Why Football is called Soccer etc.

Razorback · 10-12-2003, 03:36 PM

I know that this question has been asked all over the Internet and I found a very interesting explanation on another site about it:

Why Soccer?
Garry Archer

I am an Englishman that has taken on himself a personal crusade to respond to comments regarding the use of the "American" word for football. I have seen them over and over again on the worldwide computer news network, USENET, in its rec.sport.soccer newsgroup where I have been an active contributor for several years.

To love the game of football is to love it's rich history also. It particularly disturbs me when modern fans of the game less conversed in this history do not fully understand that the word "soccer" is an English, _not_ American word derived from the second syllable of the word "association".

"Soccer" was originally called "association football" during the formation of the Football Association in England in the 1860s. This was to maintain a distinction from the other football game being organised in England at the same time based on the handling codes, whilst Association Football conformed to the dribbling codes. The other football came to be known as "rugby" football, named after the Rugby School in England, where it is said that a certain young student, William Webb Ellis, picked up the ball in his hands during an association football match and ran with it over the goal line. Master Ellis asked his teacher, who was refereeing, if that was a goal. The reply was, "No, but it was a jolly good 'try'", which is where one of the rugby scoring terms comes from. Rugby Union was formally organised by 1871, but suffered another split by 1893 when Rugby League was formed. I digress.

Near the end of 1863, Charles Wreford-Brown, who later became a notable official of the Football Association, was asked by some friends at Oxford whether he cared to join them for a game of "rugger" (rugby). He is said to have refused, preferring instead to go for a game of "soccer" - a play on the word "association". The name caught on.

English public schoolboys love to nickname things, then as much as now. The tendency is to add "er" to the end of many words. Rugby [Union] Football became "rugby", and then "rugger". Association Football was better know as "assoccer" and naturally evolved into "soccer" which is much easier for a schoolboy to say...

Therefore, the word "soccer" has been used in the mother country of all football-type games since at least the mid-19th century. The word "football", however, was more descriptive of the game (i.e. kicking a ball with the feet!) and was the term more frequently used. The British exported the game, so naturally the word "football" was the name mostly used all over the world. In recent decades it has been noted that the word "soccer" is apparently increasing in usage. The word "football" still appears in formal designations, however, in for example, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The word "soccer" is more commonly used in several countries around the world that play other forms of football. When Australians say "football", they mean Australian Rules football instead [Well in southern states they do, in the north they mean Rugby League]. The Irish have Gaelic football. In the USA and Canada, of course, there is Gridiron football. Rugby Union, Rugby League, Australian Rules, Gaelic, American and Canadian football all owe their roots to Association football. With the exception of Gaelic Football, they all use an ovoid shaped ball. None is as popular around the world as Association football.

"Football" is the world standard name for "soccer". I always used the word "football" (and still do, wherever I can). The word "soccer", however, is engrained into the origins of the modern game of association football as much as any other aspect of The Game much of the world enjoys today.

Finally, it must be remembered that British football, both association and rugby, had been organised in the 19th century by people in the upper echelons of the English educational system, from "exotic" schools, colleges and universities as Harrow, Eton, Oxford and Cambridge, just for starters. As I stated earler, students of the Victorian era, as much as now, loved nicknames and "soccer" and "rugger" were the accepted everyday names for those people. These were sports for gentlemen.

When the games were taken up by those less fortunate enough to have received the higher (and more expensive) levels of education the game of soccer became very popular with the masses. Rugger, less so. As the rules became increasingly divergent between the two sports, soccer became the people's sport and rugger remained more of a "gentleman's" game.

Ever heard the phrase, "Soccer is a gentleman's game played by ruffians and Rugby is a ruffian's game played by gentlemen"?

So "soccer" was a fanciful, gentleman's name for the sport. The mere, common man started to call it "football" for the obvious reason that it's a game about a ball kicked with the foot. The game, and the word, was exported by British workers, students and merchant and naval seamen all over the world in the latter 19th and early 20th century... and the name, and the game, blossomed.

I prefer to call it "footy" myself!

Yours in football,

Garry Archer

RB

ratm1966 · 10-12-2003, 03:49 PM

You know, I would have read all of that, but I am not really a soccer fan. Oh yeah, and my ass hurts from sitting in this chair for so long.

Razorback · 10-12-2003, 03:56 PM

It's not just about soccer you dope! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

RB

10-12-2003, 04:23 PM

You don't have to be a soccer fan to find that fascinating. I'm not one, and I did.

Razorback · 10-12-2003, 05:49 PM

That's what I thought when I found it. People around the world often bash Americans for calling Gridiron Football "Football" while calling Football "Soccer". Well, the reality is that Americans are technically correct and the rest of the world is anal. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

RB

10-12-2003, 05:58 PM

A very interesting piece !!

My thing with Gridiron, Rugby Union and League is why call it football when these sports are predominantly played with the hands?

