It Takes Balls

As often happens, my brain takes one story and goes in a completely different direction. And, somewhere along the line, I learn something.

And I share it with you.

This was the case as I read a story in my local rag (picked up from Reuters) about a knife attack in Paris. What surprised me most is that I hadn't read anything about it anywhere else.

The story went that seven people were stabbed by a knife-wielding nutjob. Said nutjob was felled by a group of French folks playing a game called "boule" (pronounced "bul" and meaning "ball"). One of the players hit the perp in the head with one of the heavy metal balls used in the game. His fellow game-players joined in, and they were able to subdue the man until police arrived. As the crowd grew ugly, one man insisted that, no, they were not going to kill the guy, they were going to make sure he faced justice.

I was quite intrigued by this story about locals taking down a bad guy. Most of all, perhaps, because of the weapon of opportunity.

"Boule," I learned, thanks to Wikipedia and a British website called TradeGames.org, probably evolved from an ancient game played by the Egyptians using stone balls. Later, the balls became wooden, and at one point the game was outlawed by Henry VIII because the hoi polloi were playing with their balls when they should have been making things. 

The game was so popular that Sir Francis Drake insisted on finishing his game before heading out to knock off the Spanish Armada on July 8, 1588.

Eventually, the game became known as "lawn bowling," and if you're thinking you'd be playing "bocce" if you were in Italy, you would be correct.

The object is to throw or roll the ball and get it as close as you can to a smaller target ball.

Being a word nerd, I just love the names involved with the game.

For example:

"Boccia" means ball. "Bocce" is plural.

"Bollas Criolas" is played in Venezuela.

"Ula Maika" is enjoyed by Polynesians.

"Pentaque" is a version that evolved for people who were unable to use their legs. (Although able-bodied folks like it, too.)

The small target ball is called a "cochonnet" or "le but" (French for piglet and target, respectively), "pallino" (Italian for little ball) and "jack" (English, no real consensus why, except it may mean a smaller version, like a "jack-rabbit" is a smaller bunny).

Admittedly, I've never played any version of this sport, but I am intrigued by its history.

Not to mention the capacity of its balls to take down evil-doers.