Is volleyball too easy for you? Why not try futevolei – the volleyball you play with your head and feet.
We stumbled onto this game at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, and we were hooked.
Futevolei (pronounced foo-chee-volley and Americanized to “footvolley”) is a combination of volleyball and association football (soccer to us Yanks), and it is uniquely Brazilian. It was actually invented right here in Rio.
At first we thought these people were playing regular beach volleyball.
We were strolling along Ipanema sipping cold beers and watching the waves roll in, when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman catch a hard serve right in the face. Holy crap!
But instead of everyone going “ooooooh,” the crowd cheered as the ball floated over to her partner who then spiked it with an inverted scissor kick. Double holy crap!
We took a seat courtside and watched these athletes in total amazement.
I think it’s my new favorite sport – as a spectator of course, lol. The gorgeous backdrop of the Dois Irmaos mountains made it an extra special setting.
What a day. Have you ever made a cool discovery like that where you felt compelled to take a seat and watch for a while?
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