1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Azzuri (edit: and soccer, too)

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by writing irish, Oct 21, 2007.

  1. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    I was just contemplating my avatar, the good ol' "Irish" Red Sox hat (there's a shamrock on the back). It occurred to me that the green-white-red color scheme also "represents" for Boston's large Italian (and for that matter, Portuguese) populations.

    Then it occurred to me that Italian national teams wear blue, despite the flag's being green-white-red. So why blue? I know Italy unified fairly late, so I'm guessing that the blue tradition might have something to do with a pre-unification tradition. So who out there knows? Why are Italian teams the "Azzuri?"
     
  2. Clever username

    Clever username Active Member

    Re: Azzuri

    Why do we call soccer soccer instead of the name that it actually makes sense to call it?
     
  3. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    Re: Azzuri

    That, too.
     
  4. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    Re: Azzuri

    Good question. I've yet to hear a worthwhile answer.
     
  5. MrWrite

    MrWrite Member

    hi, i'm wikipedia, have we met? ;D

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azzuri#Notes
     
  6. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

     
  7. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    Ok, blue's the color of the House of Savoy. I guess that explains "Stompin' at the Savoy," as well.
     
  8. Big Buckin' agate_monkey

    Big Buckin' agate_monkey Active Member

    And what's the deal with airline food?

    Waiting for someone to blame soccer for something in 3 .... 2 ....
     
  9. WazzuGrad00

    WazzuGrad00 Guest

    The term was invented in the UK around the time the game was catching on in the US. Much like our use of the word "fall" instead of "autumn," it's a term that was originally used in the UK, but fell out of favor there, leading some to believe it's a sloppy Americanism, when it's really not.

    Football was a fairly generic term at the time soccer found its footing (so to speak) in the United States. Soccer is derived from "Association Football" which is the most precise name for what much of the world calls football. At the time the term "soccer" began being used, the term "football" also included rugby, Gaelic football, Australian football and American/Canadian football.
     
  10. writing irish

    writing irish Active Member

    Thanks, Claude Bailey. Gunners rule ok! :D
     
  11. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    Gunners are a bunch of wankers! GO REDS!
     
  12. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    That will work.

    FWIW, I also strongly prefer "Autumn" over "Fall." :D
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page