It’s not Soccer, It’s Football in England!
While in the United States the mention of football conjures up images of heavily protected players and oblong pigskins, in the United Kingdom it is the stuff that national pride is made of. You see, it’s not soccer; it’s football in England! While in the United States of America you will have to make the cautious distinction to make sure you are properly understood, in jolly old England you will be considered odd if you refer to the game of soccer as anything other than football.
Quite possibly the main reason is because England is the birthplace of soccer, and as such it is not surprising that the country claims certain proprietary rights over the nomenclature. The late 1800s saw a revival of a previously barbaric game that loosely resembled soccer. It is said that several boy’s schools wanted to have a form of rule-based soccer so that they could compete against one another. While in the beginning this led to a variety of rules, usually named after the most famous school in the area, later on these rules were more standardized and received official approval in 1863 when also the Football Association came into existence. Those who did not appreciate the rules went on to form the Rugby Union, which is a clear offshoot of the more barbaric ancestor of the game of soccer. As it stands today, the Football Association is still the governing body for all things football, and every club and league is a member.
Many regard the English Men’s National Football Team as the premier team in the leagues. They are currently considered the fourth best team overall, and have won a number of national championships, and even one World Cup title to date. The English Women’s National Football League is also world famous, and even though women’s soccer – like so many other women’s sports – is only recently garnering more and more attention, its fan base is growing exponentially!
Unfortunately, the term “hooligan” may describe some of Great Britain’s football fan base that British commentators have coined for those football fans that will use the excitement of the game and the surge of adrenaline that every red-blooded fan will experience to further their own destructive behaviors and antics. Seeing the light of day in the 1960s, this kind of behavior has become a national nuisance and has even led to the death of many fans. Take for example the sad day in 1985 when a retaining wall in the Heysel Stadium collapsed during an England versus Italy game. Photographic evidence revealed that a group of English hooligans attacked a group of Italian fans, who were forced to seek refuge on an area supported by a weakened wall. When the wall collapsed, 39 Italian fans were killed. Sadly, the football fans did not learn from their actions, and in 1989, only four short years later, a football game in Hillsborough saw the death of 96 fans, when hooligans continued to enter an overcrowded stadium and simply pushed their way in. People we crushed to death by the arriving masses. Fortunately, a crack down on hooligans ensued, and with their teams being banned from competition for long periods of time, fans were careful to not let their emotions get the best of them. Successfully fighting against this sports outrage; British fans are now able to enjoy their games without resorting to violence – for the most part.
It is easy to see that football is indeed the national pastime for many Brits. While Brazilian fans appear to eat, sleep, and breathe the game, their British counterparts may have distanced themselves a little from the sport, but not much. Considering the adoration that rugby enjoys, it is not surprising that the English champion the idea of the pure football more than the perfected version it has become. Perhaps this also accounts for some of the violence seen in the stadiums across Britain for a period of time. Nevertheless, if you want to have a treat, go visit a football stadium the next time you travel to the United Kingdom. The atmosphere is electric, and it is hard not to get into the spirit of the game quickly. Similarly, who could forget the spontaneous outburst of fans singing “God Save The Queen” during the 2006 World Cup matches that featured England?
Tags: football association, football in england, history of soccer