Do you actually call football “American football” every time?

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mrfluffypants1504@reddit

Rarely refer to American football but on the rare occasion we do, its always American football.

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Welp. At least I know Im not the only one who doesn’t care

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Serious_Badger_4145@reddit

I mean we've got football (soccer) and rugby. Why would we worry about a sport followed in America? It's not mentioned any more than Australian football

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Frantastic79@reddit

I'm sorry, I have to ask: why do you have an American badger as your avatar?

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Serious_Badger_4145@reddit

Cause I wanted a mean looking one to counteract the reddit assigned seriousness and ours look majestic in every photo

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rybnickifull@reddit

I think about 3 people a year in the UK think about college american football.

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Which isn't necessarily to be dismissive of it, we just have absolutely no equivalent to USA's college sports, so we don't really get the culture around it. NFL at least we can understand in the context of the Premier League, even though theyre not all that simmilar in structure.

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Dimac99@reddit

American school sports are fucking weird. I don't get the college sport thing, but the obsession with the high school football team is mind boggling. Why is the whole town in the stands?

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abfgern_@reddit

Well my assumption is that it's the surrogate for the 'local team'. In Football the pyramid is made up of a multitude of teams inherently tied to their local town. But in NFL the teams are corporate franchises who could up and leave at any moment and move hundreds of miles away; and while entertaining, they seem very soulless and inaccessible. So they go and support the local team, which is the school/college

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Dimac99@reddit

American sports in general are weird, tbh, it's just that a town putting so much attention and pressure on teenage boys is the weirdest aspect. But the whole franchise thing? That's not normal, America!

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Haytham_Ken@reddit

Exactly this. I watch and play a lot of American sports. I just never understood the fact that college sport in the US can be bigger than the professional league.

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BlueLinnet@reddit

I don't think anybody outside the U.S. really cares about it.

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Voodoopulse@reddit

We don't really talk about it, it's just not that important

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Haytham_Ken@reddit

Tbf, they're very different sports. I'm a rugby and NFL fan and the hits in NFL are diabolical. Far less regulation around tackling, hence the need for pads lol

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Honestly, I don’t really care either but I just found it interesting to think about

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BreadfruitOk5332@reddit

Why would we talk about American College Football??

I think you’re vastly overestimating how much the average Brit thinks about your sport

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Haytham_Ken@reddit

Tbf, NFL is fairy big in the UK. But, yeah, college football is small. I've never met a British NFL fan who also watches college football.

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hoverside@reddit

You aren't talking to your mates about the big Idaho State vs State of Idaho showdown in the Potatolands Conference sectional wildcard game?

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Dimac99@reddit

I am now that you've reminded me!

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Haytham_Ken@reddit

Yes, what else would we call it? Football in the UK is what you call soccer. I either say "NF" or "American Football".

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MIZ417@reddit

London is stealing the Arizona State/kansas college football game later this year and these people seem so ungrateful.

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edyth_@reddit

My husband likes pretty much every sport in the world and he follows American football and also football (soccer) so we'd say either American football, NFL or college football because college football wouldn't really refer to anything other than American football.

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Thanks!!

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edyth_@reddit

I know people are saying nobody outside the US is interested in it but that's not my experience. I am in the middle of 2 particularly sport obsessed families though! My husband and an old neighbour of ours stay up all night to watch the Superbowl and there is also a UK NFL subreddit.

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terryjuicelawson@reddit

Do you really call it Gaelic Football, Australian Rules Football or Field Hockey for the forms of the sport you don't commonly play either? Come on dude, use your head.

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Krakshotz@reddit

“NFL” is sometimes used as a generic term

“Handegg” is more sarcastic

“Gridiron” is never used

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bowak@reddit

Tbf almost no one here would talk about college American football at all as school/uni sports isn't a thing watched by people here unless they're usually directly connected - parents, mates etc.

But yeah we definitely pretty much all always say American football when talking about American football as when we say football we're talking about football, not American football.

Hope that helps!

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Thanks!!!!

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Ecstatic_Effective42@reddit

Always. Or hand-egg if I'm being pedantic.

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Rich-Peak-3902@reddit

Trivia: The 'foot' in 'football' has nothing to do with kicking the ball, but comes from the fact that the game was played on foot by peasants as opposed to on horseback by nobility.

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Useless_or_inept@reddit

The best label is "handegg"

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EcstaticAdvance684@reddit

Why is the the elbow labelled as hand?

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Huxtopher@reddit

Same reason the ankle is labelled as a foot, it's the nearest joint. That's about the only logical conclusion I can muster

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EcstaticAdvance684@reddit

At least the foot and ankle are in the same proximity

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

This makes so much sense it’s not even funny

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Jayflux1@reddit

Most people I know say NFL when talking about it, and that’s just because they’re fans or watch the odd game. But apart from that no one talks about it.

Think for a second, how often Americans talk about Cricket, that’s the British with NFL.

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

So seeing as the only time I have ever thought about cricket was when I was playing the Google doodle, y’all never talk about it.