Incidentally England beat Georgia ( not GA ) in the Rugby world cup today 84-6 wooo hoooooooo

10-12-2003, 06:04 PM

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />
Incidentally England beat Georgia ( not GA ) in the Rugby world cup today 84-6 wooo hoooooooo

[/ QUOTE ]

If I had any idea how Rugby was scored and played, I would without a doubt be jumping for joy.

Razorback · 10-12-2003, 06:20 PM

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />
My thing with Gridiron, Rugby Union and League is why call it football when these sports are predominantly played with the hands?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe it is more about shortening the name. It is much easier to just say "Football" than "Gridiron Football" (some people actually still call it by the longer name). I also think that I remember reading somewhere that there were competing Gridiron leagues (around 100 years ago) and that to differentiate between them one changed the name of the sport to "Football".

RB

10-12-2003, 06:34 PM

its fairly similar to gridiron from what i remember!

5 points for a try ( touchdown ) 2 for a conversion, 3 for a penalty ( field goal )

We scored 12 Tries ( 12 touchdowns )

DarthMaulRat · 10-12-2003, 11:59 PM

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />
Well, the reality is that Americans are technically correct and the rest of the world is anal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Damn straight! Now let's get back to conquering the worl... I mean, terrorism.

10-13-2003, 01:37 AM

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr />
That's what I thought when I found it. People around the world often bash Americans for calling Gridiron Football "Football" while calling Football "Soccer". Well, the reality is that Americans are technically correct and the rest of the world is anal. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

The metric system, :P

10-13-2003, 01:27 PM

Fuck, you have a lotta goddamn time onyour hands.

Omaru · 10-14-2003, 12:11 PM

dont take offense at matt for not reading, im english and I didn't care to find out why, having said that I;ve been skim reading alot of threads lately looking for a place to give my 2 cents and not being able to comply. So I guess ioverall I just wrote this to get some pent up wanton for writing outta my system.

10-12-2003, 03:36 PM	#1
Razorback Owner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Quickstop Overlord Sanctuary Posts: 10,504	Why Football is called Soccer etc. I know that this question has been asked all over the Internet and I found a very interesting explanation on another site about it: Why Soccer? Garry Archer I am an Englishman that has taken on himself a personal crusade to respond to comments regarding the use of the "American" word for football. I have seen them over and over again on the worldwide computer news network, USENET, in its rec.sport.soccer newsgroup where I have been an active contributor for several years. To love the game of football is to love it's rich history also. It particularly disturbs me when modern fans of the game less conversed in this history do not fully understand that the word "soccer" is an English, _not_ American word derived from the second syllable of the word "association". "Soccer" was originally called "association football" during the formation of the Football Association in England in the 1860s. This was to maintain a distinction from the other football game being organised in England at the same time based on the handling codes, whilst Association Football conformed to the dribbling codes. The other football came to be known as "rugby" football, named after the Rugby School in England, where it is said that a certain young student, William Webb Ellis, picked up the ball in his hands during an association football match and ran with it over the goal line. Master Ellis asked his teacher, who was refereeing, if that was a goal. The reply was, "No, but it was a jolly good 'try'", which is where one of the rugby scoring terms comes from. Rugby Union was formally organised by 1871, but suffered another split by 1893 when Rugby League was formed. I digress. Near the end of 1863, Charles Wreford-Brown, who later became a notable official of the Football Association, was asked by some friends at Oxford whether he cared to join them for a game of "rugger" (rugby). He is said to have refused, preferring instead to go for a game of "soccer" - a play on the word "association". The name caught on. English public schoolboys love to nickname things, then as much as now. The tendency is to add "er" to the end of many words. Rugby [Union] Football became "rugby", and then "rugger". Association Football was better know as "assoccer" and naturally evolved into "soccer" which is much easier for a schoolboy to say... Therefore, the word "soccer" has been used in the mother country of all football-type games since at least the mid-19th century. The word "football", however, was more descriptive of the game (i.e. kicking a ball with the feet!) and was the term more frequently used. The British exported the game, so naturally the word "football" was the name mostly used all over the world. In recent decades it has been noted that the word "soccer" is apparently increasing in usage. The word "football" still appears in formal designations, however, in for example, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The word "soccer" is more commonly used in several countries around the world that play other forms of football. When Australians say "football", they mean Australian Rules football instead [Well in southern states they do, in the north they mean Rugby League]. The Irish have Gaelic football. In the USA and Canada, of course, there is Gridiron football. Rugby Union, Rugby League, Australian Rules, Gaelic, American and Canadian football all owe their roots to Association football. With the exception of Gaelic Football, they all use an ovoid shaped ball. None is as popular around the world as Association football. "Football" is the world standard name for "soccer". I always used the word "football" (and still do, wherever I can). The word "soccer", however, is engrained into the origins of the modern game of association football as much as any other aspect of The Game much of the world enjoys today. Finally, it must be remembered that British football, both association and rugby, had been organised in the 19th century by people in the upper echelons of the English educational system, from "exotic" schools, colleges and universities as Harrow, Eton, Oxford and Cambridge, just for starters. As I stated earler, students of the Victorian era, as much as now, loved nicknames and "soccer" and "rugger" were the accepted everyday names for those people. These were sports for gentlemen. When the games were taken up by those less fortunate enough to have received the higher (and more expensive) levels of education the game of soccer became very popular with the masses. Rugger, less so. As the rules became increasingly divergent between the two sports, soccer became the people's sport and rugger remained more of a "gentleman's" game. Ever heard the phrase, "Soccer is a gentleman's game played by ruffians and Rugby is a ruffian's game played by gentlemen"? So "soccer" was a fanciful, gentleman's name for the sport. The mere, common man started to call it "football" for the obvious reason that it's a game about a ball kicked with the foot. The game, and the word, was exported by British workers, students and merchant and naval seamen all over the world in the latter 19th and early 20th century... and the name, and the game, blossomed. I prefer to call it "footy" myself! Yours in football, Garry Archer RB

