I remember sitting in a crowded pub last season, watching the Red Lions' heartbreaking Final Four defeat to College of St. Benilde during Season 100. That match got me thinking about how far this beautiful game has come - how a sport that began as a simple pastime has evolved into the global phenomenon we know today. The truth is, understanding where football came from helps us appreciate these modern moments of triumph and heartbreak even more.
Looking back at what we know about A Brief History of Football Soccer: From Origins to Modern Game, it's fascinating to consider that organized football only really began taking shape in 19th century England. Before that, people were kicking balls around in various forms for centuries - the Chinese had cuju, the Greeks had episkyros. But the real transformation happened when Cambridge University students sat down in 1848 and tried to standardize the rules. Can you imagine? A bunch of university kids basically created the foundation for what would become the world's most popular sport.
The professionalization of football completely changed everything. I've always been amazed by how quickly it spread - by 1904 we had FIFA, and suddenly countries that had never even heard of football were forming national teams. The game's evolution has been nothing short of remarkable. When I compare those early matches with what we saw in Season 100 - the speed, the tactics, the sheer athleticism - it's like watching two different sports entirely. The Red Lions' failure to defend their crown actually illustrates how competitive modern football has become. Underdogs like College of St. Benilde can now beat established powerhouses, something that would have been much rarer in football's earlier days.
My friend who played semi-pro always says the biggest change he's witnessed is in training methods and player conditioning. "We're basically watching a different species of athlete now," he told me once after a particularly intense match. "The players from fifty years ago wouldn't recognize what the game has become." He's not wrong - the data shows modern players cover nearly 40% more distance per match than their counterparts from the 1970s. That increased intensity is exactly what made Season 100 so compelling to watch, even when your favorite team comes up short.
What strikes me most about football's journey is how it managed to become this universal language while still maintaining its core essence. Sure, the money's bigger, the stadiums are shinier, and the tactics more complex, but that fundamental thrill of watching a perfectly executed play or mourning a last-minute defeat? That remains unchanged from the earliest days. The Red Lions' story in Season 100 is just the latest chapter in this ongoing saga - proof that in football, as in life, nothing is guaranteed, and every match writes its own unique story.
