Why is American football called football since the foot is not uset that often?
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
748966
In England football (soccer) was the original ball sport played in many universities and colleges. The legend is that William Webb Ellis, while playing football at Rugby School, picked up the ball and ran with it this became a splinter-game called Rugby Football. When the English football league was established a number of these rubgy football clubs decided not to join in as the league did not recognise the use of hands as a legal method of play. Rugby became a popular alternative to football (soccer) but nearly all rugby clubs were called Rugby Football clubs. The game became immensly popular in America, but without a governing body to ensure uniform rules of play the nature of the American game began to significantly diverge from the Rugby played in England. Since the term 'Rugby' refers to the place where the rules originated it is understandable that the American sport adopted the word football to describe their similar but different game. In short American football was an offshoot of English Rugby football, which is itself an offshoot of the original game of football that the Americans call soccer. The word soccer is purportedly derived from "association football" and actually originates in England, but NOBODY in England calls football soccer at all, unless we have to dumb our programs down for American audiences. \n\nI also completely agree with you that football should only refer to the english game because (1) it is the original sport, (2) the American game has little connection whatsoever with the use of the foot, and (3) outside the US everyone calls this football, that's the entire world. I thought you guys believe in democracy? Billions watch not just world cup matches, but Champions League (the world's greatest sporting competition) and domestic competitions. Oh yeah, and American football sucks!
1185728
I am assuming that you are reffering to American Football which bears some similarities to Rugby. \n\nWell believe it or not it is football becase of the ball. From tip to tip the ball used in America Football is 12 inches long i.e. one foot. Hence the name football. ( atleast that as the original size of the ball).
409932
american football is not soccer
687502
Well, considering the Scots invented it, and called it FOOTball, cos you kick the ball with your FOOT, it kind of makes sense to me.  Less of the language please.
1140910
It depends on what "Football" you are refering to.\n\nSoccer is the American word for what the rest of the world calls Football, because American's have a different sport called Football.\n\nAmerican Football is nothing like the world's Football.\n\nFootball (Soccer):\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer\n\nAmerican Football:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football
498785
Because football mirrors the American psyche better than any of the other major sports. Americans find "soccer" boring because there simply isn't enough scoring. Baseball, which used to be America's game is much too analytical and the action is too intermittent. Basketball has become more of a "black" sport for middle America. Hockey is too much of a "Northern" sport.\n\nWhich leaves football which is popular in every region of the country.Actually, football is different than it was 100 years ago, which illustrates one of the reasons football is popular- the rules can be changed slightly or even in bigger ways to make it more exciting. In baseball, you can't change the rules without purists crying foul. In football, they change the rules in subtle ways almost every year to make it more exciting.
335498
I play soccer myself, and to Americans, football is more important (American football). Therefore, they are unwilling to change their name. This forced true football (Soccer) to be called soccer, in order to differentiate between the two. It's been a tradition and I doubt it will change anytime soon.
383097
I've heard many answers to this and similar questions.  One interesting comment was that all team sports played with a ball while standing/running on your feet became known as "football".  This was to distinguish it from sports played on horseback (polo) or in the water.  Hence, we have Association Football (soccer), Rugby Football, Australian Football and American Football.  All of these are played "on foot", but not necessary **using** the foot.
202518
We call soccer "soccer" because we already hae football. And technically, a football is a football because in order to get the game under way or to give up possession (i.e. not risking a turnover and thus giving the opposing team field advantage) you have to kick the football. With your foot. Football.
870184
Hello, i'm david i used to live in europe for 15 years, i lived in the usa for 4 years now. I am a huge sport fan, when i was in europe i followed soccer and basketball. In europe american football is not popular at all, nba is making its case right now, but not the nfl. I think the only people who care about American football are American, but don't get me wrong i am a Chicago bears fan since i moved too america. The top two reasons i believe is that football is slow paced and there is two many commercial and it is called football
368415
Football. It's played with the feet!
412282
Because in the UK and most of Europe it is Association Football.  In the US their football is American Football so they call AF soccer
431769
aussies play american football too mate, they call it gridiron over here.  \n\nAs far as the need for pads go, we hit harder and have more constant contact than either rugby or AFL.  The tackles in rugby and AFL are very soft by comparison.  I know, I've played.  They drag people down, they don't explode through them.  And there's no blocking in either sport.  Gridiron is the most physically demanding sport on the planet.
252621
Because all variations of football- Soccer, Canadian, Australian, Rugby, American all evolved from the same sport. Actually, Rugby was the first "break" where they first started carrying the ball. Gradually, American and Canadian football evolved to the point where the "foot" in football was seldom used (at least to kick the ball), but by that point, why change the name ?
129074
http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/Why_do_they_call_football_'football'
490715
Football, as a genre, has been around for hundreds of years.  The current version of the game played in America was first played in the 1870's