The Olympics, in some sort of ancient version, were here way before Jesus walked on water. While association football (soccer) doesn’t have an official source, versions of the game have been around for hundreds of years. The NFL, NBA and MLB might be relatively young, but the sports these leagues are based on have been around for quite some time.

Take soccer for example, which is the most popular sport in the world, reaching its peak with the World Cup every four years and the Champions League final every 12 months. Some version of the game has been around since 1424, becoming something much more organized only 400 years later.

Sport competitions have been around for  2700 years, since the days of the ancient Olympics, which began with a single running event, adding boxing, chariot racing, Discus, Javelin and more over the years in the 8th century BC. There was Golf way before Tiger Woods and even Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan, with a debate regarding when it began ranging from the 13th to the 18th century.

Sports have been around forever, in this or that kind of version. It’s just the wrapping and delivery to the public that’s changed, obviously turning and going in the direction the money leads the sport to.