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Jayflux1@reddit

The Super Bowl is the only time in the year it’s likely to come up in conversation, and that’s because they’ve started to show that here now and more people are getting into it.

But you can forget about anything smaller than that, and you can forget about college football, no one knows what that is. It would be like Americans talking about Sunday League.

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Apricot_Oasis@reddit

Don’t know the difference between NFL or college American football. Would refer to it as a blanket “American football”, but don’t ever really refer to it.

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

College football is like for small adults and is played by schools. Regular is for the big kids who are like slightly good. The guy who’s marrying Taylor Swift (is that a thing in the UK?) plays for one of the big kid teams

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Surreywinter@reddit

I imagine its a little like watching the U21s teams from the Premier League

Nobody watches them either

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Ok so I know the premier league is soccer because I like lightly follow some teams but what in the heck is U21? You’re talking to a girl who paints.

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Surreywinter@reddit

"Under 21s" - essentially the youth team, combined with a few first team players coming back from injury

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Thanks!!

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OptionalQuality789@reddit

Youth football.

Typically played as “Under-Age”.

So U21’s = under 21 year old, u19 = under 19 year old etc all the way down to like under 7’s.

We don’t really do the whole college football thing. The vast majority of football players in the UK did not go to university on scholarships for sport etc.

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Ohhh!! That makes sense!

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Blazured@reddit

Over here, when people play football in uni or professionally, we call it "football".

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Intelligent_Mine_121@reddit

Yes, we call it either 'American Football' or 'the NFL'. I've honestly don't think I've ever heard someone talking about college level sports so it never really comes up, and I say this as someone who follows the NFL.

If British people are talking about college football it would almost always be in relation to the NFL so just saying 'in college' would be enough.

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ReflexArch@reddit

To be honest I don't know anyone who gives a flying f about american football so it almost never comes up. That said if it ever does come up it is certainly american football.

Few mates played it back at uni and even they, the ones actually playing it, called it american football.

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Hopeful-Climate-3848@reddit

How many times have you thought about the fa youth cup?

That's the same amount of consideration we give to US college sports.

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KoorbB@reddit

College American Football is only ever seen by us in the movies. You’d have to be a real hardcore fan to talk about it. American Football is American Football, I guess NFL as that’s more known.

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QuinlanResistance@reddit

Nobody here talks about “college football” , a few people do care about the NFL and it is getting more popular but it’s still American football (hand egg)

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PianoMiddle346@reddit

Correct

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Aaronw94@reddit

Rarely talk about it but I have to say American football or NFL to differentiate between our football.

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ActionBirbie@reddit

Well, the amount of times in a lifetime anybody would even talk about it could be counted on one hand, so....

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Melodicmat@reddit

We call it 'American football', but only about 0.02% of the population are talking about it lol

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Martipar@reddit

Yes, and Australian football is always Australian Rules Football.

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Surreywinter@reddit

Not really - because for almost all Brits, there's no distinction between NFL or college football so we wouldn't distinguish. Its just "American Football"

I'd go a step further and say we don't have the same interest in any "college" sports as Americas do. I guess universities in the UK, for example, do play sports but nobody other than mates & parents of the students would really be watching them

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NaaNaaRitRit@reddit

This is it. The only ‘College Sport’ the UK as a whole gives even the slightest shit about is the Boat Race. And even then, no one gives a fuck if they miss it.

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Opening_Succotash_95@reddit

Some of the universities have teams in non-league levels of the football pyramid in Scotland. No fans though really

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Affectionate-Owl9594@reddit

Yes, as it’s not football. I’ve also never heard anyone ever talk about American college football in my life.

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AnneKnightley@reddit

I call it american football obviously- we have to distinguish somehow. I’m assuming the NFL and college american football is the same thing? We don’t tend to treat university sports in the same way.

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PootMcGroot@reddit

Virtually no-one refers to American football at all - it's completely unwatched outside the US, outside of the Superbowl, for the halftime show. And even that has ratings lower than a random episode of Coronation Street.

More people in the UK watch Aussie Rules regularly than American Football.

American football is a nothing sport outside the US.

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spoo4brains@reddit

Plenty of people watch it here. I watched it for nearly 50 years, but stopped after all the US nonsense going on for the past couple of years.

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Love that for us. And inside the u.s there is like a concrete wall of football folk in the middle of the country. Down where I live the team is horrible and no one could care less

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bedevere1975@reddit

I remember when on a school trip to the NY we went round the Yankee stadium. The tour guide couldn’t comprehend how none of knew a think about baseball. A few of us were into NBA but baseball, not a chance. He also couldn’t comprehend how it wasn’t shown on TV!

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PipBin@reddit

Yes. We don’t talk about it that often. Football ⚽️ is football.

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gorroval@reddit

Football is played with your feet. American football, or more correctly handegg, is not. So yes, we would always make the difference clear.

As for "college football", do Americans actually care about what sports their local(?) universities are doing? I mean besides the people actually engaged in them, I suppose. I barely care about the Boat Race any more (though that's mostly because the filthy Tabs keep winning).

