Which started first, Rugby or American football?
484238
Rugby was around long before American Football.  In fact American Football is a spin-off from Canadian Football which is a spin off from Rugby League which is a spin off from Rugby Union which is the game that we normally call Rugby.  \n\nThe famous story is that at Rugby School in England, one fine day while they were playing football (soccer), a cheeky young gent decided to pick up the ball and run with it for a lark.  The other guys ran after him and tackled him.  They soon figured out that this was kinda fun and decided to make a new game of it.  Rugby.\n\nSome scholars doubt the veracity of the story but it is a good one.\n\nAnyway the Rugby game became popular in England and Northern France before the game was ever played in North America.  Of course as Brits came to North America, they brought their games with them too.\n\nRugby was played in both Canada and the US from very early on.  It was actually Canada that developed the North American game first.  Rugby had already subdivided into Rugby League and Rugby Union.  Rugby Union is the game that most associate with the game 'Rugby' but there is another game called Rugby League which is the missing link between Rugby and American Football.\n\nIn Rugby Union, the game continues after a tackle.  In Rugby League, the game stops after a tackle and the game is restarted by the player who was tackled heeling the ball back to a team-mate.  This is the precursor to a snap in football.\n\nThis restart feature developed into an offensive line with a snap to a quarterback.  Canadians pioneered this new game and soon Americans were playing it too but they further refined the rules.  Canadian Football also predates American Football.  (yup, its true!)\n\nThere are still a few remnants of rugby in the game of American football but they are tricky to spot.  The word 'touchdown' refers to the fact that in Rugby you not only have to cross the end zone line, you also have to physically touch the ball to the ground for the score to count.  Its ironic that in American Football, you use the word 'touchdown' but you don't actually have to touch the ball down.\n\nAlso in Rugby you are allowed to pass the ball as many times as you like but it always has to be backwards.  Thus in American football you can 'lateral' the ball as much as you like.  This is from rugby.  \n\nActually in the early days of American football forward passes were not allowed.  This was a feature added later.\n\nThe conversion after a touchdown is also from Rugby.  \n\nIts really an interesting story if you look into it...
1015468
No. Anyone who says so hasn't played both. I played rugby through college and after, and there's a camraderie and spirit present in rugby that is absent in all big-time sports, football included. But, in terms of toughness, they're equal. Rugby players don't experience the high impact collisions football players do, and football players don't play without pads for 45 minute halves. \n\nRegarding some of the other postings:\n- Australia, NZ (except the mountains where they don't play rugby), and Fiji don't have freezing climates.\n- Getting your balls grabbed doesn't make you tougher. I do believe I would have quit rugby if I had my balls fondled. But hey, if that's your reason for playing, more power to you.\n- Anyone who tore their ACL, in football or rugby, would be carted off on a stretcher. Your ACL keeps your leg from bending double. That's important, whether you're playing football or not.\n- Football players play hurt just like rugby players. \n- Anyone commenting on how hard they hit in rugby has never played the game. The goal in rugby is to put your man down, not to hit him as hard as you can. It's illegal to hit without wrapping, or to leave your feet, and yardage is meaningless.\n\nI've played with guys from South Africa and Australia who said American football was crazy and that they'd never play it. The sports are different. I chose to play rugby, but I don't need to try to take something away from football players to make me feel better.
430795
The USA did not start playing football when the sport first gained popularity aroung the world. The reason for this was a form of rebellion against the British. When the USA was a new country it did not want to have anything the do with the British this included sports. The USA developed a new game that is now known as Football in the USA. When football gained some form popularity in the USA they had to give a new name here. Soccer. Where they got the name soccer from? That's a mystery to me.
