Funny how things take off from nothing as this event had over 160 000 followers in twitter and 75 000 on instagram. I suppose this is how events take off and who knows if it can become even bigger. Society and youngsters especially seem to buy into things that generations before wouldn't. Social media is the driving force behind many new things and this is a prime example of anything is possible.
The Balloon World Cup took place a few weeks ago and is genuinely a "sport" apparently. The sport took a hold during the compulsory lockdowns around the world with bored kids having to find things to entertain themselves.
Not just kids and what could go wrong?
Two brothers in Oregon in the States caught everyone's interest during the lockdowns with their living room battles. Who would have thought somehting so stupid and meaningless would become something? This is not something I would classify as anything else other than messing about and definitely not a sport. Made up stuff can be the best entertainment but that is exactly all it is. What does everyone else think about this?
The World Cup kept the same theme having a living room as the arena plus a car to add some spice with a larger object. The game is very simple as it involves two people trying to prevent the balloon from hitting the floor. A point is scored to whoever had the last touch if that happens.
I would classify this as a game more than a sport but we have seen crazier things become a thing over time. I was watching some "highlights" and can't believe they were wearing helmets. Health and safety I suppose as what could go wrong with kids or contestants diving around to prevent the balloon hitting the floor. Part of the fun would be to set your opponent up with a dive into a desk as that is entertainment.
The one thing for this game is you do need to be fit as it is non stop jumping ,running and diving. The only rule is one has to hit the balloon upwards and not downwards. I suppose popping the balloon when you are tired may result in cheating and losing a point lol. Kind of a forced time out for a popped balloon.
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32 countries represented makes it quite a serious tournament which Peru eventually won. There was a 10 000 Euro winners check plus the title of balloon World Champion.
Gerhard Pique was one of the financial backers behind this new "sport" and possibly why it gained so much traction so quickly. Pique is a legend in Spain's football circles having played for Barcelona and Spain. This is why the World Cup had 32 teams as without the finance this was going nowhere fast. I suspect next year this will be quite a big event with even bigger prize money.