Why is it called football?

[jwinslow]

Just curious to hear your explanations for why football is called football. Soccer obviously is based around using your feet, and rugby involves a lot of kicking as well. I just never understood who decided to call it football.

You barely use your foot in football. By that logic, soccer should be called throwball for the throwins, which happen more than kicks in football.

 

[NYBuckeye]

Maybe because the game begins with a kickoff.

 

[Thump]

Just curious to hear your explanations for why football is called football. Soccer obviously is based around using your feet, and rugby involves a lot of kicking as well. I just never understood who decided to call it football.

You barely use your foot in football. By that logic, soccer should be called throwball for the throwins, which happen more than kicks in football.

Dude, you ever heard of Google?

 

[ScarletInMyVeins]

American football is a distinct type of football that developed in the United States in the 19th century. It developed from soccer (association football) and rugby football. American football differs slightly in rules and field size from a style of football played mostly in Canada, called Canadian football.

http://www.thehistoryoffootball.com/american.htm

 

[exhawg]

Because "The Best Sport in the History of the Planet Earth" was too long.

 

[AKAK]

Just curious to hear your explanations for why football is called football. Soccer obviously is based around using your feet, and rugby involves a lot of kicking as well. I just never understood who decided to call it football.

You barely use your foot in football. By that logic, soccer should be called throwball for the throwins, which happen more than kicks in football.

Maybe because they all evolved (provided I didn't miss soemthing in the book of Genesis) from the same game... and are all commonly called Football? (The "soccer" and "Rugby" merely being Precursors to "football"... throw in Aussie Rules as well if you like...and "American" if you're not in America)

 

[jwinslow]

just seems weird to name a sport football when there is an established sport named that already.

 

[exhawg]

just seems weird to name a sport football when there is an established sport named that already.

Soccer is soccer. People who call soccer football are homos.

 

[jwinslow]

Soccer is soccer. People who call soccer football are homos.

true. We should call it handball... then in 50 some years we can call others homos who thought handball was played with your hands.

Dude, you ever heard of Google?

dude, I knew I'd get some good responses, like the evolution or long quoted name, etc

 

[PrincessPeach]

Soccer is soccer. People who call soccer football are homos.

Or European. Wait, is that the same thing?

 

[jwinslow]

BTW, this is not a question of soccer vs. football. Football wins every time... I really can't watch pro soccer because of all of the pansies that flop.

I guess I equate it to one of those stubborn things about America, like not using the Metric system. It's painful b/c I don't understand it well, but its a lot better system than ours.

 

[RugbyBuck]

Rugby is kind of a random name as legend has it that it began at the Rugby School in England when William Webb Ellis picked up the ball during a soccer match and was promptly chased and tackled. The participants knew immediately that they had stumbled onto a real sport which then came to be known as rugby football and was ultimately brought to the US through the Ivy League schools. The full names of rugby clubs still include the abbreviation RFC, i.e. Atlanta Old White Rugby Football Club; Scioto Valley RFC, etc.

 

[Pheasant]

Soccer is soccer. People who call soccer football are homos.

what if they call it futbol?

 

[Bucktastic]

Or European. Wait, is that the same thing?

Yes.

 

[Brutus1]

just seems weird to name a sport football when there is an established sport named that already.

Because that's soccer and it doesn't count.