Just curious, because I'm personally an avid fan of this sport and I hate that it has to be named like that, "soccer"....did Americans name it like that to distinguish it from their American football?? or was it always named like that??
I'm asking this here because after all the sport was officially created in England....
2007-07-13 13:19:03 · 32 answers · asked by Abbey Road 6 in Sports ➔ Football ➔ Other - Football
A tiny DETAIL my friends: I'm neither AMERICAN (even though I live in America) nor British....
2007-07-13 19:05:10 · update #1
The word is in fact a British invention:
Why The Word SOCCER?
We have to thank the students of the 1880s for the word "soccer". It seems it was the practice amongst the well bred students of Oxford to abbreviate words whilst adding "er" to the end; "brekkers" for breakfast for example.
Once asked if he wanted to play "rugger" (i.e. the "rugby rules") a student replied "no, soccer", an abbreviation of "association", or the "association rules", i.e. the rules of the Football Association in London.
"Footer" was also used, but could have referred to either code.
David Pickering's "Soccer Companion" (Cassell, 1994) names the student as Charles Wreford Brown, later an England international and F.A. vice-president.
2007-07-13 13:47:19 · answer #1 · answered by playmaker4747 6 · 5⤊ 1⤋
First off all, soccer is a British word, so blame U.S. for copying the British. Soccer is a slang term that started being used way back in the 1880's and is short for association football. British started just calling it football later following other countries just calling it football.
And really does it matter what it's called, as long as you play it and enjoy it??
Oh and "American" football gets its name because it was born from rugby, which was originally called rugby football, America dropped the rugby part, as it became its own sport around the start of the 20th century.
Last note: would British people please stop calling football their sport? Ball sports involving the feet and scoring on goals have been around since before Britain was a country. All Britain did was, set the rules for the modern game of football that we play today. It's not like British people were the first to have the idea of kicking a ball into a goal.
2007-07-13 13:58:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
In Europe the sport football is known as the beautiful game. It originated in England but is so very popular in Italy, France, Brazil and others, your American football looks a lot like Rugby. It is a town in England too. I don't know the rules of either games but I am aware that people spend great emotional energy to it. Emotion seems to be the big thing nowadays :-) bigger than reason.
2007-07-13 13:28:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The only people in the world that use "soccer" to refer the football are the Americans. But you can ask for soccer in the rest of the world and they will understand you.
I think they are wrong, think about it:
you play "soccer" with your feet more than you do when you are playing american football, and the name means "game played with the feet". so?
2007-07-13 19:20:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
As an British citizen here's my answer...
We called it "football" and always have done. The term "soccer" seems to be used only when talking to Americans to distinguish it from "American Football".
The most common question from young British kids is "Why do Americans call their game 'Football' when the ball actually spends most of it's time in someones hands..."
2007-07-13 13:25:15 · answer #5 · answered by wilkes_in_london 3 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Soccer is called 'football'' over here by pretty much everyone.
The reason we say 'American Football' is because the original football game was ours, several hundred years ago, before the USA was born!
2007-07-13 13:50:44 · answer #6 · answered by O Kay Sojaden 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In Europe we refer to soccer as football, and to football as "American football". I don't know why americans call it "soccer" and where it came from. But if you ever going to be in Europe, you've got to say football in reference to soccer.
2007-07-13 13:27:04 · answer #7 · answered by Zabava 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, we refer to it by it's proper name FOOTBALL
What you call football ISN'T FOOTBALL - think about it HOW OFTEN DO THEY USE THEIR FEET TO MOVE THE BALL
Soccer though is a British name - it's a shortening of Association Football, which is the full name of football.
2007-07-13 13:21:24 · answer #8 · answered by Weatherman 7 · 7⤊ 1⤋
Rarely. There are two types of football in England; the one called soccer in the USA and rugby. I've only known the British to call it soccer sometimes when speaking to their American friends, and this rather begrudgingly. If you want to get beat up while in Britain, then call it soccer while you're over there.
Since the USA unfairly refers to this as soccer I have taken up a campaign to start calling baseball by another name. Podkin. It sounds just as silly, so I felt it appropriate. It's podkin season in the USA now.
Oh, by the way, "American football" is called things like "armoured toss" in Britain and elsewhere. They laugh at the way Americans feel it necessary to wear all of that padding to play the game.
2007-07-13 13:21:39 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 4⤋
yeah i know i dont like it when you see on a sign in england sayin blah blah blah soccer news and im like no its football!
if i was in america it would be different but if we wanted to talk bout that we would say american football.
2007-07-13 13:30:22 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