By William Browning for Sports.yahoo.com
The most famous Argentine sporting figure today is without a doubt Lionel Messi. Arguably the world's bests footballer for Barcelona in La Liga, Messi is known for his quick feet and unmatched coordination as he evades defenders on his way to scoring goal.
Association football has the most passionate following for most Argentine sports fans. But it isn't older than another pastime in plains of Argentina. Pato dates back to the first Spanish settlers to Argentina. The word simply translates to "duck" in Spanish.
The object of the original game was for players to ride on horseback and pick up a live duck and then throw over a net to score. Pato is a cross between polo and modern day basketball. Pato is still played today.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2010 that pato was made the country's national sport in 1953. A move in Argentina's government was attempting to make soccer the national sport. Arguments for soccer was that it is more popular. Proponents of pato say it is less of an English sport than soccer.
The first written records of pato date back to 1610. The spot was considered violent towards the... Read Full Article