As homecoming approaches I think that it's important that we realize where Homecoming really came from. To do that we need to take a time machine to medieval Europe. The country is Spain and the year is 1630. Philip the IV is returning to Spain after a war with Britain but when he got to his palace he received no pomp or recognition for this 5 year war he had just fought. He was outraged. He decided to put together a large event called El Regreso, or what we know today as The Homecoming. In Medieval Spain El Regreso was a huge deal nearly the whole country would gather to eat, drink, and most importantly the playing of “gameball”. Gameball is the closest translation of what they would play. This sport involved 20 total people 10 on each team resembling much our modern game of football. Unlike football however gameball had few rules and was quite chaotic. King Philip the IV liked this event so much he believed they should do it every year. After that every year the two best teams in Spain would face off. Whites vs. Blues. The white team represented the higher class citizen of Spain where the blue team represented the working class underdogs of Spain. These games would be quite intense but would decide for an entire year who the superior class was. So we can thank the medieval Spaniards for our homecoming traditions of football as well as the coronation. Now of days the coronation is just a popularity contest but in 17th century Spain two teams would face off for their entire social class. Now that you have some background of Homecoming I wish everyone a happy week.
