams from around the world together to compete in international competitions. 

    Each time the Olympics roll around, the same group of teams is in the top rankings, competing for gold. In the 2020 summer Olympics for men's volleyball, France won the gold, the United States won the silver, and Poland received the bronze. The summer 2020 Olympic results for women's volleyball were gold for the United States, Brazil won silver, and Serbia won bronze. In the most recent championship, Italy won the FIVB men's world championship against Poland in Slovenia on September 11, 2022. This would be Italy's fourth title. 

     Volleyball is a sport that is fun to watch and one that brings out the true talent in athletes. This is a sport that requires competitiveness, athleticism, and hard work to be as good as these teams are. I have personally gone to see the USA play other international teams, and it is truly amazing to see the way each team interacts with one another. It all started with one man coming up with this sport that he was passionate about and spreading through international countries until it became the sport it is today. Even though volleyball is a sport with specific rules, the more you watch, the more you will start to notice unique things that each team does while they play. It is sports like this that tie the United States to other countries now and for years to come.