10-12-2003, 03:49 PM	#2
ratm1966 Ever Lovin' & Blue-Eyed, 'Nuff Said Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Land of no Comic Book Stores. Posts: 5,612	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. You know, I would have read all of that, but I am not really a soccer fan. Oh yeah, and my ass hurts from sitting in this chair for so long.

10-12-2003, 03:56 PM	#3
Razorback Owner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Quickstop Overlord Sanctuary Posts: 10,504	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. It's not just about soccer you dope! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] RB

10-12-2003, 04:23 PM	#4
Matt1 Posts: n/a	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. You don't have to be a soccer fan to find that fascinating. I'm not one, and I did.

10-12-2003, 05:49 PM	#5
Razorback Owner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Quickstop Overlord Sanctuary Posts: 10,504	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. That's what I thought when I found it. People around the world often bash Americans for calling Gridiron Football "Football" while calling Football "Soccer". Well, the reality is that Americans are technically correct and the rest of the world is anal. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] RB

10-12-2003, 05:58 PM	#6
Jack_Sparrow Posts: n/a	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. A very interesting piece !! My thing with Gridiron, Rugby Union and League is why call it football when these sports are predominantly played with the hands? Incidentally England beat Georgia ( not GA ) in the Rugby world cup today 84-6 wooo hoooooooo

10-12-2003, 06:04 PM	#7
Matt1 Posts: n/a	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. </font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /> Incidentally England beat Georgia ( not GA ) in the Rugby world cup today 84-6 wooo hoooooooo [/ QUOTE ] If I had any idea how Rugby was scored and played, I would without a doubt be jumping for joy.

10-12-2003, 06:20 PM	#8
Razorback Owner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Quickstop Overlord Sanctuary Posts: 10,504	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. </font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /> My thing with Gridiron, Rugby Union and League is why call it football when these sports are predominantly played with the hands? [/ QUOTE ] I believe it is more about shortening the name. It is much easier to just say "Football" than "Gridiron Football" (some people actually still call it by the longer name). I also think that I remember reading somewhere that there were competing Gridiron leagues (around 100 years ago) and that to differentiate between them one changed the name of the sport to "Football". RB

10-12-2003, 06:34 PM	#9
Jack_Sparrow Posts: n/a	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. its fairly similar to gridiron from what i remember! 5 points for a try ( touchdown ) 2 for a conversion, 3 for a penalty ( field goal ) We scored 12 Tries ( 12 touchdowns )

10-12-2003, 11:59 PM	#10
DarthMaulRat Mucky-Muck Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Whitehall, PA Posts: 3,292	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. </font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /> Well, the reality is that Americans are technically correct and the rest of the world is anal. [/ QUOTE ] Damn straight! Now let's get back to conquering the worl... I mean, terrorism.

10-13-2003, 01:37 AM	#11
Dr3vil Posts: n/a	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. </font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /> That's what I thought when I found it. People around the world often bash Americans for calling Gridiron Football "Football" while calling Football "Soccer". Well, the reality is that Americans are technically correct and the rest of the world is anal. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [/ QUOTE ] The metric system, :P

10-13-2003, 01:27 PM	#12
psychofiend Posts: n/a	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. Fuck, you have a lotta goddamn time onyour hands.

10-14-2003, 12:11 PM	#13
Omaru Mucky-Muck Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: ? Posts: 4,072	Re: Why Football is called Soccer etc. dont take offense at matt for not reading, im english and I didn't care to find out why, having said that I;ve been skim reading alot of threads lately looking for a place to give my 2 cents and not being able to comply. So I guess ioverall I just wrote this to get some pent up wanton for writing outta my system.

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