I could answer this one myself and say that we’re never going to know. It was probably some kid in deepest, darkest Africa. It’s possibly been with us as long as we’ve played all kinds of games, well before the notion of playing with a possum (foot) ball was in anyway articulated or expressed.
However, looking through Wikipedia, one might get the impression that no-one has a clue about where the idea came from.
It doesn’t even really make clear whether the idea of the goal predates the codification of sport, even though common sense would seem to suggest that it only entered the English lexicon after the codification of Association Rules Football.
Usually folk history is well outside of the sphere of critical analysis, as though the answer were too easy (or too hard) to be worth thinking about. I don’t know.
But what was it about the concept of a ghoal (and has pretty much stayed largely intact since the 1860s/70s) which was said to be so universal that it was the most self-evident way of deciding a ‘football’ match?
For example, cricket in the first codified rules of 1728 defines (or at least inferences) the notion of winning a match through the scoring of runs.
In one sense, this is a kind of goal, but it has nothing to do with a special geographical space where different rules apply, unless you count the boundary ‘rope’ as a specific geographical space.
But automatic runs for a boundary were certainly not an eighteenth century innovation.
Most other sports do use the term goal: a football goal (times six as there are six major football codes), Basketball goal, Netball goal, (Ice, Roller) hockey goal, and so on.
I think the greater issue here though is whether these many sports tap into the one concept of a goal (in an anthropological way) or are there as many articulations of a goal as there are in the football codes which gave rise to the terminology?
Phutbol
Guest
Mexican game called 'Tlachi' or similar been played since 1000BC had a horizontal ring of stone that players would try to knock a natural rubber ball thru using their hips. Saw a stage show version of it on a tour in Mexico a couple years ago. looked like goal to me. Apparently, in extreme cases the losing team could be sacrificed to so in terms of acheiving a 'goal' (not to get dead!) that might also apply...
Koala Bear
Guest
so did Graham Langlands ... ~~~~~~~~ KB
Michael C
Guest
BigAl - people in white boots were bullamakankas then and still are.........irrespective of code!!!
Koala Bear
Guest
Redb, another party trick Motlop does when they move him back in defence ... This guy is my kind of footballer..... :lol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnnN4HVhUFc&feature=related ~~~~~~~ KB
BigAl
Guest
. . . er KB ! - Sam Newman actually played in white boots way back in the 1970's
Redb
Roar Guru
KB, yeah right. I dont have access to youtube, saw the Motlop footage on FoxSports News, several times actually. :-) Redb
Koala Bear
Guest
MC, If you watch carefully it's the boots ... Ronaldinho exchanges his black boots for white boots .... And Ronaldo exchanges his white boots for black boots ... It has nothing to do with the party tricks..... just trying to find out what colour boots work best http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeCOMwGIu1Y&NR=1 Rumour has it that Paul Roos has distributed all the Swan players with white boots... Funny how Grooky players want to be more like Football players every time you view a bit of vision on U-tube.... :lol: It's pure goal.... ~~~~~~~~~ KB
Redb
Roar Guru
Loved the Motlop footage. The unflappable Paul Roos in a pre game summary re Motlop: "Asked if Motlop would be dangerous anywhere on the SCG tomorrow when Sydney takes on the Power, coach Paul Roos said: "Even outside the ground, he could be getting a cup of coffee and a hotdog and still kick one. I wouldn't want to be standing him. :-) Based on Port's three-point win against Richmond last week, most would have expected Warren Tredrea to be the forward on the Swans' minds. But Motlop was the primary focus as players tried to mimic his party tricks. "I just had six blokes trying to do it before," Roos added. "It's certainly one of those 'don't try this at home' things. I think we've done three hamstrings, dislocated a kneecap trying it, and somebody hit their leg on the fence trying that kick from the carpark. "I have seen it, it is bloody impressive. Our blokes can't do it." Redb
Michael C
Guest
KB - Ah, I was wondering where you were, I was about to send out a search party, but, figured you'd spent all morning inflating the waterwings so you could paddle your way from the bedroom to the computer room.....how're your floods going?? btw - I took a lead from Pippinu and scrolled rapidly thru the first 1:45 of it. I concur - our time is precious. There after.....what's the big deal? He did the one trick a couple of times with a round ball!!!! (oh, and balanced a round ball on his head.......excellent.............release the hounds!!! actually, half seriously though. The fellow you put forward is rated up there amongst the most highly skilled in the world. Daniel Motlop is but a good ordinary player of this little game at the rrrr's end of the world in a pissant town!!! I'll take it that as you felt obliged to attempt to 'one up' the Motlop video that that can be taken as another backhanded compliment. At this point, I'm giving it to D.Motlop on points. And, that it sits quite easily in the same domain as that NRL superbowl ad with the party tricks performed there (although, I'd be more impressed with their 'catching' were they to remove their sticky gloves!!!).
