Why do they call it American Football?

[HeySeansOnline]

Why "American Football" specifically? So you don't get it mixed up with soccer or Futbol. As for football it probably has to do with the kickoff.

 

[Vault boy Eddie]

European football is a bunch of dudes jogging and when one gets lightly hit anywhere on their body, they go down like a sniper just shot them. American football and Rugby is where it's at.

 

[Digikid]

Here is a question for you....

WHO CARES!?!?!?!? They can call it whatever they like and there is not a damn thing that you can say or do about it.

Get over it.

 

[Thaliur]

That's great, from now on I'll call the American thing Handegg :-D

 

[Risingblade]

because we have big guns so STFU


or so I would assume xD

 

[Corkydog]

I'd just like to point out that even if you do call what we play something other than "football", the term "handegg" is just as inaccurate. In American Football, the hand is really nothing more than a glorified ball-holder crossed with a catapault. Most of the work is still done with the legs. Also, the ball is hardly egg-shaped. *puts on his geometry glasses* According to the internet, an American football is in the shape of a "prolate spheroid" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolate_spheroid). An egg, by contrast, is wider on the bottom (also it isn't pointed like a football, that'd just be painful on the chicken's part). What we really ought to be discussing is how we came up with the name "soccer" for what the rest of the world plays.

Either way, I still prefer baseball. Let me know when you Europeans come up with some of that, then we can get together and have a more appropriately-named World Series.

I think I can help with the "soccer" bit. The British first coined it as a slang version of "Association Football". They took the "soc" part and bastardized it. At least, that's what I have heard to be true.

 

[FinalHeart95]

Why do people actually care?

Another reason to laugh at those silly Americans I suppose.

 

[pigmypython]

Why do they call hockey hockey? It needs no explanation. It's just what people call it sometimes. No one is more right than another. It's like complaining that a tiger is called a tiger when it should be called "large striped mammal" or something.

Sorry I don't entirely agree. I see your point but with arbitrary names at least it doesn't imply something. Football does however. It really should be called something else like "run 5 feet then stop all action for a couple minutes then run 5 more feet ball"...

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

Why do they call hockey hockey? It needs no explanation. It's just what people call it sometimes. No one is more right than another. It's like complaining that a tiger is called a tiger when it should be called "large striped mammal" or something.

Well, not really. I mean, while "tiger" and "hockey" have no additional meanings outside of the sport and the animal, "football" would seem to imply something to do with feet and balls. So it is actually very strange that we call it that. In America. Where I am from.

 

[Fearzone]

Because people insist on calling soccer "football."

 

[Baneat]

Because it's descended from "proper" football. Some guy got pissed one day while playing football, picked up the ball, and charged the goaltender with it.

Isn't that rugby's story?

 

[dmase]

A sport used to be called football rugby and for some reason football stuck and lost the rugby, for americans at least.

 

[wolf92]

It's because we Americans are a superstitious and cowardly lot.
Oh wait, thats criminals.
Americans are just stubborn

 

[RowdyRodimus]

I'm not 100% sure it's accurate, but back before it got super popular (say the 40's and before) you could actually do a drop kick (punt) instead of just passing the ball to another player, making the term football even more appropriate.

Also, because Soccer (which all the whiners say is real football) sucks ass and when it can bring in the revenue that Football does, then maybe we can worry about the names.

 

[Normalgamer]

Because americans have to do everything differently. Especially when it makes no sense and pisses everyone else off.
Its just part of their culture.

Way to be an ignorant prick to a full country of people, educate yourself a little.

OT: No idea, just got chosen with that name.

 

[Ashcrexl]

man, i swear to god, if one more non-american makes this tired cliched joke again, i'm going to flip!

 

[Kpt._Rob]

My theory has always been that America wanted to be the best at the world's favorite game, but couldn't pull it off. So instead, they just made up a whole new sport and gave it the same name. That way, they could be the best at football, without difficult part, by which I mean being the best at football.

 

[Mello Yello]

Because americans have to do everything differently. Especially when it makes no sense and pisses everyone else off.
Its just part of their culture.

Way to be an ignorant prick to a full country of people, educate yourself a little.

OT: No idea, just got chosen with that name.

Way to be a uptight prick who jumps down peoples throats because you do not understand a simple concept like humour. Educate yourself a little.

And do not whine about other peoples explanations when you do not have one yourself.

*coughcough* Fly on the wall here, but I took offense to that as well. Maybe it's just how you typed it or something, but I didn't get the impression that you were trying to be funny either.


OT: Either way, no matter what you call it the fact remains that all it is is large men in spandex engaging in a ball-handling contest.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

Every game is started with a kick-off......

But seriously, who gives a fuck?!