Roman Empire Fan loyalty was fierce and at times erupted into sports riots. Racing was perilous, but charioteers were among the most celebrated and well-compensated athletes. One star of the sport was Diocles, from Lusitania (present-day Portugal), who raced chariots for 24 years and had career earnings of 35 million sesterces. Horses had their fans too, and were commemorated in art and inscriptions, sometimes by name. The design of Roman circuses was developed to assure that no team had an unfair advantage and to minimize collisions ("naufragia," "shipwrecks"), which were nonetheless frequent and spectacularly satisfying to the crowd. The races retained a
What a Country! What a Country! What a Country! is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from September 27, 1986 to May 23, 1987. It was based on the 1977-1979 British sitcom "Mind Your Language". The series was intended as somewhat of a showcase for comedian Yakov Smirnoff, whose catchphrase provided the show's title. "What a Country!" is set in a class of recent immigrants to the United States who are trying to pass the citizenship test. Their teacher, Taylor Brown (played by Garrett M. Brown) is an American English language teacher, while the students include Nikolai (a Russian taxi driver), Laszlo