Handball

[CM-BlueButterfly]

Handball: Jul 25, 27 - Aug 4, 6 - 11

[emma675]

I'm watching handball for the first time in my life. Is it like a combination of basketball and soccer somehow? 

[Red Bridey]

I don't know what it is! The players do funny little jumps when they try to score. Watched Netherlands vs France (I think). I thought it was more like basketball and dodgeball.

[ZootSuitWyatt]

1 hour ago, Red Bridey said:

I don't know what it is! The players do funny little jumps when they try to score. Watched Netherlands vs France (I think). I thought it was more like basketball and dodgeball.

I think they aren't allowed to come into the goal area (the painted part), or at least not with the ball, so they do the jump and shoot before landing.

[dewelar]

19 hours ago, ZootSuitWyatt said:

I think they aren't allowed to come into the goal area (the painted part), or at least not with the ball, so they do the jump and shoot before landing.

Yes, that's correct.

As far as how to describe (team) handball...well, I think of it a lot like water polo, but not in the water :) . One of the announcers described it as a combination of basketball, (non-American) football, and netball...which may or may not help, as I don't know what netball is, either. What I do know is that it's fast-paced and fun to watch, and my favorite team sport to watch at the Olympics, with (non-beach) volleyball a close second.

[surfgirl]

This feels like a made up 'sport'. It looks like hand soccer/football. So weird. Here in the US, handball is played outdoors against a hard wall, like a tennis backboard or in a squash court type of indoor setting so when I saw handball that is what I was expecting. Though even if it was what I was expecting, I don't expect that to be at the Olympics, it's like getting rid of tennis and subbing in pickle ball. YMMV.

[blueray]

I actually watched the second half of the final between Norway and France. It's always fun watching a sport that I have little to no idea about. It seemed a cross between Soccer and Hockey. The hockey part mainly being how they dealt with people playing after the whistle, leading to the other team having a powerplay.

Anyhow, I was glad that Norway won. They seemed to be the better team.

 

Edited August 11 by blueray

[Quickbeam]

Already thinking of 2028 and how in hell the US can scare up handball teams. First round slaughter. 

[CM-BlueButterfly]

I never knew there was another game called handball. The Olympics handball was developed in Germany and Scandinavia in the late 19th century. There's no connection between the two. https://www.britannica.com/sports/team-handball  https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/sports/handball