Football was a type of game like saying “Board Game” or “Video Game.” Rugby is a type of Football too.
It just basically meant a game PLAYED on foot as opposed to on horseback (like polo) not literally that you played with your feet.
The English used to say “Soccer,” that’s where Americans got the name from.
The limeys liked all these silly word games and rhymes. Ever heard “Cockney” slang? That’s an example. Why does Richard get shortened to Dick or William to Bill? Richard>Ric(k) and then through silly British Rhyme games>Rick>Dick.
William to will and will rhymes with Bill.
It was the to die for awhile for Brit’s to add “er” to words. They thought it sounded cool. So they side the same thing. They had a bunch of different ball games that didn’t use horses.
For example think of the game we know as Rugby or football aka soccer.
Rugby was called Rugby football and became known as “Rugger,” and Football aka Soccer was called “Association Football” by the Brits.
They took asSOCiation and added “ER” and made… Soccer, in a complex linguistic mess up that could only be British English.
So why is it now Football (American), Football (Soccer) and Rugby then?
Simple. Americans didn’t really have those games. As many are aware Soccer and Rugby weren’t the most well known and to this day aren’t the most popular sports in America. We didn’t really have them. So we made our own football. And because we are Americans, instead of some poncy lords giving it a grand long title and then having livable street urchins slang it up, we just called it what it was. Football. If you said Football in America- what else were you talking about? If you only have one thing to eat you’d likely just call it “food,” no other food exists so no need for special names.
But of course travelers brought soccer to America and people did play it and know of it. The Brits called it Soccer so we called it Soccer. And then that cool slang fad died out, and it was uncool because those traitorous uncultured Yanks were saying soccer, and it hurt the Brits feelings that we called our game “football” like it was THE football. So they started calling Soccer Football.
So of course they called it that in their colonies and territories and wherever they traded and went in their global empire. So most of the world started calling Soccer “Football” too.
And so now, a hood century plus later, people around the world commonly get flustered that American just has to make up a special name for the game they all know as Football and has the audacity to name their predominantly American game “Football” when the whole world knows that stupid “American word” Soccer is the REAL football! Except it isn’t. It was called Soccer and America kept calling it soccer and made a game called Football and the Brits knocked off our games name and then everyone assumed we stole the name.
TL:DR- the American game of “Football” was called “Football” First and what most of the world knows as “Football” was introduced to Americans by the British as “Soccer” because that’s what the British called the game.
Both games are a type of football, as well as Rugby, which was originally called “rugby football” then changed to “Rugger” and then to the modern “Rugby” because it was a fad in Britain to shorten words and add “er” and the fad passed in part because they didn’t like that it caught on in America.
It just basically meant a game PLAYED on foot as opposed to on horseback (like polo) not literally that you played with your feet.
The English used to say “Soccer,” that’s where Americans got the name from.
The limeys liked all these silly word games and rhymes. Ever heard “Cockney” slang? That’s an example. Why does Richard get shortened to Dick or William to Bill? Richard>Ric(k) and then through silly British Rhyme games>Rick>Dick.
William to will and will rhymes with Bill.
It was the to die for awhile for Brit’s to add “er” to words. They thought it sounded cool. So they side the same thing. They had a bunch of different ball games that didn’t use horses.
Rugby was called Rugby football and became known as “Rugger,” and Football aka Soccer was called “Association Football” by the Brits.
They took asSOCiation and added “ER” and made… Soccer, in a complex linguistic mess up that could only be British English.
So why is it now Football (American), Football (Soccer) and Rugby then?
So of course they called it that in their colonies and territories and wherever they traded and went in their global empire. So most of the world started calling Soccer “Football” too.
Both games are a type of football, as well as Rugby, which was originally called “rugby football” then changed to “Rugger” and then to the modern “Rugby” because it was a fad in Britain to shorten words and add “er” and the fad passed in part because they didn’t like that it caught on in America.