1008684
FOOTBALL! That's a strange name for 'Padded Rugby'. I was born and live in the US and I confess I like 'American Football'. I'm a 'Jets' fan. But you are right. I always wondered why it's called football when it rarely uses the feet to play, actually it only uses the feet in four plays... Punting (when one team kicks the ball towards the other teams' part of the field when they have to give up possession). Kickoff ( at the beginning of each half and when the opposing team scores). Field goal ( when a team decides to go for 3 points kicking the ball over the goal). And Extra Point ( when a team kicks a field goal after scoring a 'touchdown' for an extra point).\nMaybe it has something to do with the reason Americans use inches, yards, miles, pints, quarts, gallons, ounces, pounds, Fahrenheit (temperature), etc.... Instead of the "Metric System" the rest of the world uses. \nAnd as obnoxious as it sounds people here don't care about it. They don't even know where Brazil is on a Map, they think it's in Africa somewhere....I'm serious!\nI'm Brazilian by heart and can tell you this... Futbol (Soccer) is the World sport and, unfortunately, the gringos have no clue. \nI used to hate watching american 'Football', but my brother was a fan so I had no choice but to watch it sometimes. It's a very interesting game once you learn the rules. Very strategic. Almost like a 'War Game'. You would have to know it, understand it, and "Feel" it to know what it's like... That's exactly what Americans have to do in order for Futbol (Soccer) to become a major sport in the United States. I hope I answered you question.
819854
The word "soccer" actually comes from England, where the   modern version of the game originated.\nIn England, there were two types of football: rugby football and association football. The slang term for rugby football was "rugger," and the slang for association football was "assoc." The word "assoc" gradually evolved into "soccer," which was much easier to say.\nWhen association football was introduced to North America, gridiron football (the type played by the NFL and in the Super Bowl) was already well established. To avoid confusion, Americans adopted the British nickname "soccer" for the new sport.\n\nGreg
622013
If you're talking about an american football, it derives from its original cousin, the rugby ball, which was invented at Rugby School, in the district of Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
71294
The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. The league was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, which adopted the name "National Football League" in 1922. The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues of North America.\n\nPrior to the 1960s, the most popular version of American football was played collegiately. After the 1958 NFL Championship Game (which went into overtime), the NFL's greatest spurt in popularity came in the 1960s and 1970s with the merger of the rival American Football League, or AFL (1960-1969).\n\nCurrently, the league's 32 teams are divided into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference is then further divided into four divisions consisting of four teams each.
459840
Easy to understand?  Both Rugby and Football are difficult for someone you has never seen the game to follow.  They need to be sitting with someone who has really played the game to get a good explaination. Rugby is a bit easier because the action follows the ball and the ball is easier to see, however football on tv is well explained with glowing yellow lines and announcers. Tie\n\nToughness- I'd love to watch an 80 minute rugby game in slow motion because man, these boys are bad!  They give out some brusing hits and then just get up and do it again.  The contact however is not head on like in US football. Rugby- it's better than watching a toughman contest\n\nSounds - BLUE 38, BLUE 38, football is a great game for the sounds, the crunch of the O line and D line colliding, the pop of a good hit, the linebackers and Qb giving audibles. Also include the music and cheerleaders.\n\nStrategy and depth of the game- rugby- like soccer- has little strategy compared to football.  Football is mind over matter, the smartest, most together teams win, not the ones with the most talent.- Football\n\nRouting for the team- RUGBY -  When you have an entire country behind you, that is something else. I love the 6 nations and rugby world cup for this.  It is more exciting to watch New Zealand play Austrilia, US play Japan or even Fiji vs Tonga than Cleveland vs Tennesse.\n\n\nScore is tied 2 vs 2\n\nTie breaker - The SHOW!  Watching (or playing) Football is filled with brilliant moments, the brusing sack, the interceptions, one handed catchs, pancake blocks, juke left juke right stiff arm then run for a 80 touchdown, leaping TD catchs, Punt + kickoff returns, and the Hail Mary Pass to win it.  Sure it is a game that stops and starts more, but if you know what to look for, the wait is worth it.\n\nand the winner is: Football
66753
Rugby is popular as a club sport.  But the clubs in America are a part of the USA Rugby Association so they are official.  There are quite a few really good men's and women's teams.  I haven't seen it so much as a school sport...at least not at a high school level.  College it's touch and go.
