Why do americans say they play football when they hardly ever kick the ball?

Question

I suppose they cant kick with all that padding and steel reinforcement they love to wear. guess they just try to look manly. They should try rugby which is what their football is based on, and then they will be manly.

Answer 1

Why do people say I kicked their **** when my foot never touched them, I don't know same principal!!!

Answer 2

Because the ball was a foot long.

However, having played both rugby and football, I can tell you that football is by far the more punishing game. The players are bigger and the players run much faster. Further, football demands more acrobatics than rugby ever will, exposing the body to more brutal hits than a rugby player will ever experience.

Case in point? I played rugby and football in high school. There was a friend my age from Manchester who was a really good rugby player who said all the things you're saying. However, he was interested enough in football to try out. He actually made it through a season as a linebacker, but vowed never to do it again. As Ian said, "a guy can get killed out there."

So there you go.

Answer 3

The same reason why europeans say they play rugby, when not a single carpet or rug is used in the game. Oh, and rugby is tough, but the contact level and speed of the game is nowhere near that of the NFL. If rugby had a forward pass, I can guarantee you that all those players would be wearing "padding and steel reinforcement" as you put it.

Answer 4

Right i'm English and to all you Americans i apologise for this foolish question. Please don't think we're all d*ckheads.

Also to answer your questions about why we call Rugby, Rugby. Well it's full name is 'Rugby Football'. You have to remember it is another code of Football, as is your NFL Football our Association Football and the Australians 'Aussie Rules'. This particular code was first played in the town of Rugby, England. Hence the name 'Rugby Football'. So nothing to do with carpets or rugs like you seem to think.

I hope in answering that question i have educated the original question asker a little. American Football is so named because it is derived from 'Rugby Football' which was derived from 'Association Football'

Also, those guys need that padding, they're physically much stronger than Rugby players.

But in years to come Rugby may end up like that, you have to remember Rugby hasn't been a professional sport for nearly as long as NFL has. But as professionalism has been introduced Rugby players have been getting much bigger, the current pinnacle is Andrew Sheridan who bench presses 525lb, compare that to NFL player Larry Allen who does about 700lb and you see what i mean.

Answer 5

ZQNUPE5 - I believe it's band together not ban. Why do a minority of americans (Thats about 30% of them!) believe that they rule the world?!

Mark J - Rugby is not just a European sport! I do believe that USA played in every rugby world cup apart from 1995! So it is popular in the Americas too. Its also popular in Asia, Oceania and Africa! There isnt a world cup for American Football though, because it's not as big in other countries as it is in USA. Whoever wins the superbowl is crowned "world champions" despite only american teams being in the competition!

anyway, back to the question - I think that too but if you look at other sports, the names are often unrelated to the game itself. for example: Badminton. Just because the name doesnt reflect what happens in the game, it doesnt make it a bad sport!

Answer 6

Wow.....I've never thought of it that way before. You sure changed this silly American's mind on what a real sport is. I hope everyone else reads this because I don't think this question has ever been asked on here before.

What can I do to prove to you that I am worthy of the term "manly"?

Please enlighten me.....I obviously need your help.

Maybe you can answer this for me: Why is it called rugby when they never use a rug?

Answer 7

You show no class by trying to bag on American football. Which will in no way affect anyone here in America. Rugby is a European sport, and if we wanted to play it, we would move to Europe. I also find it funny that you don't ever hear americans bagging on European sports. Just enjoy your and we'll enjoy ours.

Answer 8

im not american .

first off surely you can't be serious . either your just trying to piss off fans or you are just blatently ignorent .

american footballers occupy positions of kickers and punters . they get paid millions for there skills .

i don't think men who are 6'6'' and 300lbs are too concerned about looking manly . whereas a number of rugby players enjoy shaving their legs ...

and americans probly call the sport football cause throwball or catchball would soude a little gay or suumat ..

Answer 9

WE call it football because that is the name of the sport. Why do you call your sport "rugby"? A name is just a name. By the way, American football is one of the most lucrative industries in all of the world. It is a billion dollar industry. So, don't knock it till you know a little more about it.

Answer 10

do you use rugs for rugby, crickets for cricket, snooks for snooker? AND...when the game was first played in AMERICA the only way to advance it was to kick it, like rugby. eventually, the forward pass was added and the kicking slowly faded from the game. it evolved and became better.

Answer 11

bad question lol, as a football player I can tell you that padding is crap. When you have a 300 lb guy that run a 4.5 and bench 500 smacking you every play come talk to me.