Random Jokes The Birth of Modern Soccer

Soccer, in one form or another has been around for thousands of years. There is evidence of an ancient Chinese Military playing a game resembling soccer as well as a field discovered in Japan where a similar game was once played. The ancient Greeks and Romans also had their own variations to the game. No one is really certain just where the game laid its roots, but one thing can be said for sure – the birth of modern soccer took place as a joint venture between England and Scotland.

Okay, so let me back up a little. Back when the game was first originated there, it still wasn’t the same game we all know and love today. It was much more violent, and that’s due to the fact of it being a war game. Reports have it that the first ‘modern’ game was even played using the severed head of a defeated prince of Denmark. Extreme, yes, but it wasn’t uncommon to celebrate a military victory in a manner such as this.

Though the thought isn’t all that pleasant, the game wasn’t only limited to the military and their rather brutal way of celebrating. The sport saw much more violence in its early days from the common people as well. In fact, villages would play against rival towns in a sort of ‘anything goes’ type game. Kicking, punching, biting – all allowed, as was eye gouging. As you could imagine, this would tend to get quite messy, especially with hundreds of people playing (which was common for the time).

Because the game was so popular, laws were actually passed in both England and Scotland to try and put an end to the widespread violence. Despite the efforts, the games went on, more popular than ever before.

Finally centuries later, Eton College (a famous English school) would establish a formal set of rules in 1815. These new soccer rules would slowly be taken on by many other schools in the nation until a standardized version, known as the Cambridge Rules would take over in 1848.

Still yet, things weren’t fully decided. Some colleges liked the more violent rules and continued to play with things like tripping and shin-kicking allowed. These tactics that were derived from a Rugby school weren’t allowed by the new Cambridge Rules.

This upset the players wishing to play the rugby version of the sport, so the two sides agreed upon a meeting to iron out one final set of rules. Once they found themselves together in a London tavern in October of 1863, the talks began and those on the Rugby school’s side of the fence walked out. Shortly after on December 8, 1863, Association Football (as the Britain’s coined it) officially split from Rugby Football and our modern game was born.

If you were ever wondering just where the name ‘soccer’ came from originally, let me tell you. Back in the late 1800s, students from Oxford University liked to add ‘er’ to the end of their slang created by shortening certain words. Rugger was a common way of saying ‘rugby football’ and ‘soccer’ became the new way of saying association football.