Sports by country (1983: Doomsday)

From Alternative History

Contents 1 ANZC 2 Alaska 3 Alpine Confederation 4 Assiniboia 5 Brazil 6 Canada 7 Celtic Alliance 8 Chile 9 Cuba 10 Deseret 11 Dinetah (Navajo Nation) 12 Dominican Republic 13 East Caribbean Federation 14 eastern Texas 15 Greece 16 Japan 17 Kentucky 18 Lincoln 19 Mexico 20 Municipal States of the Pacific 21 New Britain 22 Nordic Union 23 North American Union 23.1 Professional leagues 24 North Germany 25 Pais del Oro 26 Portugal 27 Prussia 28 Puerto Rico 29 Saguenay 30 Singapore 31 Socialist Siberia 32 Superior 33 Union of South Africa 34 United American Republic 35 Vermont 36 Victoria 37 Virginian Republic 38 West Texas 39 Wisconsin

[edit] ANZC

With the destruction of Melbourne, Australian Rules Football suffered a devastating blow. Supporters throughout Australia fought to keep the sport alive, and it has now resurfaced as a popular sport in the ANZC. The Australian Football League is the de facto sanctioning body of the sport, and is headquartered in Canberra. Its franchises are located in:

• Adelaide (Adelaide Crows, Port Adelaide Power)
• Auckland (Auckland Hawks)
• Brisbane (Brisbane Bears)
• Bunbury (West Coast Eagles)
• Canberra (Canberra Swans)
• Darwin (Darwin Buffaloes)
• Geelong (Geelong Cats)
• Gold Coast (Gold Coast FC)
• Hobart (Tasmanian Devils)
• Jervis Bay (Jervis Bay Bulldogs, St. Kilda Saints)

Second-tier leagues exist in each of the Australian states, as well as in New Zealand and Hawaii.

Rugby union has a storied history in both Australia and New Zealand. While rugby league is set up on the AFL/American football franchise model, rugby union's domestic competitions are set up by province, as seen in the annual Super 12 competition, comprised of provincial sides from Australia, New Zealand and Samoa, plus the nations of Tonga and Fiji. The ANZC sends three sides, Australia, New Zealand and Samoa/Hawaii to compete in the Six Nations Series against Chile, the United American Republic and Oceania (Fiji, Tonga and other islands). There has been discussion about expanding the series by inviting sides from the RZA, Singapore and/or New Britain. In 2007, the CRB (Commonwealth Rugby Board) professionalized the sport as to allow for better competition with rugby league for players.

Rugby league, especially the professional National Rugby League (established in 1997), has become very popular within the last ten years. It is headquartered in Auckland, with franchises in:

• Auckland (Auckland Warriors)
• Brisbane (Brisbane Broncos)
• Canberra (Canberra Raiders)
• Gold Coast (Gold Coast Titans)
• Hobart (Tasmania Tigers)
• Jervis Bay (Jervis Bay Rabbitohs)
• Newcastle (Newcastle Knights)
• Papua New Guinea (PNG Rangers)
• Townsville (North Queensland Cowboys)
• Wellington (Southern Orcas)

There is talk of expansion to Singapore, Fiji and/or Samoa in the next couple of years.

Association football (soccer) is rapidly growing in popularity, especially among youth. The Football Federation of the ANZC (FFA) was formed in 2004 after a reorganization of the previous overseeing domestic body, Soccer ANZC. The FFA formed a domestic league, the A-League, in 2005. It operates the league which, unlike leagues in other countries built on a pyramid model (several levels of leagues with promotion and demotion), is franchise-based (this is under review, as the Asian Football Federation has requested that FFA change to a pyramid model). The current franchises are:

• Adelaide (Adelaide United)
• Brisbane (Brisbane Roar)
• Bunbury (Western Glory)
• Geelong (Geelong Victory)
• Gold Coast (Gold Coast United)
• Newcastle (Newcastle Jets)
• Townsville (North Queensland Fury)
• Wellington (Wellington Phoenix)

Association football's popularity has been boosted by the national side's success in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in the Celtic Alliance. Some observers believe in the far future, association football will become the dominant code in the country.

Cricket is the favored summer sport in the ANZC.  The national cricket teams of Australia and New Zealand play a Test Match series with matches in Brisbane, Geelong (Boxing Day), Canberra (New Year's), Wellington and Christchurch.  The ANZC cricket board is in discussions with its counterparts in New Britain, the Celtic Alliance and the East Caribbean Federation about restarting Test Matches and one-day international matches.  Because of the logistical issues involved, such matches will not take place until 2013 at the earliest.