434450
There's two parts to this:\nThe origin of American football is in the history of the world's most popular sport: soccer. When soccer -- more universaly known as "football" (which of course makes sense because soccer players use their feet) -- participants decided to change their centuries-old game with restrictions such as the no-use of hand rules, people who disliked this broke away to create rugby. In the states we have created our own version of the game under the same old name "football" with more of a rugby style, the whole time forgetting why we call it that.\n\nThe word "soccer" actually comes from England, where the   modern version of the game originated.\nIn England, there were two types of football: rugby football and association football. The slang term for rugby football was "rugger," and the slang for association football was "assoc." The word "assoc" gradually evolved into "soccer," which was much easier to say.\nWhen association football was introduced to North America, gridiron football (the type played by the NFL and in the Super Bowl) was already well established. To avoid confusion, Americans adopted the British nickname "soccer" for the new sport.
611727
its football everywhere its soccer in the us, canada, basically everycountry in the world where thet are crap at it and play with a odd shaped ball they run with their hands. Gridiron is just another name for that sissy sport. I like them to come and try playing rugby, they will get battered.
461059
in Europe/south America/Africa and a part of Asia its called football.....in the USA its called soccer cuz they have another sport thats called football....of course the americans have no logic calling the american football football cuz it looks like a kind of rugby and u dont play it just with the foot....americans r idiots...
807958
radio has been around since the late 1800's and american football began in the early 1900's
474560
American football is something like rugby. In fact I wonder why they even call it football since they kick the ball very rarely. I personally find it very boring, most of the time the players just sit there waiting for the game to start again.
26860
It was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, and changed it's name to the NFL in 1922.
827728
i could give you a very good answer and explanation for this but im just sick and tired of people asking the same damn question over and over again.....email me and i will give you a good answer.......but if your just looking for a biased opinion on american football bashing then screw you........im just tired of always giving good answers and ppl picking answers that are to their biased beliefs or stupid one phrase answers....i know its just points but i put a lot of thought into answers and dont get the recognition for it\n\n\nok you challenged me and emailed me so i will give you the answer based on what i have read and what people have told me...and also theres several different reasons why it is called football not just one\nfirst i will use the help of wikipedia as most people do but i dont copy and paste because you could do that yourself and i wont insult your intelligence\n\nFirst you have to realize that when football first came to america the rules have changed over the years...american football comes from rugby...also called rugby football....they dont use there feet as much as association football but they still call it football.......but im going off on a tangent here...when football first came to north america it was played more like soccer than rugby....there was a great deal of kicking even more than rugby....they wanted to create a sport like rugby but had more kicking in it....the foreward pass only came out later and that grew more dominant than the latteral which was at first the only way(other than kicking of course) to score points.....another thing to remember is that football doesnt necessarily mean using the foot for the sports as said on wikipedia.....theres a strong possibility that it refers more to the fact that they play on foot....it explains that "football" was coined to express all sports played on feet by pesants during medival time so they can differentiate that from sports played on horses by aristocrates\n\nlisten the basic thing to remember is that there are a ton of theories and explanations for why football is called football when they use their hands but do you really think the americans are gonna change the name after so many years of history.......thats like saying why dont baseball players change their name to american cricket....i know football doesnt make 100% sence but the explanation is all in the history....either you live with it or not....sorry if i sound pissed but i've seen this question along with rugby players bashing football players calling it a pu$$y sport and that just gets me mad
683153
Could it be because Americans are clueless? American football is a game where the ball is predominantly thrown or carried the ball gets kicked far less then it is thrown or carried.In the rest of the world Football is called football because a ball is predominantly kicked.