Random Rants On The Beautiful Game: Soccer by any name is still the same.

Soccer by any name is still the same.

By Chris Courtney
SoccerTimes

ROME (Saturday, April 21, 2007) -- More than a few American fans know that the best way to get a reaction from some European, and often American, soccer purists is to use the "s" word. No, not that one -- soccer.

It is most often a purist from England who, after hearing the word soccer, then makes it a point to tell you why "Americans are ruining the game." But to be fair, even some Americans try to browbeat their countrymen for calling a pitch a field or using the term (brace yourself) penalty kick instead of just saying penalty.

The real truth about such soccer snobbery is that it has nothing to do with passion for the game, but the purist's feeling that uninvited guests are crashing their party. The soccer snobs are bothered that the game is getting too popular and like jealous lovers, they don't want to share it with the undeserving.

Does the entire world really call it football, while we Americans are just trying to Americanize it by using the term soccer? While most of the world does translate it into something resembling the word football, there are many exceptions which are worth noting. The Italians call it calcio, which means kicking, while the Czechs call it kopaná (which also means kicking). Is anyone ready to tell these two countries they know nothing about the game?

In the Balkans, several terms are used which roughly translate into "fighting with the legs." This probably explains why they can be very physical opponents. The Malaysians call it bola sepak (ball kicking) .

The dirty little secret that few care to acknowledge is that the term soccer is not an American invention, but an English one. As most SoccerTimes readers know, the word soccer is a shortened version of game's official name; association football. The term was originated by students at Cambridge and Oxford universities in the 1880s and was commonly used in England until the early 1970s before football became de rigeur. Instead of being a bunch of clueless American cretins who know nothing about the game, it turns out we are just using a name the English themselves gave it.

The term soccer is also commonly used in Canada, Wales, Ireland, and South Africa,

It s not just the name of the game, but several other terms which draw scorn from some purists. Few terms get a soccer snob ready to confront an American fan quite like someone watching a match in an English pub and jumping up screaming for a penalty kick, or even worse, the dreaded term "PK." "It's called a penalty, you muppet!"

Well, the Germans call it an elfmeter (shot from the 11-meter mark), while the Italians call it calcio di rigore (penalty kick). I don't suppose those soccer snobs want to start telling people from these two countries (with seven World Cup titles between them) that they don't know the game.

According to one English fan (who wishes to remain anonymous), the visceral reaction to words like soccer and penalty kick stem from "an absurd fear of American influence on the game." Indeed, with more of their clubs being sold to foreign owners, English fans feel like they are losing control of something near and dear to them.

When one of the new American owners of Liverpool, George Gillet, proudly announced at a press briefing that his sons played soccer when they were young with one being a defenseman and the other a goaltender, the local press had a field day. But let's be fair folks. Did anyone really think that Gillet thought his sons were out there swinging a racket at the ball or some such nonsense?

Sometimes the criticism is well deserved, such as when Major League Soccer tried the tiebreaking shootout in the belief that Americans would not accept a draw as a result, never mind that ties occurred in the National Hockey League every week at that time. (Alas, the NHL went to a shootout to break all ties in 2005). The shootout drew much critique from Europe and South America (as well as the United States) since the 17 laws of the game are sacred to both the game's purists and regular fans. Luckily, MLS scrapped the idea after its fourth season.

But, lest Europe and South America forget, they have (through the International Basketball Feberation -- FIBA) changed the rules of our beloved game of basketball in the late 1950s by changing the free throw lane, court size, etc. Imagine if MLS changed the soccer penalty area into a weird looking trapezoid as has been done with the free-throw lane on an international basketball court. The howls of scorn would be endless.

However, when you give a game to the world, you need to accept that it is not entirely yours anymore. You can't give it only on your terms. Soccer (or football, or calico, etc) is England's child which left the house and has taken on a personality of its own. In this case, Mom would prefer if her child would take out that earring a wear a proper shirt.

As long as the game is played by the same rules, does it really matter what we call it? I think not. So, to all of the soccer purist out there, lighten up, enjoy, and be happy we are not using our hands (wink).

Chris Courtney is SoccerTimes European correspondent and lives in Rome.

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