Regional cricket leagues exist in every state in Australia and in New Zealand, and there is discussion of expansion into Samoa and Hawaii. 

Basketball, at the men's and women's adult levels, has had some success in recent years. ANZC athletes are approaching world-class status in several Olympic sports, such as swimming and track and field.

The most popular women's sports include association football, basketball and netball.

American football has gained longevity and popularity as a niche sport within the ANZC, its growth fueled by expats and refugees from the United States. The American Football League was founded in Samoa in 1991. Teams from across the Commonwealth and its associated states participate, located in:

• Adelaide
• Auckland
• Brisbane
• Canberra
• Geelong
• Newcastle
• Pago Pago
• Tasmania

American football has certainly not surpassed the traditional sports of Australia and New Zealand, but it has become an important niche sport. The AFL is considering a change in name (to avoid confusion with Australian rules football) and headquarters location (to move away from remote Pago Pago).

In accordance with the Remembrance Act of 1995, no sporting events of any kind are played in the Commonwealth on 26 September.

[edit] Alaska

One of the most unique sporting events in the world is the Iditarod, a trail sled dog race began in 1973 and resumed in 1996. The old route went from Anchorage to Nome; today, the race begins in Valdez and ends in Fort Yukon.

Ice hockey has emerged as the predominant team sport, owing to the already existent support for the sport, as well as favorable weather conditions and the low expense of manufacturing basic playing equipment. Baseball is played at an amateur level by locals during the summer. Hunting, fishing and skiing also are popular.

[edit] Alpine Confederation

Ice hockey is considered to be the most popular team sport in the country. Alpine's national federation kept the sport alive in Europe post-Doomsday and was a leading force behind the reformation of the International Ice Hockey Federation.

The national association football side's shocking 1-0 victory over Brazil in the 2006 World Cup final spiked interest throughout the country in football. The Alpine First Division, established in 1990 by clubs from former Switzerland and Austria, has been considered one of the top European leagues for the past two decades.

Skiing, both at casual and competitive levels, has taken off within the past ten years. The Alpine national federation is considered the de facto international governing body, but is working with the Norwegian and Vermont federations to form an independent global sanctioning body.

[edit] Assiniboia

The Assiniboians have restarted organized sports in the area to keep the populace happy.

Football: The country re-established the Blue Bombers, out of respect to destroyed Winnipeg.  It currently plays in the Northern Football League under American football rules.

Ice hockey: In order to pay respect to the most popular Canadian sport, the Assiniboians have revived the long-dead Jets hockey team, which plays in the NAU Northern Hockey League. Most of the towns have local hockey teams (ex: Niverville Clippers), and there is an annual tournament for a Stanley Cup-inspired trophy.

[edit] Brazil

Association football is by far the most popular sport; Brazil's national side has been the top-ranked team in the FIFA World Rankings for most years post-Doomsday, and is a heavy favorite to win the 2010 World Cup.

Most of the world's top active footballers - including Adriano, Kaka, Luis Fabiano, Maicon and Robinho - play in Brazil's domestic league.

Two of the best post-Doomsday players - Ronaldo and Ronaldhino - also hail from Brazil.

Domestic competition is split among national and state competitions. The national league is a pyramid system with four levels, and competition runs from April through December. The state championships are organized by the football federations of each state; the major state competitions run from January or February through April or May, while the smaller states w/o clubs playing in national competition have their seasons from April through October.

Some of the top clubs include (but not limited to) Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Fluminense, Gremio, Internacional, Sao Paulo and Santos.

After football, volleyball is the most popular sport, followed by basketball and motorsport.

Brazilian entrepreneurs, most notably former racing champion Emerson Fittipaldi, are at the forefront of a move to restart the Formula One auto racing series no later than 2012.

Jiu Jitsu - spearheaded by the Gracie family - is a martial-arts based sport that has been growing in popularity not just in Brazil but throughout the world, due to exhibitions in ANZC, Singapore, Mexico and Alpine Confederation.

