Whats even more intresting is how such a simple discussion can spark so much nationlism in everyone. Everytime soccer comes up it becomes an argument about who is more out of line. Americans or the rest of the world. Right away people start defending or attacking one sport or the other. It makes perfectly logical intelegent people look like fanatics. Which if I'm not mistaken is the root of "Fan". I played football since the 4th grade and on into college. People in the states don't even really understand it. How can people "from away" be expected to.
To the contrary, I would say that in the U.S. there is practically no discussion whatsoever, heated or otherwise, about the differences in nomenclature of various sports, nor is there any regular discussion or criticism of other countries for liking other sports. By and large Americans are perfectly comfortable with the concept of a game being called
soccer in the U.S. and
football overseas. We don't waste our time and energy nitpicking other countries, and I have never seen foreigners accosted in otherwise pleasant social settings and asked to explain, defend or justify something like sporting terms. I suspect the difference is that soccer/football is a game beloved by folks overseas, and a relatively minor sport in the U.S.
A good number of my friends and family are active in community soccer leagues, which in turn are well peopled by foreigners, including the English and Irish, as well as participants from South America. Everyone is comfortable with the idea that a game could be called soccer in one part of the world, and football in another, and likewise we are comfortable with the fact that what we Americans call football is a game either not played at all or looked at derision in other countries.
