For many people, foosball is a fun recreational pastime. For others it is a sport played competitively, even for money prizes. Sometimes it is played with strictly defined rules and other times it is played casually with only minimal rules. I have only played foosball for fun with friends and family so I'm not really up on all the technicalities of the game. However, being the history buff that I am, I thought it would be interesting to do some research on the game and see if I could learn about some of the companies making the game as well as some of the history of the foosball game itself to share with you.
Foosball tables vary widely in quality and features. For an example of one of the companies that produce high quality tables, Carrom foosball tables are made in America by a dedicated group of American workers. The Carrom company has been at it for over 100 years. Their tables have solid cabinets that make for steady game play. The triple plated chrome rods they use are heavy duty, and the playing surfaces are designed to withstand heavy use and abuse. With other quality features like rubber leg boots and premium self aligning bearing assemblies with real ball bearings, game play is taken to a whole new level, even for the recreational user. Excellent engineering and quality features make Carrom foosball tables something that will last for years and years to come.
It turns out that foosball is a word derived from the German word fussball , which literally means foot ball. It is sort of funny, but the original name for foosball was babyfoot. Makes sense I suppose. Some people call the game table soccer, but most just call it foosball. Speculation seems to exist about the actual origin of the game. The fact that organized soccer didn't really become a mainstay until the mid 1800's would lead to the obvious conclusion that foosball developed after that time. I discovered that the earliest patent in the United States for a foosball table wasn't until 1901. Most agree that the game originated in France, and was invented by a guy named Lucien Rosengart, who lived a long healthy life from 1880-1976. Long enough to see his game rise in popularity and become established in today's culture.
The way the game is played competitively in Europe has been established for much longer than in America. However, American foosball has a pro tour with a million dollars in prize money. This is something the European players don't enjoy, but more and more of them are beginning to play on American tables, like the Carrom foosball tables. The big money prize is quite an incentive for them to become expert on the American table, and familiar with the American rules.
As long as the money prizes are big and growing, more and more people will continue to enter the sport, so the outlook is good looking into the future. For many people, however, playing just for fun with friends and family will be good enough.