[edit] Canada

The Canadian Hockey League - considered to be the successor to the old National Hockey League - is by far the most popular league in the country. There are seven teams, including a recently admitted one from Aroostook. The teams are:

• The St. John's Senators (they took their nickname from the Ottawa club that played in the NHL from 1917 through 1934)
• The Corner Brook Royals
• The Nova Scotia Voyageurs
• The Charlottetown Princes
• The Gaspe Canadiens (named after the Montreal Canadiens)
• The Iqaluit Nunavummiut
• The Houlton Americans (Aroostook's team)

The Gaspe Canadiens suspended play after Gaspe's recent invasion by Superior and Saguenay.   There was speculation that the remainder of the CHL season could be cancelled due to the crises.  However, the new Canadian government, specifically Prime Minister Walter Natynczyk, has insisted that the season will continue.

Canadian football is supported in part by the national government. The Canadian Football League restarted in 1994 and currently has teams in:

• Charlottetown Maples
• Nova Scotia Rough Riders
• Nunavut Argonauts
• St. John's Schooners

Curling and lacrosse are also popular, and association football (referred to as soccer in Canada) is starting to gain popularity among younger people.

[edit] Celtic Alliance

Within former Ireland, Gaelic games (Gaelic football, hurling, rounders and camogie) are the most popular, followed by association football, rugby union, cricket and boxing.

The Gaelic Athletic Association is the official sanctioning and overseeing body over the four Gaelic games throughout the Celtic Alliance.

Within the portions of the country formerly part of the United Kingdom and France, association football is by far the most popular sport, with many of the national side players coming from the portions of former England, Scotland, Wales and France controlled by the Celtic Alliance.

There is a three-tiered association football pyramid in the Celtic Alliance. The Celtic First Division and Second Division are the top two flights and include the following clubs:

• Bohemians
• Bray Wanderers
• FC Brittany
• Celtic
• Cork City
• Derry City
• Drogheda United
• Dundaik
• Galway United
• Heart of Midlothian
• Hibernian
• Liverpool FC
• Milton Keynes Dons
• New London FC
• Normandy FC
• Rangers
• St. Patrick's Athletic
• St. Johnstone's
• Shamrock Rovers
• Sligo
• Stromness FC
• FC Wales

Other popular sports, as they were in the former UK, are rugby union and cricket.

Rugby league had disappeared post-Doomsday, but there is a small national federation attempting to spark interest in that sport once more. Gaelic games have virtually no following outside former Ireland, although the GAA continues to attempt to establish them among the youth.

Golf has made a comeback of sorts in recent years, particularly as the famous St. Andrews Golf Course was salvaged and restored in 2008.

[edit] Chile

Association football is by far the most popular sport. Chile's national football team has had its best results in 1962, finishing third in the World Cup tournament it hosted, and with fourth-place finishes in 1986 and 1998.

Chile has also done well in the sport of tennis. Marcelo Rios was the top-ranked world men's player for six years, garnering favorable comparisons to such legends as Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, until a back injury forced him to retire in 2004 at the age of 27.

Rodeo, skiing, surfing, and basketball are also popular.

[edit] Cuba

Baseball is the most popular sport by far; it is the national sport and more popular than even association football.

Cuba is considered by some experts to be the top baseball nation in the world, based upon the quality of its domestic league and its consistent excellent results in international competition over the years. Cuba's domestic league is government-owned and operated and considers its players to be amateurs, although their salaries are paid for by the government or the companies that sponsor their respective clubs.

The national football team came close to qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. 

Basketball is a popular winter sport.

[edit] Deseret

In keeping with the traditions of Deseret's dominant religious body, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormonism), no athletic competitions of any kind are contested on Sundays (a tradition that dates back to Brigham Young University's participation in U.S. intercollegiate athletics).

From Doomsday until 2006, organized athletic competition was held on a domestic level and with teams from nearby Dinetah. In the past few years Deseret high school teams have played teams from neighboring Colorado, Dinetah and Wyoming, and even from Saskatchewan; pre- and post-Christmas high school basketball tournaments in Provo and Fillmore attract teams from all corners of the North American Union, plus Deseret and Dinetah.

There has also been talk of teams from Deseret joining the professional football and ice hockey leagues of the NAU.

BYU has approached universities in the NAU and West Texas about some type of resumption of intercollegiate athletics, at least on a regional level.

[edit] Dinetah (Navajo Nation)

As the domestic situation stabilized, and Dinetah established a school system for its children and teenagers, the schools were invited to compete against their counterparts from Deseret. In recent years Dinetah high schools have played in tournaments against schools from Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.

