The playoffs are over and the matchup is set: The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will face off on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara for the Super Bowl.
Millions of people will tune in to watch this unique and beloved American sport for the biggest game of the year. But does it surprise you that the origins of both the word and the framework for the modern game stem from medieval England?
Today, the word "football" is used to refer to different games: American football, the game played at the Super Bowl, where a foot is rarely used to direct the ball. And elsewhere in the world, football refers to what Americans call "soccer."
The origins of the word "football" is probably pretty obvious: It combines the words "foot" and "ball." Historical evidence indicates it was used to refer to any game that was played standing (instead of on horseback) or with a ball (usually an inflated animal bladder or made from woven reed) to be kicked, according to the FIFA Museum.
Regardless of the type of football game you are referring to today, experts say they have their origins in the simple and unregulated versions played in medieval Britain, according to Doug Harper, who created the Online Etymology Dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary says the earliest known use of the noun football is in the Middle English period, around 1150—1500. But the earliest written evidence stems from 1409, when it was written as "foteballe."
Scott Stempson, a history lecturer at the University of Nebraska, says the reference to "football" as a game or sport pops up in the 14th century in a royal proclamation from King Edward.
In it, Edward writes of how dangerous the game has become and how it has distracted young men in the middle of wartime, Stempson explains. He's found nearly two dozen other royal proclamations over the following 300 years, essentially warning of the game's violence.
And it was very violent.
These "unregulated" games involved teams that could number in the dozens – even more – on each side and the general goal was to kick the ball into a goal. On the way, though, the players would push and shove with abandon.
Stempson says there are historical records detailing injuries and damage to shops along the streets where these games were played. In the worst cases, people were even killed, as violent players would punch, tackle and even stab a fellow player.
The evolution of the game
Most of the time, these medieval street games, played in villages, had no set rules or real organization and looked more like what Americans know as soccer.
The ball itself was usually an inflated animal bladder, like a cow bladder, explains Louis Moore, a professor at Michigan State University, who teaches sports history.
The game eventually made its way to New England through English settlers, Moore explains. But that version was pretty unrecognizable from what we know as the game today.
It wasn't until the Football Association and the Rugby Football Union were founded in 1863 and 1871, respectively, in England that rules were finally developed for that country's versions of the games, finally formalizing a distinction between the two. Football (or what Americans call soccer) involves kicking a round ball, and rugby involves players handling an oval ball.
Here's some extra etymology for you: "Soccer is derived from the word "association." It comes later on in the late 1800s, when that becomes part of our lexicon here in America. But still, there in England, they would call it football because you're playing with your feet," Moore explains.
It's around that time that some version of American football was beginning to be played at colleges and universities in the U.S. – with each school having its own take on the game, Moore says.
"You would play this very rough and tumble game where you're kicking and punching. It could be 25 on 25, 30 on 30 – very rough," Moore says.
In 1869, the very first intercollegiate football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton. But even that game looked more like soccer to our modern eyes, Moore says.
Over the next seven years, the game would go through a major transformation led by elite East Coast colleges, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
On Nov. 23, 1876, representatives from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia met in Springfield, Massachusetts to create the first rules for American football at what is now called the Massasoit Convention.
As for why the word "football" is still used to refer to the American game, even though a foot is rarely used, Moore says it likely stuck because the creators believed they were still playing football even after they tweaked the game and its rules. "So, there was no need or desire to change the name," he says.
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