Why are some of us blindly following the Americans in calling the most celebrated game in the world, Football, soccer?

I think it is so wrong for the Americans to erroneously and arrogantly refer to their ugly game, which is an offshoot of Rugby game, football! Shouldn't the commonsense dictate that the game is better referred to as football if it's universally played with two feet? What do you think?

Names are sticky. Once you have millions of people calling a sport by a particular name, you cannot change the name unless:
- The sport is controlled by a particular body.
- That body is willing to suffer face the fan anger and costs of a name change.
- They have found a better name for the sport.

They have found a better name for the sport.

Which sport and what better name?

If you meant "soccer" -- what does it mean to you? Football "foot+ball" makes a whole lot of sense to me!

American "football" makes no sense! They run around in those ridiculous gears (very fat people and giants), and they seldomly kick the stinking, oblong pig skin with their legs!

The rest of the world love the real football. It's stylish, beautiful, and highly dignified. You know it's true.

I mean a better name for American football.

it's only in the United States it's called soccer. In other countries be it France, England, Brazil, Nigeria you name it. it's FOOTBALL.
i call it football sometimes and some of my friends do too.

Seun, OK.

You can't expect them to cal the two sports by the same name. So if you say that they should rename soccer to fotball, then what should their own football be called? Wrestling-ball?

Well, if they like they can call it "wrestling-ball." All I want is for them to stop adulterating the finest game in the world, football. Every right thinking person knows that American football is no football! If you want me to suggest a better nomenclature for their idiotic game -- I'll say "brutish Rugby."

all u got to do is understand the game of football. it is very very different from rugby.

Actually, it was the English who invented the word soccer. Soccer is one of the 3 types of sport that where all called "football" at the end of the 19th century: Association football (the beautiful game), Rugger football, and Gaelic football.

Gaelic football didn't evolve, maybe because it was too violent. Rugger became what is now called Rugby, while Association Football or "Assoc" as the English called it became "Soccer"... Get the gist? Assoc, soccer.

It was officially called Soccer until 1904 when FIFA was formed. This is because the rest of Europe already had alternative names for rugby while soccer was called Futbol...

FIFA: Federation de International Futbol Association... which is French and often mistranslated to Federation of International Football Associations wheras the actual translation would be International Federation of Football Associations...

the right to use the name football should be given to the FIFA guys. it really suits the game, after all we're the ones who really play ball with our foot. them US peeps should find another name for their sport (and even begin legal proceedings for a full scale change) and not American football. it's really confusing when you talk in terms of internet organization and search engines. that's why on my website i refer to football most times as soccer for instant clarity

america is wrong on a lot of things, but no one is complaining. all over the world the right term is football, but not in america. even their american football should be called pushball or handball. because i dont see any football in it, well except for when they wanna kick field goal. thats the only time they actually kick the ball with their foot.

but then again is america, they gotta show their superiority

Ajisafe:

Why are some of us blindly following the Americans in calling the most celebrated game in the world, Football, soccer?

I think it is so wrong for the Americans to erroneously and arrogantly refer to their ugly game, which is an offshoot of Rugby game, football! Shouldn't the commonsense dictate that the game is better referred to as football if it's universally played with two feet? What do you think?

Friend did you just call football ugly.omg I'll pretend I did not hear that.Football is the best thing that's ever happened to sports ever. Grown man hitting it out for 3 hours what could be more exciting than that. Not like soccer which is so boring,how in the world can you sit for only God knows how long and watch people kick the ball up and down the field.

Oh, my God! Did you just say that my beautiful game, footbal (not your laughable American "Rugby" football) is boring? Please, apologise.

ahhh people in Australia American football is called gridiron and in Australia your Football is called soccer here as well so really get over it. A name is a name, who cares, I'm sure we got better things to do in our lives then to worry what the Americans are doing. I say let them destroy themselves, they are doing a bloody good job. Financially, socially, militaristic and embarrassing themselves on the world stage.