Amateur American football, basketball, and association football leagues abound, and Dinetah leaders established the Dinetah Football (Soccer) Association in 2009 with the goal of joining FIFA and participating in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

[edit] Dominican Republic

Baseball is the most popular sport in this country, and many experts believe it to produce the best players. The Dominican does have an onseason domestic league, but its best players compete in the Mexican major and minor leagues. In the offseason, from October to January, the best players in the region come to the Dominican and compete in the Dominican Winter League.

The national team competes with Cuba for the title of the world's best side.

Basketball is another popular sport in the country. A semi-professional league has of late produced players who have signed contracts with Brazilian and UAR professional clubs, most notably Felipe Lopez and Al Horford.

Other popular sports are boxing and volleyball. Association football is a popular spectator sport, but the country has not done well on the international scene nor produced notable players in recent years.

[edit] East Caribbean Federation

Association football, overall, is the most popular sport in the country. But its degree of popularity over cricket, and even whether cricket is more popular, varies by region, and sometimes by island.

The nation currently is considered the standard-bearer for the sport of cricket. With very limited interest and participation from other countries in its region, and distance preventing regular competition against the world's only other remaining power, the ANZC, the East Caribbeans have had to compete against themselves. The national federation has taken the lead in reestablishing the International Cricket Federation, and is currently gauging interest in the sport in other parts of the world (most notably Sri Lanka, the ANZC, the Celtic Alliance and New Britain).

Association football is also extremely popular, especially with the national team having qualified for the 2010 World Cup. Dwight Yorke, a native of Trinidad, is a veteran of Argentine professional football and is considered perhaps the East Caribbean's best-ever footballer.

[edit] eastern Texas

Sports in the so-called Republic of Texas (a group of small city states in the eastern portion of former Texas) was described by a West Texas military soldier as "what might be if you took modern sports and transported them back to the old West."

American football is played as it was pre-Doomsday, although the type of ball the locals have been able to manufacture have forced the sport to become more of a running game than a passing game. Helmets are a hybrid of leather with facemasks made out of copper, iron or other metals.

Baseball also is played as it was pre-Doomsday, although the ball is more "dead" (which has cut down on home runs); home plate is made out of wood; and batting helmets are made out of cast iron, with primitive, cotton-based padding inside.

Association football, known as soccer in the region, is the third most popular sport.

[edit] Greece

Greece was the birthplace of the Olympic games and the host nation for the first revival of the summer Olympics in 1896. In the ensuing years since Doomsday, various sports have captured the interest of the various peoples within the Confederation of Greece.

Association football remains the most popular sport. The top flight is the Alpha Ethniki, which resumed play in 1989 and currently consists of 12 clubs throughout the Confederation, most notably New Olympiacos FC and New Panathinaikos.

Basketball is the second-most popular sport. Although Greece was one of the founding members of FIBA (Federation Internationale de Basketball) in 1932, the sport didn't take off in popularity until several years after Doomsday.

The Hellenic Rugby Federation, established in 2004, oversees the rapid growth of rugby union in Greece. The next step is official membership in the sport's international sanctioning body, International Rugby Board.

Greece is considered the world power in the sport of water polo, and has had success and interest in such traditional Olympic sports as athletics and weightlifting. Equestrian sports are gaining interest, especially within the North Africa portion of the Confederation.

[edit] Japan

Traditional Japanese sports, in particular sumo wrestling and various forms of martial arts, have enjoyed a renaissance since Doomsday. The sports were pushed by the government as national sports and disciplines, and are extremely popular.

Despite anti-American sentiment, Japan is still known to play the sport of baseball at a competitive, professional level. Observers from Siberia reported seeing practices by professional teams and a few Japanese league games in Kyoto, and being told that the government was pushing for fundamental changes to the game to make it significantly different from the "American pastime." To date, the fundamentals of the game in Japan have not changed, as doing so would make it impossible for Japanese teams to ever compete on an international scale.

Some western sports not strictly associated with the United States, particularly track and field and association football, are played at all levels in Japan.

Cuban officials have approached Japan's baseball federation about playing a series of games sometime in 2010. Japan is said to be more receptive to joining FIFA, especially given its good relations with the ANZC and the Phillippines, than to joining the League of Nations.

[edit] Kentucky

Intercollegiate basketball and horse racing were two of the most popular sports in the former state of Kentucky pre-Doomsday.

People's love for those two sports persisted over the years.

Basketball has been the national sport since the Commonwealth became an independent nation, and is  played at all age levels. The national high school tournament is extremely popular.  There are plans to start a semi-professional league, the Kentucky National Basketball Association (KNBA) in 2010 or 2011.

