CJ Stone
CJ Stone
Answered Feb 16, 2016
Originally in Europe, there was Rugby (US football) and Football (US soccer). Rugby was loosely known as football but usually people would call it Rugby to make a distinction between it and what was chiefly known as Football (what you might call soccer).

As evidence of this, The entire world pretty much now calls the two sports Rugby and Football.

“The sports of American and Canadian football both developed in the mid-19th Century, evolving from the British game of rugby.” – Source BBC

It was an American thing to stop calling it Rugby, wear extra padding and solely call it Football.

Granted, they’re both football but Rugby was always the “barely football” game since the ball is rarely kicked, while what you call “soccer” is chiefly known as football.

From a strictly pragmatic view, Rugby never should have been labeled football in any way as it’s more logical to call it handball or Rugby. Americans sort of prodded this illogical title by chiefly calling a game that is basically handball, football… begging for controversy. Which, to this day the Superbowl seems to thrive on controversy to get attention. Whether it be a Janet Jackson’s nip-slip or Beyonce’s racialist spectacle or excessive Nationalist fervor… the NFL seems to rely on controversy and using the name football plays into that.