>>>>It's called soccer here because we already had a football.
>>>
>>>But surely YOU should have thought of another name for YOUR game, as football (or "footie" as we say) has been played in England since Roman times and in China since the Wall was built. Surely the first settlers kicked a ball about (esp. as this was prior to the invention of Rugby), or did one of them say "I have an idea! Now we're in the New World, let's drop that game where one kicketh the ball; let's play a game where we pick it up and fight with each other - and call it football. By the way, what WAS that game we were playing, where one kicketh the ball?"
>>
>>Actually what happened was, someone said, "You know this damn game has been around since Ancient Rome and since the Great Wall of China was built. What say we bring it into the 20th Century?" Being a progressive sort of culture, all agreed, and American Football was born.
>
>So back in the days of the Pilgrim Fathers they were talking about bringing the game into the 20th century? And being progressive they decided to subtely change the game from one of skill, and no contact, to one where two sets of men attack each other with such violence that they need to wear armour?
>
>There mustn't have been enough indians to fight! :-)

Well, American football doesn't really date from the pilgrim fathers. It really dates more from the early 1900's. The pilgrim fathers, being just staid old British non-progressives, left the game the way it was. It wasn't until the early 1900's that people really started to get tired of the same old 'kick the ball, run around a bit, fall down and roll around holding your head or privates for 10 minutes, make a miraculous recovery, jump back up and start all over again'.