why do americans call it football?

Question

they kick it very often they hold the ball most of the time

Answer 1

I am assuming that you are reffering to American Football which bears some similarities to Rugby.

Well believe it or not it is football becase of the ball. From tip to tip the ball used in America Football is 12 inches long i.e. one foot. Hence the name football. ( atleast that as the original size of the ball).

Answer 2

The name soccer comes from Association Football(There might have been some other longer name for it befoer but I don't know. You get the "soc" from aSOCciation). I assume you mean American football as you're not usually allowed to hold the ball in soccer. I think American football os closer to rugby but then the correct name for rugby is rugby football. They are just different versions really, and Americans like to think they are so great so they call it American football so everyone knows it's "theirs"

Answer 3

You know what really grinds my gears, overpaid athletes.

Athletes get paid WAY TOO much for what they do. I actually DO something to better mankind. The company I work for installs Fire Alarm systems, Halo systems (prevents kidnappings from maternity wards in hospitals), Security Systems, Nurse Call systems and more. I do so much more productively than they do and I don't get paid as well.

I DO something that protects and saves lives, protects property and aids in the wellness of ALL.

What I do has everlasting effects. If I can get paid to kick a ball around, where do I sign.


Give me a break.

Answer 4

Yeah it's a mystery. There is only one true football in the world. The English call their national sport football, but the rest of the world calls it soccer. The Americans call their sport football, but the rest of the world call it gridiron or rugby. There is only one sport that is only called football and it comes from Australia. Even the rest of the world agree - they just call it 'Australian Rules' football to distinguish it from their own misnamed sports.

There is only one football. And it is played on an oval with four posts on each end.

Answer 5

They can't call it Handball because that's already a game, they could call it Runswiththeball, but that sounds silly. Maybe they thought hmm well we use a ball and we run with our feet, so football it is, or maybe what happened was someone was trying to teach them football and they just didn't understand it and so made up their own rules. I really don't know.

Answer 6

It's true. They rarely do kick the thing. Mostly pick it up and run with it. But then I suppose you run with your feet! Hence football. The name suits Soccer far more though. Maybe the names should just do a straight swap. That would work for me.

Answer 7

America is the real football league the other players in the world are rejects that cannot make the football teams in America. They drive themselves with anger and ask question like this and now you now way they are sent to the, Patience squads across the world until America give them a chance to try out.

Answer 8

Who cares? Or more importantly, why do you care? We get the same tedious question a lot. Why not ask the Canadians why they call their variant of the game "football." Or ask the Australians the same question.

For that matter, why do you call it "cricket"? Do you try to smack a cricket with that wide bat of yours? Do fans chirrup in the stands by rubbing their arms together? Was the sport orginally played to combat insect infestation on the heaths of England?

In short, we call it football because we like it that way.

Answer 9

you know i have no idea....

firstly our football was called football way before they even dreamt of their sport

secondly as i have to keep on saying there is the FIFA world cup (federation international football assoc.) no S (for soccer) in FIFA

next and more to the point... American 'football', egg chasing, is just a watered down version of our rugby except our guys don't protect themselves with a load of padding and they don't wear Lycra.... we just play and take the blood, sweat and tears..

I'm hopin that England meet the USA in the semis .... when we win all the Americans i know will NOT be allowed to say soccer to me again all year...

Answer 10

Hey, you copied my answer and made another question that someone else had already posted....copycat

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnFKmSAfTJzeE_yUqaNANM4GBgx.?qid=20060610152023AAce8qt

Hey! to "johninmelb" (answer below)... you have said "only the english call it football whereas all the rest of the world call it soccer" NAAAAYYY, that is WRONGGGG!!! This is another typical american thing, they think they are all the world! ALL THE WORLD EXCEPT AMERICA (AND MAYBE CANADA) CALL FOOTBALL: FOOTBALL; ONLY U GUYS CALL IT SOCCER

Answer 11

Yeah, who knows. I think it started out as being called "American football", meaning "This game is to the americans, as soccer/football is to Europeans."

Like the tuna fish brand "Chicken of the Sea". Saying tuna is to the ocean - as chicken is to the land. "American football" is the same idea. "Football of America"... get it? I suck at this.