03 Dec 06
1 edit
Originally posted by rooktakesqueenYour pointless anti-American rant is really getting boring. First of all, America is not the only country that calls it soccer. Canada, Samoa, Australia, and New Zealand also use the word soccer, mainly because each of those countries uses "football" to refer to another sport. And when you say that "the rest of the world" calls it football, I assume you mean the rest of the English-speaking world.
no - football is what you call soccer, but the rest of the world call it football. your version of football, they hardly kick it - yet you still steal our name
By the way, it is widely believed that the English word "football" arose, not in reference to the action of kicking a ball with the foot, but as a term to describe a variety of games in midieval Europe which were played by men on foot. You know, as opposed to the sports that were played on horseback which were popular in those days. Football describes an entire family of games, not just American football and soccer, but also rugby, Australian-rules football, Canadian football, and Gaelic football. Association football just happens to be the most popular, so Euro-snobs like you think you should have exclusive rights to the name, despite the fact that there is evidence that the word "football" has been around far longer than the game itself.
One more piece of history for you: The term soccer is short for association football. It originated in England, and was popularized by an English footballer named Charles Wreford-Brown. So if you're mad at us for using the word to refer to "your" sport, you have only your fellow countryman to blame.