Feed Your Soul

What do the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs have in common?

Both played in the first Super bowl on January 15, 1967. The Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) smashed the American Football League (AFL)'s Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, in the first-ever AFL-NFL World Championship at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

When was the last time you sat down with friends or family for an evening of carefree fun? If it’s been too long, Games Day is the perfect occasion.

Games Day was created by the British game production and retail company, Games Workshop, in 1975 when a games convention got cancelled and the gap created needed to be filled. The very first Games Day took place in London on December 20, 1975.

This Games Day, consider giving the gift of your time. Play board games with senior citizens at a nursing home. Sixty percent of them will never have a visitor during their stay.

Playing sports offers kids tremendous social, emotional and physical benefits and being on the sidelines with an injury isn’t any fun. That’s why it’s important to take the following safety measures to help prevent injuries so kids can continue to play the sports they love.

·         Before playing organized sports make sure your child gets a pre-participation physical exam from their pediatrician. Provide your coaches with important phone numbers, allergy information and doctor information in case of an emergency. Also, be sure to inform your coaches of your child’s history with asthma or other medical conditions that require special attention.

·         To help release muscle tension and prevent sports-related injuries your child will want to warm up and stretch before games and practices.

·         Keep your child well hydrated, drinking plenty of water before, during and after practices and the game. Drink fluids 30 minutes before the game or practice and every 15-20 minutes during activity.

·         Another step to take to prevent or reduce the severity of injuries is to wear appropriate and properly fitted sports gear such as helmets, shin guards, mouth guards, ankle braces, shoes with rubber cleats and sunscreen at practices and games.

·         If your child plays contact sports like football or hockey, you’ll want to know the signs and symptoms of concussions. If you suspect your child has a concussion, have them evaluated and cleared by a medical professional as quickly as possible.

·         It’s also important to rest and take breaks often during practices and games. Encourage your child to speak up if they experience any pain, injury or illness during practices or games. Regardless of what sport your child plays, they should take one or two days off from the sport each week.

·         If you plan coach, it’s a good idea to get certified in first aid and CPR, create water breaks, facilitate proper warm ups and get free sports safety training at a Safe Kids Sports Safety Clinic.

Since the dawn of civilization we humans have run around hitting things, kicking things or chasing each other. But when did games become sports and the multi-million dollar industry it is today? Here is a timeline of our favorite sports.

776 B.C. – The Olympics start with one running event but expand over the next 400 years to include boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, discus, javelin and long jump.

490 B.C. – Greek soldier, Pheidippedes runs 25 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce a victory in battle, then collapses and dies.

1424 – Variations of soccer have been played for centuries but the first instance of the word “football,” appears on a statue in this year in Scotland banning the game.

1530 – Though played since the 12^th Century, tennis becomes more popular when King Henry VIII constructs a tennis court at Hampton Court Palace.

1744 – The first mention of “baseball” appears in A Pretty Little Pocket Book referring to the sport of rounders.

1744 – Though many nations claim to have invented the sport prior to the 1200s, the oldest surviving rules for golf come from Edinburgh, Scotland.

1830 – The first professional wrestling circuit is introduced in France with competitors nicknamed “bone wrecker” and “steel eater.”

1836 – Football Association in England becomes the first governing body of what Westerners now refer to as soccer.

1846 – A baseball game played on June 19, 1846 is played in Hoboken, New Jersey using “New York Rules.”

1860 – First official British Open is held.

1869 – The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the oldest MLB team, is formed.

1876 – The National League is formed.

1877 – The first Wimbledon is held. The U.S. Open holds its first championship four years later.

            Whether you’re stuck in holiday traffic or at the airport, sooner or later the electronics run low on battery. This list of classic games (that boost language, memory and other learning skills too) can be played anywhere and are perfect for this time of year. Let the games begin.

Botticelli. One player assumes the persona of a well-known person and provides that person’s initials as a clue. The other players try to guess this person’s identity with specific questions that can only be answered with yes or no. For example, the first question may be general, “Are you alive today?” The player answering in character as Abraham Lincoln would say, “No, I’m not alive today?” From there the questions continue to zero in on the character’s identity until a player correctly guesses who the character is. This a great game for older kids who are learning about historic figures.

Charades. Divide players into two teams. Each player writes a phrase on a slip of paper, folds it up and puts it in their team’s bowl or hat. Players take turns picking a paper from the opposite team’s bowl and acting out what’s written on the paper. If their teammates guess the right phrase within an agreed-upon time limit (usually 1 minute), they win the round.

Geography. Start with one player coming up with a place name (town, state, country, etc.). The next player much come up with a place that begins with the same letter as the last letter of the place the previous player mentioned. For example, if player one said “Spain,” then the next player needs to name a place that starts with the letter N, like “New York.” The next player must name a place that starts with the letter K, like “Kansas.” Keep going and see how many different places you can name.

I Packed My Grandmother’s Trunk. This is a great game for younger kids who are confident with the alphabet and strengthening their memories. Each player starts with the same sentence "I packed my grandmother's trunk and in it I put ___," and completes the sentence with a word that begins with the letter A. For example, "I packed my grandmother's trunk and in it I put an apple." The next player repeats the same sentence but completes it with all the objects mentioned by previous players plus an object that starts with the next letter in the alphabet. Play from A to Z and test your memory skills.

Twenty Questions. One player thinks of an object and lets the other players know whether it’s an animal, a vegetable or a mineral. Then the other players ask yes or no questions to determine what the object is. For example, “Is it bigger than a computer?” or “Can it move?” If they can’t guess after twenty questions, the player who thought of the object wins the round.

On November 16, 1952, Lucy first pulled away a football from Charlie Brown in the Peanuts cartoon strip. You’re a good man, Charlie Brown. Happiness is a girl who can hold a football.

    The American Football League was formed on November 5, 1960. With 8 teams: Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans), New York Titans (now New York Jets), Boston Patriots (now New England Patriots), Los Angeles Chargers (now San Diego Chargers), Dallas Texans (now Kansas City Chiefs), Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Oakland Raiders.