'In the six' and football's other strange Americanisms (BBC article)

BBC Magazine ^ | 27th May 2013 | Tom Geoghegan

[the scotsman]

'British attempts to describe baseball provoke ridicule in the US, while American jargon in "soccer" causes amusement and bafflement among British fans. Why do people care so much?

If England and America truly are two nations divided by a common language then sporting talk is where the chasm is at its widest.

The different vocabulary used by fans in the US and UK - not just England - when discussing the same sports seems as entrenched as ever.'

[Maven]

Baseball should be illegal full stop.

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come." - Field of Dreams

“Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona.” - George F. Will

[mikrofon]

Think: “In the paint”...

If they colored the 6-yd box blue, painted the Penalty Area red [zone] and layed down gratuitous yard-lines across the field (or “pitch” — there’s another one), local sports announcers would be able to call the game (-er, “match” ;)

[thesharkboy]

Oh yeah—thanks for the education on the term “Mockney.” I guess you really do learn something new every day. I’d never heard of it.

[the scotsman]

‘It wasnt until I stopped drinking, that I realised how boring this game is..’

—Homer Simpson

[GeronL]

So American soccer wierdo’s turned the field into the Wii version?

[the scotsman]

I admire the skills of the individual players, as I do any sport, and I respect the right of anyone to love, but I find baseball incredibly dull. Sorry. I have tried, as a TV viewer and an actual fan in the stadium (twice). God knows I have tried.

NFL, ice hockey, basketball, CFL.....like or love (nfl, cfl)or at worst can watch all those, so I actually like most American/Canadian sports. Bar the one.

[thesharkboy]

I respect the fact that you made the effort to appreciate the game. That's more than can be said for a lot of those who say "soccer is boring" without even so much as making an effort to understand it.

By the way, baseball has a long history in the United States, and is indeed thought to have derived from traditional games played in England. The evolution of the game is quite complex, and is possibly most directly evolved from a game called "town-ball," which was played in New England around the time of the American Revolution.

[mikrofon]

LOL, no not yet, but you’re always hearing that if they’d just tweak the offsides rule, or use a standard game clock, or allow free player substitutions etc. that Americans will flock to the sport ... Not gonna happen, besides there being many more athletic options available here.

On my part, I enjoy many varieties of “football” as played across the world, to one degree or another — soccer, Rugby (Union, League, 7’s), Gaelic (Hurling on the cheap), NFL (”gridiron” is what we’re doing later ;), AFL*, NCAAF. Each has its own flavor, terminology & skill sets to appreciate.

[1rudeboy]

I’ve always been mildly disturbed about how it appears to be “American” to tinker with the rules of a sport in order to make it easier to score. On the other hand, I understand it’s business, and stadiums need to be filled.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Zero-Zero the most commonly used term in soccer

That's nil-nil, actually.

As for me, I like games where scoring means something.

[Colonel_Flagg]

I don’t understand why so many Freepers who want to bash Mexico don’t embrace the opportunity to beat them at their own game.

[RegulatorCountry]

For the same reason Canadian Curling or Jamaican Cricket is met with a quizzical look or a shrug of indifference, it’s neither here nor there.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Maybe not to you. But it sure is to them. And that’s what makes it great.

[RegulatorCountry]

Their choice of a national pastime has no bearing upon me, nor should it.

Do you enjoy burning ants with a magnifying glass too, lol?

[Colonel_Flagg]

I think you’re missing the point a bit. Right, we know it has no bearing on you, but it sure does on them.

Burning ants with a magnifying glass was kinda fun but I much preferred lighting woodticks on fire. They pop. :)

I appreciate just about all sports (though I must admit that 500 miles of left turns in NASCAR leaves me scratching my head sometimes and I refuse to consider any X-games activity as a sport).

[RegulatorCountry]

Their choice of national pastime has no bearing upon me, they’re entitled just as every people is entitled. Just call me culturally normative. I extend that courtesy to my own country. Especially to my own country. Do people even tailgate at futbol matches? Probably not, they likely arrived on public transport.

[1rudeboy]

Your last comment doesn’t jibe very well with your #66.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Do people even tailgate at futbol matches?

They sure did when the NASL had a team in Minnesota. Whoof.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Doubleday is credited with inventing baseball, a game like rounders. Turns out what he “invented” was rounders.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Doubleday is credited with inventing baseball, a game like rounders

Not by any serious historian. Alexander Cartwright is given credit for first codifying the rules of baseball.