For thousands of years, Elanites have encouraged and celebrated feats of athleticism through all forms of physical contests, ranging from competitions as simple as the individual long jump to modern, complex team games with elaborate rules and scoring. For most, participating in these games is a pastime: a way for a community to entertain themselves and get a break from the monotony of everyday labor.
Sports are played everywhere that is possible and in some places that seem impossible - from the wide, flat fields of Peverin to the cramped, trash-ridden alleyways of Sackville; from the rocky, arid hills of western Gauld to the white sand beaches of Cape Hamill. Elanites don’t exclude anyone from playing on the basis of gender or physical ability, and it is simple participation that is celebrated above all. In Elan, to compete and to root for one another is to contribute to your community and to keep these beloved traditions alive. For the winners, it can be a source of pride, respect, or—beginning around the mid-19th century—income.
The proliferation of rails in Elan has had a profound effect on sports in the country. As it became faster and cheaper to travel than ever, sports teams which previously only played within their hometowns became interested in testing their mettle against clubs in neighboring cities. Crowds of spectators formed to watch these exhibitions and root for their home teams. The audiences swelled in size, and almost immediately they were being charged admission fees to attend the games.
The clubs which have found the most success are typically sponsored by wealthy individuals who finance their travel and lodging. These sponsors quickly became team owners, who fund the construction of permanent sports stadiums which can seat thousands of spectators. Massive ticket sales have enabled the rapid expansion of the professional sports industry, which requires many thousands of uniforms, balls, and other pieces of sports equipment to be produced annually.
Soaring profits have given rise to tension within clubs. Players often fight owners over their entitlements to pay, time off, and freedom of movement. Professional baseball players work nearly every day for the entire six-month-long season, and, despite making more than the average laborer in Elan, they feel that they are not receiving their fair share of the revenue generated by fans who come to watch them play.
The vast majority of the money are pocketed by the owners of the teams and they collude to keep players’ wages low. Players are signed to long-term contracts that prevent them from joining other teams offering them better pay and any players who threaten to organize player strikes are outright blacklisted. Despite this, the players have occasionally led successful strikes, but have only won small concessions such as no longer having to pay for their own uniforms.
Perhaps the most popular sport in Elan is baseball. It’s a game played with a wooden club, a leather ball filled with cork, and whatever burlap sacks or rocks can be found to serve as ‘bases’ formed into a diamond for the hitting team to run around. No one knows exactly how long the sport has been played, but it has been particularly beloved in Abernathy and Killock, where in the last few decades, its rules have become increasingly standardized. As the sport has grown, baseball clubs have formed in nearly every major town and city in Elan.
At the pinnacle of the sport is the Elan Baseball Association. Sixteen professional teams, founded by wealthy investors, have built stadiums of varying sizes in each of the biggest cities in the country. Elanites flock to ball parks to watch their home teams play, generating massive profits through ticket sales.
The EBA is divided into a Northern League and Southern League. Each team plays 132 games per season, and the top 4 teams in both leagues advance to the playoffs. Since 1872, the winners of the two leagues have played against one another in the Elan Baseball Association Championship Series, a best-of-seven game contest. The Copperbrook Smokestacks have won the most championships with six.
Sackville, AB - Sackville Leviathans / Levis
Fog Harbor, AB - Fog Harbor Canners
Woolsley, AB - Woolsley Warblers / Blue Stockings / Blue Sox / Blues
Port Arkaley, AB - Arkaley Finbacks / Whales
Breakridge, KI - Breakridge Distillers
Supperville, KI - Supperville Athletics
Orton, WY - Orton Oilers / O’s
Copperbrook, WY - Copperbrook Smokestacks / Smokers / Gray Stockings / Grays
Sootsnap, GA - Sootsnap Golds / Snappers
Redrock, GA - Redrock Girdies
Ironstead, GA - Ironstead Dogs
Duriana, HX - Duriana Cosmopolitans / Cosmos
Cape Hamill, HX - Cape Hamill Falcons
Bullyholly Island, HX - Bullyholly Pearls
Hide Hill, PV - Hide Hill Tanners
Greenborough, PV - Greenborough Academics / Green Stockings / Greens