# Ode to Football



## Nellie (Jan 31, 2016)

A world popular game
sporting different names,
the Brits call it soccer
'cause it came from "rugger"
or rugby football,
We Americans fall
for good ole gridiron
football, muscles required,
causing multiple cramps
for our Super Bowl champs.


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## Sonata (Jan 31, 2016)

That is great Nellie and I really enjoyed it.


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## ned (Feb 1, 2016)

neat poem Nellie - with a breezy, jaunty style.

but rather confused - this is not one game with several names, but several games with the same root name. (found poetry!)

'the Brits call it soccer' - every British football fan will be shocked by this presumption - honestly!

the Americans call it soccer - we call it football, the rest of the world calls it football. 
(dyed-in-the-wool Scottish rugby fans might be an exception)
the totally different American gridiron game is known to the rest of the world as 'American Football'. - That's the distinction.

in it's infancy, football was (and still is) defined as Association Football, to distinguish it from Rugby Football.
soccer, perhaps, being a contraction of association.

gridiron - why do they wear those helmets?
Ned


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## Nellie (Feb 1, 2016)

ned said:


> neat poem Nellie - with a breezy, jaunty style.



Thanks for a few kind words.



			
				ned said:
			
		

> but rather confused - this is not one game with several names, but several games with the same root name. (found poetry!)



That is what I am saying..... if you read the 2nd and 4th lines. I did read up on the sport before I dared writing about it.



			
				ned said:
			
		

> the Brits call it soccer' - every British football fan will be shocked by this presumption - honestly!
> 
> the Americans call it soccer - we call it football, the rest of the world calls it football.
> (dyed-in-the-wool Scottish rugby fans might be an exception)
> the totally different American gridiron game is known to the rest of the world as 'American Football'. - That's the distinction.




Okay, we Americans call it soccer, on the other side of the ocean it's called 'Football'.  'American Football' is known to Americans as 'Football'.
I celebrating the idea of a team sport with the same name and huge rewards. Sorry I offended anyone.



			
				ned said:
			
		

> in it's infancy, football was (and still is) defined as Association Football, to distinguish it from Rugby Football.
> soccer, perhaps, being a contraction of association.



that is what I read about the sport, soccer being a contraction.



			
				ned said:
			
		

> gridiron - why do they wear those helmets?



They wear those helmets to help prevent brain damage with all the knocking and butting of heads that goes into the American Football game! But they're finding out those brains are still damaged in the end.


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## ned (Feb 1, 2016)

A world popular game
sporting different names. 

on the other side of the ocean it's called 'Football' - no, it's called 'football' in the rest of the world.

if none of the American footballers wore helmets - then there would be no head-butting, surely.
they only butt each other because the helmets allow it, without injury.
ditch the helmets, problem solved!

unless, of course, there is a huge helmet-making industry, that has to pay the franchises for using their 
badges and logos - and that is much more important then having a sane game.


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## Nellie (Feb 1, 2016)

ned said:


> if none of the American footballers wore helmets - then there would be no head-butting, surely.
> they only butt each other because the helmets allow it, without injury.


 
Really? You think there is NO head injury even with helmets?



			
				ned said:
			
		

> ditch the helmets, problem solved!







			
				ned said:
			
		

> unless, of course, there is a huge helmet-making industry, that has to pay the franchises for using their
> badges and logos - and that is much more important then having a sane game.



That IS the name of the game in America! Franchises for helmets, stadiums, uniforms, fans clubs, hats, logos, badges, SUPER BOWL GAMES!!! American FOOTBALL!! SUPER BOWL. This. WeekEnd. In. San Fransisco.


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## Firemajic (Feb 1, 2016)

Nellie, I am not a fan of football.. lol... BUT... I AM a fan of your clever poetry... thank you... heeey, I might even watch the game this year, after reading your poem... maybe...


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## Nellie (Feb 1, 2016)

Firemajic said:


> Nellie, I am not a fan of football.. lol... BUT... I AM a fan of your clever poetry... thank you... heeey, I might even watch the game this year, after reading your poem... maybe...




I wasn't either a football fan......... until..... I moved back to Denver! Now you know why! This place has gone crazy!!!!!!!!!!


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## Sonata (Feb 3, 2016)

Rugger?  Never heard of that.  It was always Association Football until around 1830 a student of the Rugby private school picked up the ball one day and ran with it.  Hence it was called Rugby and the rules changed from Association Football.

There was then a split into Rugby Union [15 players] which was amateur only, and Rugby League [13 players] due to the latter getting paid.  Slightly different rules as well.  I prefer Union.

Oh, and then there is Australian Rules football which to me seems to be a cross between regular football and rugby but do not ask me why.

Personally I prefer cricket.

But I still enjoyed your poem!

[Thinks - maybe I should write a poem about cricked?]


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## Nellie (Feb 3, 2016)

Sonata said:


> Personally I prefer cricket.
> 
> But I still enjoyed your poem!
> 
> [Thinks - maybe I should write a poem about cricked?]



Thanks for your comments. And yes, if you prefer cricket, then please educate the rest of the world on your sport thru poetry. I would love to hear about it.


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## Mesafalcon (Feb 3, 2016)

.... why did you write a poem about football? Just curious. 

It bores me to death... (not your poem - football)


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## Nellie (Feb 4, 2016)

Mesafalcon said:


> .... why did you write a poem about football? Just curious.
> 
> It bores me to death... (not your poem - football)



Sorry you're so bored. To tell you the truth, I used to be SO bored with football, too. But I moved back to Denver, Colorado, and we have a team that is playing in the *SUPER BOWL* this weekend!! In America, that is *THE GAME OF THE YEAR!!*  And my brother lives in San Francisco, the city where the game is being played. Makes it more exciting for me.

That is why I wrote about football.


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## Mesafalcon (Feb 4, 2016)

Nellie said:


> Sorry you're so bored. To tell you the truth, I used to be SO bored with football, too. But I moved back to Denver, Colorado, and we have a team that is playing in the *SUPER BOWL* this weekend!! In America, that is *THE GAME OF THE YEAR!!*  And my brother lives in San Francisco, the city where the game is being played. Makes it more exciting for me.
> 
> That is why I wrote about football.



I'm not bored in a general sense, it's just that watching certain sports bores me. 

I mean, sports and poems go together so poorly for me. It's like toothpaste and orange juice.

So... I was just wondering what made you connect the two.


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## DarkSunshine (Feb 8, 2016)

Nellie said:


> the Brits call it soccer
> 'cause it came from "rugger"
> or rugby football,



That was the only part which felt kind of awkward to the tongue, but I enjoyed the poem nonetheless! Loved the comparison between the Brit's and American's way of calling football.


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## Nellie (Feb 9, 2016)

Mesafalcon said:


> I mean, sports and poems go together so poorly for me. It's like toothpaste and orange juice.
> 
> So... I was just wondering what made you connect the two.



IMO, poetry widens our vision of the world and other's POV, so one can write about anything. I was only writing about the Football I know... American Football. BTW, there have been poems written about sports, just widen your horizon a bit!


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## Firemajic (Feb 9, 2016)

astroannie has some faaabulous poetry about Baseball [ which I had never liked, until I read her poetry].. now, every time I see a baseball game, I think about her beautiful poetry...


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