There are some events ESPN covers that make me question the true definition of “sports.” No, I’m not referring to something like billiards or fishing, but rather a sport that very few have ever heard of: “Wife Carrying.” 

When watching the Oct. 20 episode of E:60, I was left asking myself, “is this for real?” Despite laughing so hard my stomach began to ache, I thought I would do some research to validate the craziness I was viewing. Sure enough, I discovered that Wife Carrying is indeed real.

What is Wife Carrying? Well, it was first introduced in Sonkajärvi, Finland as (surprise, surprise) a joke. The sport is apparently reminiscent of when men courted women by running to their village, picking them up and carrying them off. So, it’s all part of Finland’s history of course.

The male competitors literally throw their wives (or sometimes girlfriends) over their shoulders and race through a 278-yard course. The course is complete with hurdles made of wood or sand and some type of water obstacle.

The point of this unordinary sport is to be the fastest through the course while, ideally, keeping your wife on your back. And the reward you may ask? The fastest couple wins the wife’s weight in beer and five times the wife’s body weight in cash, a fitting reward I’d say. 

If, by any chance this sport fancies your interest, Newry, Maine is the American place to go. The Sunday River Ski Resort just hosted its 10^th annual North America Wife Carrying Championships on Oct. 10 where thousands of people gathered to watch nearly 50 couples participate in the wackiest of races. 

This year’s race began with competitors running uphill on a dirt road, across a grass field, through a 10-meter long waist deep mud pond and downhill over two 39-inch high log hurdles, finally ending at the giant finish. 

Now, believe it or not, Wife Carrying contestants have various carrying techniques. The most popular are the Fireman’s Carry and the Estonian Carry. The Fireman’s Carry is a spitting image of a piggy back ride, whereas the Estonian Carry has the wife upside down with her face against her husband’s derrière.

 Apparently the sport isn’t restricted to Finland and Maine. Monona, Wis., Minocqua, Wis. and Marquette, Mich. also hosts some Wife Carrying events every year.

Although it seems as if Wife Carrying has been under the radar, it hasn’t exactly. In 2005, Dennis Rodman took a trip to Sonkajärvi for the historic Wife Carrying event. He did not compete due to health problems at first, but eventually he came back and was able to declare being a Wife Carrying finisher.

Rodman participated in the authentic version of Wife Carrying, which is taken a bit more seriously than the American adaptation, therefore rules are stricter.

In Finland, the wife must be older than 17 years of age. In the race, there is a 15 second time penalty for every time the wife is dropped or juggled. Additionally, wives must meet the 49 kilogram (107.8 lbs.) weight requirement or the males must strap on a heavy backpack filled with sand in order to make up the difference. The reward for these Finnish competitors is, like the Americans, the wives weight in beer and, unlike the Americans, a nifty mobile phone.  

Originally established as somewhat of a joke, many people from Fins to Americans take it semi-seriously, and who can argue with that?

No matter how many people laugh or claim the sport to be silly, Wife Carrying is to Finland as baseball is to America. And let’s be honest, sports are sports. As long as people are having fun competing in an athletic event, it fits within the definition.

So ESPN, please bring more of these wacky sports out of the woodworks and into the public eye, we all deserve a little chuckle now and then.