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TrappedUnderIceSpice@reddit

Yes, but it’s extremely rare to hear it mentioned anyway

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love_in_october@reddit

I don't talk about American football very much, but yes. It's two words, like ice hockey or beach volleyball.

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Mahoganychicken@reddit

I have never met anyone in this country who cares about 'college football'. If you say football, you mean football. If you say American football, you mean American football. It's that simple.

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skibbin@reddit

We also always say Ice Hockey

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TheBristolBulk@reddit

Yes. Because if you say ‘football’ then 99.9% of the people you are saying it to will think you mean soccer.

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oliviashrewtonbong@reddit

Even among the hardcore that like American football, college football is incredibly niche. It really has zero impact.

Tom Brady could walk down a high street here and 999/1000 people would not know who he is

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Opening_Succotash_95@reddit

Sometimes I'll call it NFL, it basically means the same thing to us. Only real hardcore fans ever talk about the college game, it's an extreme niche here.

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Unsoftened_Reality@reddit

American Football (or just NFL). Some of us also sort of understand the term "Super Bowl".

99% probably wouldn't even know what was meant by college football and would be unlikely to use the term.

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Derfel60@reddit

I never refer to it unless im talking to an American online, in which case ill call it NFL or silly boys rugby

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

I might have to start calling it that 😭

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TSC-99@reddit

It’s American football. Because it is. Normal football is football ⚽️.

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Evening-Tomatillo-47@reddit

Well yeah, because it's American football

Gaelic Football is Gaelic Football

Aussie rules Football is Aussie Rules Football

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Calm_Criticism9544@reddit

I never once said college american football or college football or egg ball football. Football is football, the weird rugby game you play with lots of padding is something else, ask the world!

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AussieManc@reddit

You really riled people up here mate

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Seaside83@reddit

I very rarely refer to hand-egg-ball, but when I do I call it American Football. If I called it football everyone would think I'm actually talking about football, when in reality I'd be mentioning the sport that Americans call football, that's played in America.

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Positive-Sound-4972@reddit

Its always American football and I don't think anyone ever talks about college sports

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JedAndWhite@reddit

I think Fin Taylor managed to communicate the British attitude to American Football

Fin Taylor American Football](https://youtu.be/3yb0ghSOHU8?si=1DKX-hbxPkvfjFa-)

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Dangerous_Bed2566@reddit

Yes we call it 'American Football' as it isn't football

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cocoa_pebblee@reddit (OP)

Ok then.

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TheOrthinologist@reddit

When we're referring to the NFL, we just call it the NFL. There's no equivalent initialism in the UK, so there's no risk of confusion.

I know the concept of 'college football' in the US, but I've never heard a Brit mention it in random conversation. Again, if it comes up, the context makes it clear.

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Les-tah-farian@reddit

Yes. I've never not heard it called American football.

But I'm not really into it as a sport so don't know what an American football fan over here would refer to it as

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cup-of-tea-76@reddit

NFL or simply American football

And in all honesty it’s grown on me over the years, I wouldn’t go out if my way to watch it but do find myself enjoying it when I rarely do

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platypuss1871@reddit

We call football "football" and American football we call "American football".

No one talks about college American football.

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ZealousidealPlate241@reddit

I call it handegg, which it is.

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PutTheKettleOff@reddit

Either American Football or maybe NFL.

I don't think I've ever referred to College Football, but would probably say something like you suggest.

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zephyrmox@reddit

Yes. It sounds weird because it's not what you are used to.

'Oftentimes' rather than 'often' is something similar in the opposite direction. Oftentimes sounds strange to me but imagine it does not to you.

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sunflower_greatsword@reddit

I think the key thing to remember is that most people in the UK won’t talk about NFL or college football. Especially the latter. NFL has its die-hards and a few games are played over here. People would say either NFL or American Football.

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EverybodySayin@reddit

When I mention it maybe about once a year, yes I call it American football.

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AndyLees2002@reddit

Everyone I know calls it “American Football”. Not really heard of it referred to as anything else.

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BeaumarchaisApu@reddit

I say “American Football” for any type of that sort of sport. But I probably say the phrase once every year or two so it’s not particularly notable.

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VolcanicBear@reddit

Yes, we do.

We generally wouldn't differentiate between your college football and your "normal" football, because most of us don't really care much about either. It's all just American Football. Using a one word descriptor is not a lot of effort.

The highlights with the violence are fun, but that's about it for me. Won't ever seek them out though.

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EcstaticAdvance684@reddit

No-one is talking about that here ever

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MuffDthrowaway@reddit

No we call football football we call American football American football. Not that we talk about it much

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TWOITC@reddit

No one in the UK cares about American college football.

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snowmanseeker@reddit

Must of us don't talk about it. In my experience, the people who do say usually say 'NFL'.

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tradegreek@reddit

Obviously people have the capacity to use context

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Samyewlski@reddit

Probably say NFL or American Football. Failing that, hand egg.

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