O/T:- Creeping Americanisation of British English usage.

[lunaspie]

See also 'gotten'.

Please try not to emulate those misbegotten sonsofbitches who don't realize the word came over with the Puritans.
Leave them to their ill-gotten gains.
And don't even get me started on 'soccer.'

[upthemaggies]

And don't even get me started on 'soccer.'

I'd guess fans older than 55ish may not necessarily associate that word with America so much. Oxford University coined it in the 1880s and it was a word that was being used here in the 1960s and early 70s before the American Soccer boom circa 1977, the two main ITV regional Sunday afternoon highlights shows that began with 1965/66 season were christened "World Of Soccer" (ABC Midlands and North) and "Star Soccer" (ATV London, which became the Midlands show three seasons later).

FKS, the major Football cards/stickers brand before Panini took hold, always named their collections "Soccer Stars 1970/71" etc.

I don't think there was any notable acknowledgement of American Soccer over here until their bi-centennial tournament in 1976 in which England took part along with Brazil and Italy. The USA couldn't put out a team that could compete at the time and so they had a "Team America" side which included ageing foreign stars - Bobby Moore and Pele among them - who were playing in the US league. Jasper Carrott then did a peak time ITV documentary on the US soccer boom in 1979 which is on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98fxgdzftGM