[Dr T]

You play Nib's?



 

[Nibile]

 
Mamma mia! That's the Calcio Storico Fiorentino, a very old tradition. Unfortunately during the years it changed a lot, from a game in which victory was the aim, to a MMA meeting in which fighting is the aim...
Those are dangerous guys, very dangerous!
It's been suspended for a few years and now it started back, but it's really changed.

[Nibile]

A few minutes in, you can see a guy who's punched from behind, when he's looking in another direction and falls down as a dead man.
That's what I mean when I say that they are dangerous guys.

[moose]

Interesting article about the history of these "sport as a substitute for war" intra-city rivalry events on the BBC website, and as a podcast:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23271906

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/pov

[Dr T]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23271906

aye - as linked in the original post 

But yes, interesting, and I thought the Palio was bonkers