The recent reopening of Ellis Park in Henderson represents what officials hope is the rebirth of the horse racing industry.

Other traditional U.S. sports, including American football, baseball and golf, are also popular.

[edit] Lincoln

Though baseball and basketball are played, it is American football that the Lincolnites are obsessed with. Their love for the sport goes back to the loyal and enthusiastic following the University of Nebraska team enjoyed in the region pre-Doomsday. There are many local football teams, but there is only one major team: the Lincoln Cornhuskers. It is the favoured candidate for membership in the hypothetical Football league.

[edit] Mexico

Association football remains the top sport here. The top division of its domestic league, the Primera Division, is considered the third best in the world, after the top divisions in Brazil and the UAE.

The Primera Division consists of 18 teams playing in three groups of six teams apiece, and is split into two seasons - the apertura (opening) season, from August through December, and the clasura (closing) season, from January through May.  The current teams are:

• America (Mexico City)
• Atlante (Cancun)
• Atlas (Guadalajara)
• Guadalajara (Guadalajara)
• Cruz Azul (Mexico City)
• Chiapas (Tuxtla)
• Mexica FC (Mexica DC)
• Monarcas Morelia (Morelia)
• Pachuca (Pachuca)
• Puebla (Puebla)
• Queretaro (Queretaro)
• Pumas (Mexico City)
• San Luis (San Luis)
• Santos Laguna (Torreon)
• Estudiantes Tecos (Zapopan)
• Toluca (Toluca)
• Acapulco FC (Acapulco)
• Real Mexica (Mexica DC)

The Mexican national team is considered to be a contender to reach the World Cup championship match in 2010.

Baseball is a close second in popularity. The Mexican and Nacional Ligas are considered to be the successors to the United States's Major League Baseball, and have the top talent in the world besides Cuba.

The franchises, by league, are:

Mexican Liga

• Campeche Pirates
• Guadalajara Leones
• Mexica Tigers
• Mexico City Reds
• Puebla Parrots
• San Luis Potosi Athletics
• Tabasco Olmecs
• Veracruz Red Eagles

Nacional Liga

• Acapulco Dodgers
• Mexica Diablos
• Mexico City Rangers
• Minatitlan Oilers
• Oaxaca Warriors
• Quintana Roo Tigers
• Toluca Giants
• Yucatan Cubs

Other sports that have gained interest are boxing, basketball and American football, in large part because of the presence of many American refugees. Boxing already enjoyed tremendous participation and interest before Doomsday, and the entrance of Americans into the country increased that interest further. American football has been played on the intercollegiate level in Mexico since its beginnings in the country. Most of the Americans came from states where intercollegiate football was held in the highest regard, and have transferred that loyalty to the Mexican universities. A semi-professional American football league was founded in 2007.

Mexico has also recently joined the International Rugby Board in rugby union and the International Ice Hockey Federation in ice hockey. American expatriates formed a thriving amateur ice hockey federation in the early 1990s, and a semi-pro league has taken the ice this fall for its first official season. Golf is more of a popular participatory sport, but Lorena Ochoa has the distinction of being the world's top female golfer. Racquetball, polo, tennis and taekwondo are notable minor sports. Although more theater than sport, lucha libre is almost as popular among spectators and the public as football.

[edit] Municipal States of the Pacific

On April 26, 2009, the Central Committee announced that they will be sponsoring a new baseball league, the Pacific Baseball League. The league is currently being organized with the help of officials from Mexico's baseball league and observers from the sports federations of the ANZC and Chile. Member cities will be allowed to sponsor teams to compete in the league. It is the hope of the Central Committee that friendly competition between member cities will help promote unity and cooperation in the MSP as a whole. The first season is scheduled to start in 2010.

Australian rules football, rugby (both union and league) and association football have also become popular in the MSP, due in large part to the influence of Australians and South Americans who helped the locals set up the national government. The MSP has recently become a member of the International Rugby Board and FIFA. Locals are attempting to revive the traditional American sports of basketball and American football.

[edit] New Britain

Association football proved to be the one sport that all ethnic groups had a passionate interest in, and has been a very important social unifier for the entire country. Its national side has qualified for the 2010 World Cup.

Rugby union, popular in both England and former South Africa, has garnered a tremendous following in its own right. The national team is nicknamed the Lions. New Britain's national federation has approached the ANZC about joining the Five Nations Series and has discussed forming an African Series with the RZA and Union of South Africa federations.

