The World Cup Football* Championships, currently taking place in Germany, bring to light some connections, however unexpected or remote, between the professor and the ballgame. No, though golf is mentioned in one Middle-earth story, there is no mention of the game that now encompasses the enthusiasm of the world. We do read that Tolkien himself played rugby, but I'm not even sure if football had already been invented back in his sporting days. He did write one work about that sport, a poem called "The Battle of the Eastern Field".
However, I did find one bit of news that connects the two interests: TOR.n reports that the Spanish player Torres is a Tolkien fan and has his name "Fernando" tattooed on his arm in Tengwar.
Here is the article,
here is a picture.
*Americans, get used to the fact that what you call 'soccer' is 'football' to the rest of the world. And since there's more to the rest of the world, however astonishing, than to the USA
there's more reason for you to change terminology, not us!
