posted on Nov, 19 2010 @ 03:21 PM
They carried the name "football" over from Europe. The early predecessors to American football (which was essentially a form of rugby) was called
"football" not because of kicking the ball, but because the other primary sport played in Europe at that time was polo, played on horseback whereas
soccer, rugby, etc was played on foot.
Originally, the ball was snapped by the center's foot, not his hands. Plus you could only advance the ball by running, not by passing. This lead to
the flying wedge, which caused a ton of serious injuries. The forward pass was made legal in an effort to reduce these injuries by opening up the
scrum. Formations like the flying wedge, as well as any other formation which amounted to the entire offense moving as a linked unit, mowing down
defenders as the ball was advanced behind the formation, were outlawed.
The name of the game may not matchup with the reality of modern football... but then again, the NBA doesn't throw the ball into a peach basket
anymore and yet they still call it "basketball."
To the OP, being able to throw a ball well among your friends really doesn't translate to qualifications in organized football. The QB position is
as much brains and being able to read the field and defenses as it is physical talent, in fact physical talent is probably the least important quality
for the position. There have been a lot of guys who can sling it a ridiculous distance down the field but who have fallen flat on their face because
they didn't have the stuff between their ears needed to play the game. I realize the professional level is a poor point of comparison to this
conversation, but one of the greatest examples is between Peyton Manning & Ryan Leaf. From a physical standpoint, Ryan Leaf was far more physically
gifted than Peyton Manning. Yet he utterly failed thanks to having nothing close to a clue about how to actually be a successfull QB. Manning, on
the other hand, played with his brain frist and became a legend.