Other sports garnering interest include cricket and tennis. Its national cricket federation has expressed interest to the ANZC, the East Caribbean Federation and the RZA about resuming Test Match series in some form by 2013.

[edit] Nordic Union

Ice hockey is by far most popular, in all member nations. Norway and Sweden's national teams have competed with the Alpine Confederation in recent years to be the top national side in the sport.

Cross-country skiing also is a popular winter sport in Norway, both participatory and spectator; Norwegians also enjoy biathlon is popular in Norway.

'G'olf and handball are popular in Sweden; pesapallo (similar to baseball) and ski jumping in Finland; handball and basketball in Iceland; and sailing, handball, badminton and gymnastics in Denmark.

Association football is the most popular spring and summer sport throughout the Union. Athletics are also popular in all member nations.

[edit] North American Union

Within the states that comprise the provisional United States government, the traditional American sports - American football, baseball, basketball and, in the northern states, ice hockey, along with tennis and golf - retained their interest and popularity among the public.

In Alberta and Saskatchewan, people are interested in the same sports as their U.S. counterparts, with a few notable distinctions. Ice hockey is the most popular team sport. The Canadian version of American football is the preferred code in the two states. And, the Canadian sport of curling has retained some interest and popularity.

In the nation of Lakotah, sports meshed well with Lakotahian life, particularly basketball and American football. Basketball is very popular in Lakotah, and former high school and college coach Larry Brown has worked for years helping build up the sport in Lakotah and elsewhere in the NAU. Lately, as news of the outside world has come to Lakotah, some in the country have proposed that association football (aka soccer) be considered as a national priority, with the idea that as the world's preeminent sport, it would help raise Lakotah's awareness and status in the eyes of the outside world. Many tribal leaders have failed to understand this, but nevertheless preliminary work on establishing a Lakotah Football Association has begun.

The oldest existing gridiron football club in North America, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, are based in Saskatoon and play in the North American Football League, under American football rules.

[edit] Professional leagues

There are professional leagues for American football and ice hockey. The key here is they are 'professional' in the sense that players do get paid for their services, but not enough for them to give up their day jobs. Thus, games are played on the weekends, which has the added effect of easing travel expenses.

The North American Football League teams are:

• Assiniboia Blue Bombers
• Billings Cowboys
• Dodge City Chiefs
• Lakotah Warriors
• Nebraska Cornhuskers
• Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Wyoming Broncos

The Northern Hockey League teams are:

• Assiniboia Jets
• Billings Rangers
• Lakotah Thunderbirds
• Lethbridge Oilers
• Medicine Hat Maple Leafs
• Red Deer Canucks
• Saskatoon Riders
• Swift Current Flames

[edit] North Germany

More to come.

Association football is...take a wild guess :)

[edit] Pais del Oro

Association football helped unify this country in its early days. It remains by far the most popular spectator sport. Its national team has qualified for the World Cup.

Athletics, basketball, tennis, golf, handball and cricket also are contested.

[edit] Portugal

Association football is the main sport in Portugal.

Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world's top footballers who plays professionally in Brazil, and the 2008 FIFA World Footballer of the Year, is considered a national hero.

Martial arts, athletics, and such aquatic sports as surfing also are popular.

[edit] Prussia

More to come....

Association football is...take a wild guess.

Hertha Berlin is the top club in the Prussian Bundesliga.

[edit] Puerto Rico

Baseball is the most popular sport in a country that sends its best players to the Mexican professional leagues. The Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, which plays in the winter, has operated for over a century. The champion advances to the Caribbean World Series

Association football and basketball are also very popular. Boxing, equestrian sports, martial arts, distance racing and track and field also have strong support bases.

Cockfighting is legal in Puerto Rico and is as heavily wagered on as horse racing was in the pre-Doomsday United States.

[edit] Saguenay

This country may have broken away from Canada, but it still shares a love of ice hockey with its now-rival nation.

[edit] Singapore

The country's association football team is one of the best in the Asia/Oceanic region. Singapore also hosts a popular domestic six-team league.

Rugby league is more popular in the small nation than rugby union, leading to speculation that a local team may join the ANZC's National Rugby League.

Singapore's athletes in badminton and table tennis are considered to be the best in the world.

[edit] Socialist Siberia

Sport is strictly controlled by the government, which seeks to develop world-class athletes in every Olympic sport, both individual and team. Domestic ice hockey and association football leagues are very popular, and some national players have found their way into European hockey and the domestic ANZC and Singapore football leagues.