Pippinu
Roar Guru
After a minute and 45 seconds I had to turn it off - he spent the first minute and 20 seconds putting on boots!! My time is precious!!
Koala Bear
Guest
MC, I had to laugh ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3evplsg4Xig&NR=1 when Daniel Motlop can do this put up the U-tube so all of us Football folk can drool over it ... :lol: ~~~~~~~~~ KB
Redb
Roar Guru
Pip, On SEN this morning a few callers who were at the game beleived the crowd noise was so loud he didn't hear the siren. I think it is audible on TV. From the trajectory of the kick it looked like an attempted banana which if approached in a straight line would be tough when you practice so often by heading left or right in your approach to get the angle across the body. Redb
Michael C
Guest
Sorry Tom - I also commented re Jimbo but forgot to make that clear - as he was having a go at 'points for missing' again. as per a couple of the other folk - I'm also struggling with the gist of the article. To see more of what Motlop had.......but in games, we should hunt down some Cyril Rioli, Eddie Betts and Alan Didak clips. Hmm, and Russell Robertson for a magical miss!!!! Redb - re the other element, Paddie Ryder is creating a nice little catalogue of speccies, and Lovett-Murray, both speccies and 'hits'......
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Redb good point about the camera angle - and yes, you're right, we often miss seeing that aspect during live coverages (makes a big difference seeing the ball split the sticks from the impossible angle). Pool ol' Johno - twice in the space of about a dozen games he has missed the opportunity to make a hero of himself after the siren - and both eminently kickable too. With the other night, I get the feeling he continued with his kick once he heard the siren - I would have expected an experienced player like him to have stopped and started his approach again. Do you think he heard it early enough to have stopped?
Redb
Roar Guru
Pip, Good to see the TV coverage get their cameras in the right position to capture the degree of difficulty in those tight angle goal shots. It's not apparent in all games at different grounds, but certainly at Etihad. Poor ol' Brad Johnson, so close, didn't miss by much. Do you think he should have been allowed to play on as he first tried but the umpire stopped him? Maybe the umpire was trying to do him a favour as the siren was imminent but not being able to improve the angle meant a tight shot at goal under enormous pressure. Redb
Pippinu
Roar Guru
I love that Motlop clip. I should stress, and a Port fan says as much in the comments, there's a world of difference between being able to do those tricks mucking around on your own, and tricking up a kick in a real game with opponents on your hammer. But for the benefit of those who have never touched a Sherrin, take it from me, while some of us amateurs can copy the odd trick very occasionally, to do that full array with a high hit rate is very, very impressive.
Redb
Roar Guru
"Just trying to respond to the gist of the article - although I’m not really sure what it is?" Agree with you on that. Redb
Tom
Guest
Have seen that Motlop video. Great stuff. Would love to see more of that. Not really sure what point you're trying to make in your last post, Michael. I'm not suggesting precision is totally absent from AFL. I'm saying its less of a feature of scoring than in soccer.
jimbo
Guest
I'm not necessarily saying its a good thing or better redb. The rarity of goals in football can also be a major source of frustration. Just trying to respond to the gist of the article - although I'm not really sure what it is?
Michael C
Guest
Jimbo - making something really, really hard to come by - i.e. a goal in soccer - - just raises the question of the value of a goal by other means as well as the fluke factor in many cases. And if that's how you want games decided, or the lack thereof via drawn matches. That's fine. Again. It's NOT the only way. Thankfully. It'd be silly if we all played only by the rules and concepts of soccer. You obvously don't like the concept of 'behinds', or a 'point for missing' as you put it. Perhaps think of it more a 1/6th of a goal for missing. It's a bit like a shrapnel attack on the opposition fortress. You didn't capture the flag, but, you captured the Squires mule!! At any rate - variations of game play where the goal is missed also exist elsewhere. Most notably the 'rouge' concept of the Eton Field Game. The Eton Field game is interesting as the favour of the old Etonians helped establish soccer as the primary alternative to Rugby. The Eton field game provides 3 points for a goal, 5 for a Rouge (when the attackers shot deflects off a defender, goes past the goaline (but not through the goal) and is 'touched down' by an attacker, or, 1 point is availabe as an option to the attackers if a defender touches it down. This is interesting. IN essence, the ROuge is the primary scoring mode available, more so than a goal. And, there's a potential 'own touch down' rule as well. And these all come about when a shot on goal misses!!! Soccer is 'simple'. Doesn't mean it's right or wrong. Allowing anything and everything that dribbles into the goal is very undiscriminating - conceptually. Making it nigh on impossible and therefore making it hugely significant has it's own raft of issues. It seems that some don't wish to admit a problem (fair enough), and if some DO (admit a problem), the dilemma is that most the 'options' are too similar to other sports - - - so, we get left with low scoring, clean sheets and penalty shoot outs (which, again, are or are not a problem depending upon whom you talk to). My point - soccer is almost trapped now - like it or not. (this leads to another discussion that can be had on the value or not of game 'evolution' and rules evolution).