Because there is another sport called football. In American football there is physical contact, it is a rougher game, and both hands and feet are used to try to score. The objective is similar, each team has an end zone they have to protect from the other team reaching it with the ball. There is NO goal tender but the end zone is protected by the defensive linemen who will try to stop the other team from running into their zone by using brute force. In soccer you pretty much have the same team playing the entire game, offense and defense. In American Football you have an offensive team and a defensive team. It is a bit more complicated than soccer. BUT nonetheless both are just as nerve-wrecking to watch. At least for sports enthusiasts it is...

Originally Posted by soloads

Because there is another sport called football. In American football there is physical contact, it is a rougher game, and both hands and feet are used to try to score. The objective is similar, each team has an end zone they have to protect from the other team reaching it with the ball. There is NO goal tender but the end zone is protected by the defensive linemen who will try to stop the other team from running into their zone by using brute force. In soccer you pretty much have the same team playing the entire game, offense and defense. In American Football you have an offensive team and a defensive team. It is a bit more complicated than soccer. BUT nonetheless both are just as nerve-wrecking to watch. At least for sports enthusiasts it is...

Ah - well explained. I've also been wondering !

american football is great to watch and play! soccer is definitely a more global sport and likely always will be ... but american football is one of the leading sports right now in the U.S. and it really isn't close

Soccer is a nickname for Football. It comes from the Football association. The nickname for rugby union is rugger.
However the terms rugby union and Football are used in all official meetings. The Olympics and FIFA aswella s the FA use the term Football.

Football is just in America a great sport but soccer is world wide.