As Americans turn their attention toward Dallas for this weekend's Super Bowl, it's safe to say the rest of the world could care less.

Okay, that was a little harsh. But in reality, as much as American sports like football and basketball consume us, there are other sports that dominate the hearts and minds of other regions of the world.

We’ve already talked about cricket, with its bevy of rules and complex strategy. There’s another game that captures the attention of old and young alike, and like cricket, it has a similar, somewhat stodgy reputation.

What is it? Prepare yourself for an onslaught of junior high gym class memories, because it’s badminton.

Yes, that game with the elongated racquets and funny terms. As crickets have wickets, badminton has birdies – or to be more proper, shuttlecocks.

Before you dismiss this game as a slow-paced version of tennis, you should know that in the higher levels of the game, a shuttlecock that is hit with the most powerful stroke in badminton (aptly called the smash) has a higher maximum speed than any other racquet sport projectile when based on the speed recorded after the object leaves the player’s racquet.

How fast? The in-competition record is held by a Chinese badminton doubles player, and the shuttlecock was clocked at 206 mph.

If you still think badminton is slow, know that a typical tennis match takes over three hours while a badminton match averages an hour and 15 minutes. A tennis court is larger, but a badminton player travels twice as far in a match (4 miles to tennis’ 2).

There are some similarities to tennis, however. Badminton is also played in singles and doubles. Because badminton’s mixed doubles teams are extremely popular, female badminton players are highly admired. If you write to your sponsored child about badminton, be sure to ask about their favorite player. You might be able to find YouTube videos of some of their best rallies, like this mixed doubles rally. Just listen to that crowd!

Badminton became an official Olympic sport in the 1992 Barcelona games. In addition to that, there are grand prix tournaments and regional competitions. Recently, major tournaments have been held in India and the Philippines, where Mission of Mercy has projects. The game is extremely popular in those two countries as well as Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Next week we’ll look at a few more popular sports before we venture into the culturally classic games in each region or country. Be sure to come back – there are some really interesting sports and games that put our tame ol’ Super Bowl to shame!