I'm just curious to see how many of you American football fans know why it's called football. I'm not putting it down or anything there is no negativaty ment towards the sport either. I'm just curious to see what people think as to why it's called football.
2007-05-24 21:57:02 · 14 answers · asked by Blue 5 in Sports ➔ Football (American)
No thompson, it wasn't a joke at all. Good try though.
2007-05-24 22:04:23 · update #1
This is going to be tough when choosing a best answer from what I have so far. Even though I just asked the question and have 4 answers it's going to be hard to decide. If I could I'd give everyone with a correct answer a best answer but I can't so in advance to those who did not get awarded a best answer here but answered my question correctly you will have earned my respect. I didn't think even this many people knew why it's called football. I'm impressed so far.
2007-05-24 22:12:14 · update #2
This may come across as me being arrogant but I already knew why it's called football. I just simply wanted to see how many fans of American football know why. Usually I get would get real funny looks whenever I asked someone who was a die hard fan of the NFL this question and then they would usually have nothing to reply with other than something insulting to me or about "soccer". Now although I absolutely favor "soccer" over American football I do like the NFL believe it or not. I've been a fan of the Redskins for 21 years now and in college, since I'm living in PA I support Penn State and since I'm originally from CT I also support UCONN. So I do like American football but I much prefer "soccer" over it just to let you all know.
2007-05-25 07:19:14 · update #3
To Bolt Fan:
I'm not sure why you got 2 thumbs down for your answer other than you didn't really answer the question but the question you ask is a good question and is often asked on the football (soccer) board. nmw0917 did answer that question for you and he's right.
2007-05-25 07:28:47 · update #4
You have to go back to the 1400s in England, when we seem to have the first references to games that involved kicking a ball on a field, and thus calling it "foot-ball" (hyphenated at that time).
Over the centuries, numerous games evolved from this pastime, including rugby, soccer (called "football" pretty much everywhere else but in the US), and eventually American football, which British descendants in the U.S. developed in the 1800s at the universities in New England (Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth).
The rules of American football as we now know them really weren't codified until the early 1900s, and the formalization of the leagues came post-WWII.
2007-05-25 01:27:21 · answer #1 · answered by InvisibleHand 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is derived from Rugby Football, which is the origin of modern American Football. I know several other people have already given this answer but I thought I would shed a little more light on the subject.
1869
Rutgers and Princeton played a college soccer football game, the first ever, November 6. The game used modified London Football Association rules. During the next seven years, rugby gained favor with the major eastern schools over soccer, and modern football began to develop from rugby.
To answer the question about the term Soccer:
"The name "soccer" (or "soccer football") was originally a slang abbreviation of association football and is now the prevailing term in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where other codes of football are dominant."
Hope this made things a little more clear.
2007-05-25 08:51:40 · answer #2 · answered by nmw0917 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Besides being called an idiot, blue, I doubt many will give you the time of day, although one kind soul might give you a link to Wikipedia, most will impolitely tell you to bug off. They are used to Soccer guys insisting they a fans of "real" football and gave up being civil long ago.:)
In answer, oceans were big last century when the American and Canadians imported rules for games played on foot (as opposed to horseback like polo). Since then evolution took divergent paths.
Who finds it funny that soccer, rugby, and Canadian football all use fields the same size (Including endzones and regulation out of bound area for equipment and players in the Gridiron ones. [I have no idea if that applies for soccer or rugby.])
In the earliest versions the kicking game was paramount, BTW. It wasn't until Teddy Roosevelt threated to ban it was the forward pass added in like 1906.
Oh, I won't link to Wikipedia. You saw it already.
2007-05-25 11:17:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It comes from Rugby and soccer, and then made into a different sport, but for some reason, we kept the same name. But, we do use our feet sometimes when we kick the ball for FG's or Punts, or Kickoffs, and we run all over the place, so maybe that's the real reason. Who knows overall though, but I just love the game of American Football. There's nothing better than sitting with family and friends and watching your team beat the crap outa the other team!
2007-05-25 11:02:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's ancestry lies in the same place as rugby football, and traditional football. They are all variations of the sport, and have just had a long time to adapt to their current style. Of course American Football is farther removed than the others, but it still has it's roots.
2007-05-25 05:02:08 · answer #5 · answered by Travis 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ancestry comments are correct. However, few know that in American Football, a ball can be kicked from anywhere on the field at any time. Don't know why teams don't do it... especially on 3 and very long.
2007-05-25 11:37:24 · answer #6 · answered by K In the House 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The origin of the word football as it applies to sports was that the game was played on foot. This was a status term, as the aristocracy did things on horseback. That doesn't answer your question, though. Here goes:
The original game was much closer to rugby, with no passing, and included drop kicks. As rugby is called rugby football, and you have Australian rules football, and both pre-date American football, the name followed.
2007-05-25 05:00:40 · answer #7 · answered by RAIN_DOGS99 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Because most of the strategy employed by teams in the earliest days of the game required punting or kicking of the ball. Today it's more of a passing / running strategy with very little kicking.
2007-05-25 06:51:24 · answer #8 · answered by Awesome Bill 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Good question. Maybe someone just called it football 100 years or so ago and it stuck. Maybe it is that simple.
2007-05-25 11:38:28 · answer #9 · answered by bhopefull 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was taken from Rugby....
which is NOT a derivation of soccer....
...but used to feature drop kicks to score like rugby.
A drop kick requires some fancy footwork.
2007-05-25 13:03:01 · answer #10 · answered by Warrior 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