American Sports

[Hudds2]

Soccer was first used by the English. It's something to do with an amalgamation of Association and football, or something.

American football is called football as it's based on Rugby Football.  I always thought it was called football as the ball is a foot long, but I found out a while back that that's a myth.

That's how I understand the two points you raise. I'm not sure if I'm parroting urban myths, or whether they're accurate!

Soccer as a term is an upper class creation, soc from association plus er. It was very prevalent in the 19th century at Rugby School (where football referred to, unsurprisingly, rugby) and was adopted at the University of Oxford. It was popularised in the UK by Charles Wreford-Brown (am Oxford graduate and amateur footballer) before being adopted in the US to distinguish it from American football. 

It was not used by the likes of people who played and watched professional football on the whole with very few exceptions.

I don't think that's actually correct, BB.  Soccer was used a lot in coaching stuff and players' books ("How I Tackle Soccer") when I was a kid (from the fifties).  It wasn't an aberration.  In fact, ITV's football highlight game in the Midlands in the 60s was World Of Soccer.

[Borin' Baggie]

Soccer was first used by the English. It's something to do with an amalgamation of Association and football, or something.

American football is called football as it's based on Rugby Football.  I always thought it was called football as the ball is a foot long, but I found out a while back that that's a myth.

That's how I understand the two points you raise. I'm not sure if I'm parroting urban myths, or whether they're accurate!

Soccer as a term is an upper class creation, soc from association plus er. It was very prevalent in the 19th century at Rugby School (where football referred to, unsurprisingly, rugby) and was adopted at the University of Oxford. It was popularised in the UK by Charles Wreford-Brown (am Oxford graduate and amateur footballer) before being adopted in the US to distinguish it from American football. 

It was not used by the likes of people who played and watched professional football on the whole with very few exceptions.

I don't think that's actually correct, BB.  Soccer was used a lot in coaching stuff and players' books ("How I Tackle Soccer") when I was a kid (from the fifties).  It wasn't an aberration.  In fact, ITV's football highlight game in the Midlands in the 60s was World Of Soccer.

People who were worked who made decisions at publishers and the press in the 50s and 60s weren't exactly the demographic who watched and played football in the 1950s and 1960s though. There's countless examples of newspaper reports - especially in the national broadsheets - using the word soccer pre-1980s in the UK but again that was predominantly led by upper and middle class professionals who weren't the general demographic for watching and playing football at the time.

[baggy1]

The football comes from the governing bodies when each derivation of the Eton wall game, or whatever, was chosen. Rugby football union, rugby football league. Association football. Rugby, albeit predominantly using the hands these days would use kicking as a main part of the game when originated.

[Tom Joad]

No one in the entire West Midlands is going to the soccer at the weekend.  I'll bet that's because they'll all be at the football.

[HawkingsHalfpint]

What’s Tit Cricket called over there? Hooters Lacrosse?

[Borin' Baggie]

The football comes from the governing bodies when each derivation of the Eton wall game, or whatever, was chosen. Rugby football union, rugby football league. Association football. Rugby, albeit predominantly using the hands these days would use kicking as a main part of the game when originated.

Football just means the game is played on foot with a ball. A lot of mob football games were called just football games but were played like rugby or American football are instead of football.

You can see that with the legacy mob football games in Ashbourne and Atherstone.

[Hudds2]

Soccer was first used by the English. It's something to do with an amalgamation of Association and football, or something.

American football is called football as it's based on Rugby Football.  I always thought it was called football as the ball is a foot long, but I found out a while back that that's a myth.

That's how I understand the two points you raise. I'm not sure if I'm parroting urban myths, or whether they're accurate!

Soccer as a term is an upper class creation, soc from association plus er. It was very prevalent in the 19th century at Rugby School (where football referred to, unsurprisingly, rugby) and was adopted at the University of Oxford. It was popularised in the UK by Charles Wreford-Brown (am Oxford graduate and amateur footballer) before being adopted in the US to distinguish it from American football. 

It was not used by the likes of people who played and watched professional football on the whole with very few exceptions.

I don't think that's actually correct, BB.  Soccer was used a lot in coaching stuff and players' books ("How I Tackle Soccer") when I was a kid (from the fifties).  It wasn't an aberration.  In fact, ITV's football highlight game in the Midlands in the 60s was World Of Soccer.

People who were worked who made decisions at publishers and the press in the 50s and 60s weren't exactly the demographic who watched and played football in the 1950s and 1960s though. There's countless examples of newspaper reports - especially in the national broadsheets - using the word soccer pre-1980s in the UK but again that was predominantly led by upper and middle class professionals who weren't the general demographic for watching and playing football at the time.

Again, I don't think that's the full picture.  There were commercial books, bios and endorsements "by" the players aimed at the supporters.  "Billy Wright: My Life In Soccer" etc etc.  The publishers wouldn't want to alienate the target readership.  It does sort of alienate now, of course given its appropriation by the Yanks.

[Josh1873]

Does it matter what it's called? All you need to know is that the Throstles am shit at it.

[Ted Maul]

Hockey I've never watched.

Basketball is just PE, grow up. Real ones know the WNBA is where it's at anyway.

Baseball, I went to watch the Mets when in NY but I got so hopelessly pissed that I've no idea what happened.

I have recently got more and more into the NFL, I think it's the numbers and the stats.

[Borin' Baggie]

Soccer was first used by the English. It's something to do with an amalgamation of Association and football, or something.

American football is called football as it's based on Rugby Football.  I always thought it was called football as the ball is a foot long, but I found out a while back that that's a myth.

That's how I understand the two points you raise. I'm not sure if I'm parroting urban myths, or whether they're accurate!

Soccer as a term is an upper class creation, soc from association plus er. It was very prevalent in the 19th century at Rugby School (where football referred to, unsurprisingly, rugby) and was adopted at the University of Oxford. It was popularised in the UK by Charles Wreford-Brown (am Oxford graduate and amateur footballer) before being adopted in the US to distinguish it from American football. 

It was not used by the likes of people who played and watched professional football on the whole with very few exceptions.

I don't think that's actually correct, BB.  Soccer was used a lot in coaching stuff and players' books ("How I Tackle Soccer") when I was a kid (from the fifties).  It wasn't an aberration.  In fact, ITV's football highlight game in the Midlands in the 60s was World Of Soccer.

People who were worked who made decisions at publishers and the press in the 50s and 60s weren't exactly the demographic who watched and played football in the 1950s and 1960s though. There's countless examples of newspaper reports - especially in the national broadsheets - using the word soccer pre-1980s in the UK but again that was predominantly led by upper and middle class professionals who weren't the general demographic for watching and playing football at the time.

Again, I don't think that's the full picture.  There were commercial books, bios and endorsements "by" the players aimed at the supporters.  "Billy Wright: My Life In Soccer" etc etc.  The publishers wouldn't want to alienate the target readership.  It does sort of alienate now, of course given its appropriation by the Yanks.

Or people didn't really care about the word soccer for it to factor as a risk to alienate, even if they didn't use the word? 

There's plenty of things that have been marketed in the UK using words or spellings that aren't favoured here, you also see it in other countries where things are sold in English even though English isn't the dominant language (or even a commonly spoken one like in France, Spain, Japan etc.)

Do you remember calling it soccer as a kid? I had a neighbour growing up who did call it soccer but they were the only example I knew of and they would be in their 100s if they were still alive and they were a public school and Oxford educated person who referred to rugby as football.