Boxing has also become very popular, as basic boxing techniques are taught as early as in elementary schools and it is a popular indoor sport. The Socialist Siberian Boxing League is currently looking for countries to participate in a possible international boxing championship held in the USSR.

[edit] Superior

The government sponsored bills in 1997 to finance professional leagues in baseball, American football and ice hockey; the football league is the most popular of the three.

The RSNFL (Republic of Superior National Football League) has franchises in ten cities, with the top four teams competing in a single-elimination playoff, with two semifinal games and a championship game played in January in Stowe:

• Green Bay (Green Bay Packers)
• Houghton (Houghton Bears)
• Iron Mountain (Iron Mountain Steelers)
• Mackinaw (Mackinaw Vikings)
• Madison, Wisconsin (Wisconsin Badgers)
• Menominee (Menominee Colts)
• Marquette (Marquette Lions)
• Sault Ste. Marie (Sault Ste. Marie Rams)
• Stowe (Stowe Eagles)
• Thunder Bay (Thunder Bay Bombers)

The Marquette Lions play a home game on Thanksgiving Day, continuing the tradition set by the old NFL Detroit Lions.

The RSNBL (Republic of Superior National Baseball League) has franchises in eight cities, with the top two teams playing for the RSNBL Championship at the end of the season in September:

• Houghton (Houghton Giants)
• Iron Mountain (Iron Mountain Dodgers)
• Mackinaw (Mackinaw Cubs)
• Madison, Wisconsin (Madison Brewers, renamed from the Madison Badgers; name change takes effect for the 2010 season).
• Marquette (Marquette Tigers)
• Sault Ste. Marie (Sault Ste. Marie White Sox)
• Stowe (Stowe Senators)
• Thunder Bay (Thunder Bay Blue Jays)

The RSNHL (Republic of Superior National Hockey League) has franchises in ten cities, with four teams advancing to the playoffs. The best-of-seven semifinal and championship series are contested in April:

• Escanaba (Escanaba North Stars)
• Houghton (Houghton Jets)
• Iron Mountain (Iron Mountain Rangers)
• Mackinaw (Mackinaw Black Hawks)
• Madison, Wisconsin (Madison Badgers)
• Marquette (Marquette Red Wings)
• Menominee (Menominee Bruins)
• Sault Ste. Marie (Sault Ste. Marie Flyers)
• Stowe (Stowe Capitals)
• Thunder Bay (Thunder Bay Maple Leafs)

Talk is ongoing regarding expansion in all three leagues, either into Superior territories, or into Wisconsin.

[edit] Union of South Africa

In former South Africa, association football was the most popular sport amongst the black majority and colored minority, while the white minority preferred rugby union, cricket and golf.

Football is the runaway most popular sport currently in the region, including the nations that comprise the new Union of South Africa. Golf has all but been abandoned, seen as a symbol of the long-disbanded apartheid government. Rugby union and cricket had been, too, but have reemerged as (so far) minor sports in the area. Their status is helped by the work being done by New Britain's federations, who are presenting both sports as opportunities for all peoples to compete in several sports (including but not just football), and by the participation and popularity of the two sports among black and colored peoples within New Britain itself.

New Britain's sports federations and the RZA provisional government are currently working together to help organize football, rugby union, cricket and athletics in the region.

[edit] United American Republic

Association football, as in most other countries, is not only the most popular sport but deeply engrained into the culture. The UAR's World Cup victory in 1990, the first World Cup held since Doomsday, is fondly remembered by fans.

Diego Maradona, the popular Argentine football star who is thought to have died on Doomsday while in Spain as a member of FC Barcelona, was the "honorary captain" of the 1990 UAR national team. Popular folklore portrayed Maradona as the "Angel of the Albicelestes" who watched over and helped the team to victory.

The UAR has produced many great footballers in its brief history and that of its predecessor nations Argentina and Uruguay, including Gabriel Bautista and Javier Zanetti. Lionel Messi, the favorite for 2009 FIFA World Footballer of the Year award, plays for the UAR club Newell's Old Boys.

The domestic league boasts some of the best clubs in the world outside of Brazil, including Boca Juniors, Independiente, Newell's Old Boys, Racing, River Plate and San Lorenzo de la Almagro.

UAR citizens also enjoy and watch a variety of other sports, including basketball; the UAR has won the past three FIBA (Federation de Basketball Association) World titles.

Rugby union is growing in popularity and stature. Tennis, field hockey, motorsport, men's volleyball, polo and golf are widely played and watched as well.

