There’s a video at the link … not sure about this one:
If this looks like a combination of football, rollerball and the Second Punic War, well, it kind of is. It’s called Harpastrum, an ancient Roman game practiced by Legionaries to prepare them for battle. Today it’s better known as Fight Football League, played only in Italy, and possibly Tennessee during Titans’ practices. They’ve added some rules and have a couple of ambulances standing by, but otherwise it’s just like Julius Caesar drew it up back in the day. Have a look for yourself, after the jump.
via The NFL is for Nancy boys; here’s Fight Football League – Out of Bounds – NBC Sports.
FWIW, the Wikipedia article on Harpastrum pretty much tells all we know about the game in antiquity (i.e. not much) …
rogueclassicism 