Sorry, but what exactly does that have to do with football? Is this Joe trying to imply that America’s standing in the world is related to the sport? And as for the “why soccer is popular in the third world” – firstly, does that mean that in the eyes of this Joe, almost every other country on the planet is the “third world”? Because last time I checked, every European nation had “soccer” as its most popular sport, so I really don’t get the inference here. And, secondly, there is a very good reason why it is so popular in the third world – many third world countries are relatively impoverished. To play American football, you need to shell out, what, $300 on basic kit, learn all the rules, and find enough players to get a good game in? Even if you’re only talking two-hand touch, there are so many more rules in American football that have to be taken into account in even the most bare-bones backyard version of the sport. For “soccer”? Give them a ball, create a goal with two piles of anything – spare shirts, rocks, anything – and tell them “kick the ball between the two piles”. Simple. Its popularity comes from its simplicity, and the lack of equipment needed for “full scale” games compared to its American counterpart.

Basically, that last sentence seemed really, really bizarre, and doesn’t seem to have much relevance to anything :/

I may be wrong about this, but I think it’s called “football” because it’s played on foot (as opposed to on horseback). Has nothing to do with kicking the ball.

Yes, I realize that a guy got paralyzed. That is indeed sad and tragic. However, players know when they take the field that they are putting themselves at risk for an injury. Dennis Byrd and Mike Utley were paralyzed while blocking opponents. Others have had careers ended when their knees were blown out during a tackle. It is a risk that is inherent to the game. Steps have been taken to diminish this risk through the use of better equipment, techniques and conditioning, but it can never be completely eliminated.