[edit] Vermont

People generally like to participate in activities and sports more than watch it, but amateur leagues in baseball and ice hockey are popular. There is talk of the resumption of intercollegiate athletics.

Prospective franchise owners of a Manchester franchise in the Canadian Hockey League were given the goahead by government officials to pursue potential membership for the 2010-11 season. These owners have also raised the idea of an professional regional league, consisting of teams in Canada and Vermont, along with Aroostook, Saguenay and possibly Superior.  However, due to the ongoing conflict between Canada and Saguenay, the prospects of such a league, for the foreseeable future, are slim at best. This has led the Manchester franchise owners to again raise the possibility of joining the Canadian League, or even the Superior League.

[edit] Victoria

Ice hockey is the most popular sport in this survivor state from old Canada. The Victorian Hockey League, created from the remnants of the British Columbia Hockey League and expanded, currently has twelve teams:

Island Conference

• The Comox Valley Chiefs
• The Alberni Bulldogs
• The Cowichan Capitals
• The Nanaimo Clippers
• The Campbell River Eagles
• The Victoria Grizzlies

Mainland Conference

• The Prince Rupert Sea Wolves
• The Powell River Kings
• The Everett Silvertips
• The Port Angeles Ravens
• The Mt. Vernon Giants
• The Bellingham Ice Hawks (current Cromwell Cup champions)

While there is no organized league, baseball is also popular in the Washington territories.

[edit] Virginian Republic

The government looked to sports as a way to help increase the morale of its citizens (and, for that matter, its own military, many of whom enjoyed the domestic leagues as much as the citizens did). Football, baseball, basketball, track and field, tennis, wrestling, swimming, volleyball and golf each have government-sanctioned organizations that oversee their respective sports.

[edit] West Texas

American football is still king in this part of old Texas. High school football on Friday nights is a near-sacred tradition in the country, and the West Texas Interscholastic League's two divisions (11-man and eight-man) are followed as closely as professional and collegiate football were pre-Doomsday.

A six-team semi-professional league that plays games on Saturdays and Monday nights is also very popular. The teams were named after two franchises in the old U.S. National Football League and four teams from universities in former Texas. Almost all games are played in Midland and Odessa, with occasional regular season and exhibition games in other towns throughout the country. The teams are:

• Aggies
• Cowboys
• Longhorns
• Mustangs
• Oilers
• Red Raiders

A semi-professional baseball league also garners interest during the spring and summer. Teams are located in

• Big Spring
• Fort Stockton
• Midland
• Monahans
• Odessa
• Sweetwater

Association football (mainly referred to in West Texas as soccer) - popular on both the high school and semi-pro levels - has solidified itself as the second-most popular sport. Most of the 12 club teams in the nation's top flight are based in Midland and Odessa; Army FC, sponsored by the military and based out of Fort Stockton, is one of the better sides. West Texas recently established the West Texas Football Association, in hopes of joining FIFA in the next year or two.

One interesting phenomenon is that although the Anglo majority tended to prefer American football in the early years of the country, and the Latino minority soccer (and both groups enjoying baseball), over the years both groups, along with the African-American minority, equally participate and enjoy all three sports.

Basketball is the most popular indoor sport. Golf is mainly a participatory sport, contested by more affluent residents. Athletics is limited to youth and high school competition, although with the resumption of the Olympics, that is anticipated to change.

Work on building a 50,000-seat stadium at the University of West Texas, to host American football and soccer matches and track and field events on both domestic and international levels, will begin in March 2010.

[edit] Wisconsin

The Green Bay Packers, which was founded in 1919 and was the third-oldest franchise in the old NFL, was restarted in 2006 as an expansion franchise in the RSNFL (Republic of Superior National Football League). The franchise intially was going to play in Madison, Wisconsin, in keeping with its origins as a franchise based in old Wisconsin. However, complaints from league and Superior political officials led to the team being taken over by the Green Bay territorial government. It plays in a rebuilt Lambeau Field. Madison officials decided to "professionalize" the University of Wisconsin's athletic teams and use its Badgers identity, and the university's facilities, for all of its teams in the Republic of Superior professional leagues. The football franchise plays at the restored Camp Randall Stadium. The RSNHL (Republic of Superior National Hockey League) franchise plays off campus at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The baseball franchise, renamed the Brewers (after the old Milwaukee Brewers baseball team) for the 2010 season, plays its home games at Madison Park, built in downtown Madison, with a view of the National Capital Building in the outfield.