West Field Basketball Club

Wii has revolutionized the sports video game industry by allowing players to be in motion while playing video games.  Now, not only can the game player view the action on the screen, they can participate.  In this article, we will take a look at the best, and most popular sports games available for the Wii Game Console.

I remember a rainy day last fall when I was visiting my friend’s Sheila and Patrick.  We were having a great lunch and I asked, “Where are the kids?”.  Patrick said that they were in the living room so I popped in to say hello.

I entered the room to find all the kids enthusiastically swinging a little rectangular object in front of one of the best LCD Televisions that I have seen.  On the TV screen, I saw a tennis match.

“What are you all doing?” I asked.

“Playing tennis,” they all chimed in without breaking stride.

This is when I realized the vast potential of Wii Sports Games.  With the Wii Console, kids can play video games and be active at the same time.  The image of the “sedentary child” who spends countless hours being inactive playing video games is not an image the Wii has.  It is an active video console.

In fact, the leading Wii Sports Game right now is called “EA Sports Active Personal Trainer” brought to you by Electronic Arts.  This game was developed with fitness expert Bob Greene who may be best known as Oprah Winfrey’s personal trainer.  This game gets you in great shape and is extremely motivational as you watch a personal trainer on the screen.  Just released in October, this game has already hit #1 on the Wii Charts.

Baseball season has just ended with the New York Yankees winning the World Series.  But for many who will purchase Wii’s Major League Baseball, the season never ends.  This is the top selling baseball video game and simulates big league baseball unlike any other game.

Golfers and non-golfers alike love the Tiger Woods PGA Tour game.  In the sporting category, this is always one of the top Wii Games because golf lends itself so well to the art of the video game.  They say that golf is “90% between the ears”.  In other words, golfers not only have to swing, they have to think.  Tiger Woods golf forces you to employ all of your mental and physical facilities and it is a great way to improve your actual golf game.

Another contender each year for the most popular sports game is Madden Football.  Each year a new version of Madden football is released with all the new players and updated statistics.  Football junkies, especially those who on Fantasy Sports teams, love Madden Football as it supports their football addiction.

Finally, a surprise hit with sports lovers is the game called “Big Game Hunter”.  Obviously, hunters love this game as it embraces their passion for hunting.  However, this game has proven to have crossover appeal to those who are not hunters in real life.  In this game, it’s you against the outdoors as you have to hunt down your prey just as men did thousands of years ago and many still do today.

Like all these Wii Sports Games, Big Game Hunter is a real thrill because it places you in the center of the action.  And that is what Wii Sports Games are all about–Action!

Water sports: they’re fun to watch, exciting to participate in, and they’ve been enjoyed for ages! We’ve been trying to dominate water since the time we stood up as humanoids. We try to take air beneath the surface, we build crafts to skim across the surface, and we use the power of its resistance to build strength in our bodies.

Water sets the stage for some of the most unique, and yet some of the most common events in the world. Covering 75% of our Earth’s surface, and making up over 90% of our bodies, it doesn’t make you wonder why water has played such a huge role in our personal and professional lives. Let’s dive in!

Swimming:

Swimming is the most popular of the water sports because it is easily accessible and inexpensive. In several of the earliest stories of classical literature, it’s portrayed as a symbol of heroism and religion. The first known documentation of the various swimming methods is Nicolas Wynman’s Dialogue Concerning the Art of Swimming, originally published in 1538. (Historians are still trying to figure out who he was having that dialogue with.)

With the development of swimming pools as we know them today, it became easier and safer for average people all over the world to learn to swim and master it. Swimming was made an Olympic event for the first time in 1896. The most publicized swimming events are the insanely ambitious attempts at swimming across the English Channel. It is a feat that requires strength, endurance – for both the distance and the notoriously frigid waters – and a lot of determination and courage.

The first man ever to swim across the English Channel was Matthew Webb of England who did so in 1875. In 1926, Gertrude Ederle from the United States became the first woman to cross the channel. From speed, to endurance, to form – the different styles of swimming are continuously evolving.

Snorkeling:

Snorkeling is a very thrilling water sport that involves viewing exotic fish and aquamarine life. It’s like jumping into a painting where the views can range from extreme tranquility to paralyzing fright. Humans are definitely land mammals, and snorkeling is how we can enter a world that was not made for us. Long ago, snorkels were made out of hollow reeds.

After swimming, snorkeling is the next oldest water sport. There is a reference to it made by Pliny the Elder in first century Rome. Leonardo Da Vinci, the world-renowned painter and lesser-known inventor, created a more modern snorkel at the command of the Venetian senat. Da Vinci’s snorkel was a tube attached to leather helmets used by divers. Most agreed that his invention was indeed better than a reed. Modern day snorkels are J shaped tubes, usually made of rubber, that open at one end and attach to a mouthpiece at the other end. The average length of the tube is 2 ft (61cm).

Surfing:

Surfing is reported to have first appeared NOT in Hawaii as many people mistakenly believe. Archaeology indicates that Peruvians (people from Peru) were “hanging ten” as early as 200B.C.E. Their boats were made from reeds, and even today, the local fisherman can be seen riding their “little reed horses.”

Surfing really gained popularity in America, mostly in California, in the 1920s. By the 1960s, it was a highly popular sport among young people. When surfing first emerged as a water sport, the best surfers were long, handcrafted wooden boards. They were heavy and cumbersome to maneuver on the water.

Modern surfboards are made of lighter synthetic materials, and they’re shaped in different aerodynamic fashions that allow more maneuverability and movement on the waves than was originally possible. International Surfing Championships are held all over the world including Australia, California, and of course – Hawaii.

Water Polo:

A water sport that originated in England in the 1870s is water polo. It began as a form of rugby played in the rivers and lakes. The name comes from the English pronunciation of the Balti word for ball, pulu. Americans started playing it in the early twentieth century. Today there are several college teams and clubs for this sport.

For a while, Americans tried their own version of water polo that used a soft rubber ball and a larger pool. This game came to be known as softball water polo. However, due to a high incidence of violent behavior and rough play, this variation was abandoned. Men’s water polo became an Olympic event in 1900 and women’s water polo was added in 2000.

These are only a few water sports. There are many others that are equally thrilling, like white water rafting, water skiing, underwater hockey, diving, etc.

Whether you are participating or just watching, water sports are amazingly fun. If you want to take a cool break from the traditional sports like football and basketball, give your body the unique experience of water sports.

Summary:

Water sports have excited and energized people all through the ages. This article takes a look at the origins of four of the popular variety – Swimming, Snorkeling, Surfing and Water Polo.