- Trophies and sustainability
The Cup as a sporting prize par excellence
The Cup as a sports prize is the object that defines the history of competitions around the world. The quintessential award that distinguishes the champions in tournaments across various disciplines. But if we think about the quintessential sport where players give their all to win this trophy, what would it be? You probably thought of football. The national sport, as they call it. And what image comes to mind when we think of cup and football? Most likely, the World Cup. Or, alternatively, the Champions League trophy, if we are more into club than national team competitions.
Either way, the cup as a trophy gives its name to thousands of competitions across the planet: the World Cup, the Davis Cup, the Copa América, the Intercontinental Cup, the Kirin Cup (you might not know this one)... Let's review a couple of them and share some curiosities. Did you know that the Davis Cup is not a salad bowl? Keep reading.
Cup, Prize, and Days of Celebration
The FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) was founded in 1904, spurred by the rise of this sport in the early 20th century worldwide. FIFA's mission, which continues today, is to coordinate the actions of the football federations of all countries and ensure the prosperity of the sport. Disclaimer: if you are a gamer / player / video game enthusiast, first of all, I apologize. Reading FIFA, you are probably recalling your sessions in front of the Play, because FIFA is one of the quintessential sports video games. Either way, I encourage you to keep reading.
In the years that followed, football continued to grow in popularity, so FIFA decided to create its own tournament. Uruguay had recently won two gold medals at the Olympics (1924 and 1928). Therefore, the organization decided to hold the first World Championship, the precursor to the current World Cup, in Uruguay in 1930. The final was contested by Argentina and Uruguay, with the host nation emerging victorious.
The Davis Cup, a Trophy That Is Not a Salad Bowl
The theory of relativity, aside from the one created by Einstein, seems to affirm that everything depends on the eyes that look. We allow ourselves this license to talk about a unique cup, so much so, that it is not a cup but a salad bowl. The Davis Cup is one of the most prestigious and longest-running tennis tournaments in history. Additionally, it is one of the few where tennis players compete as a team, not individually, representing their country. And the only one with that curious salad bowl shape.
The designer of the trophy for the first Davis Cup was the British Rowland Rhodes, who designed a trophy full of edgings, details, and floral ornaments with that characteristic salad bowl shape. That is the name by which the Davis Cup trophy is known, but in reality, it is a punch bowl. That typical container that often appears in American movies where young people serve punch into their glasses during the end-of-year party.