It may be a global economy but it’s still a regional sports world. Sure, some sports such as soccer are global, but there are others that are unique to a given area. Having lived in several different countries and visited even more provides a unique perspective.

For example, school sports in Nigeria are a lot different than sports in the U.S. In Nigeria, there is an annual event in schools called “Inter-House Sports Day” or “Sports Day” where fierce sporting competition is fought between four groups, also known as houses, named after colors and famous Nigerians, there is yellow house, blue house, red house and green house.

The first activity is the march which consists of all the houses marching across the field led by their fellow cheerleaders holding their team banner. Next are the games like lime and spoon, the bean bag race, the skipping race, tug of war etc. In between games is when the cheerleaders for every house perform, and there is also a soccer match between students and teachers, and moms vs. dads. Then at the end is when representatives for every house runs track. Like normal competitions the team with most points wins.

American sports don’t exactly work like this, everybody has their own sport that they’re interested in and not everybody has to participate. American football is the closest to the Nigerian Sports Day because it’s the most important sport in American culture. It’s fun, it’s a great time to spend with family and friends and it’s also quite intense for most people.