Sporting clarification please.

[Nelly]

I am reading a book about the combined invasion force that landed in Normandy in WW2. There is a very short paragraph in it that has a quote from Roosovelt Jr. Apparently some big wig had mentioned that " This is is boys were in the grandstand for this one" Roosovelt Jr was overheard saying "
" Whats he on about, we are on the grid iron".

Please can you educate me? What is the grid iron?

Neil

 

[ant_mb]

Grid iron is a common term used for a Football field.

 

[Jake]

American version of course.

 

[steveindenmark]

Perryn by football he means American football.....Oak park is not Gridiron.

Steve

 

[craig007]

a gridiron is what some people call the American or Canadian football fields. Those fields are marked with lines ( every 10 yards (in US) and a few line that run the length of the field. So it looks like a grid. I don't know where the "iron" came from. You hear "gridiron" every once in a while on ESPN or in old football films.

 

[Nelly]

Perryn by football he means American football.....Oak park is not Gridiron.

Steve

Yeah I get that, but where does grid iron come from? Is it due to the slege that they push around?

 

[Nelly]

a gridiron is what some people call the American or Canadian football fields. Those fields are marked with lines ( every 10 yards (in US) and a few line that run the length of the field. So it looks like a grid. I don't know where the "iron" came from. You hear "gridiron" every once in a while on ESPN or in old football films.

Thanks mate,

So its a field broken up into 10 yard sections?

 

[HavBlue]

Neil, the statement goes way back to a phrase that most of them if not all would know. The phrase was "win one for the Gipper." This originated in American football where Knute Rockne was the coach of the US Notre Dame team in the 1920s and George Gipp was his star player at that time. The story goes that Gipp fell ill and when dying he asked Rockne to promise that, when things were going badly for the team, he should inspire them by asking them to 'win one for The Gipper'. This has been repeated many times since then and can still be heard today in various forms as represented here..

Hope this helps,
Charlie

 

[Nelly]

Neil, the statement goes way back to a phrase that most of them if not all would know. The phrase was "win one for the Gipper." This originated in American football where Knute Rockne was the coach of the US Notre Dame team in the 1920s and George Gipp was his star player at that time. The story goes that Gipp fell ill and when dying he asked Rockne to promise that, when things were going badly for the team, he should inspire them by asking them to 'win one for The Gipper'. This has been repeated many times since then and can still be heard today in various forms as represented here..

Hope this helps,
Charlie

Thanks Charlie,
I love it when I find out the answer to something that seems totally unrelated to the common concept. that is a great story, and I bet I wasn't the only one who didn't know.

Cheers

 

[HavBlue]

Neil, in answering your question about a field broken into 10 yard segments, the traditional American football field covers a bit more than an acre at 50,000 square feet. The playing field is 300' (100 yards) long and this is segmented into 10 yard markings that go across the field which is 50 yards (150') wide. You have 4 downs or plays to gain another set of 4 downs by covering a 10 yard segment each time. At the end of the field there are goal posts in what is known as an end zone, which is 10 yards long and 30 yards wide. The padded post is 5 yards deep from the goal line and 15 yards or half way across the field.

I think the closest thing we have to anything you folks may do on a traditional basis are the crew and equestrian events. Beyond this we took English sports like Rugby and Cricket to make Football and Baseball. Lacrosse and Basketball are our own North American flavors. Hey, do you folks have A&W Rootbeer floats?

 

[Nelly]

Neil, in answering your question about a field broken into 10 yard segments, the traditional American football field covers a bit more than an acre at 50,000 square feet. The playing field is 300' (100 yards) long and this is segmented into 10 yard markings that go across the field which is 50 yards (150') wide. You have 4 downs or plays to gain another set of 4 downs by covering a 10 yard segment each time. At the end of the field there are goal posts in what is known as an end zone, which is 10 yards long and 30 yards wide. The padded post is 5 yards deep from the goal line and 15 yards or half way across the field.

I think the closest thing we have to anything you folks may do on a traditional basis are the crew and equestrian events. Beyond this we took English sports like Rugby and Cricket to make Football and Baseball. Lacrosse and Basketball are our own North American flavors. Hey, do you folks have A&W Rootbeer floats?

Do you know, I will be able to watch an NFL game now and actuall understand it thanks.
My favourite sporting float is simply 6 - 7 pints of Stella Artois.
I am then able to float on my bed (well spin actually) lol.

 

[Hellgate]

Neil, the statement goes way back to a phrase that most of them if not all would know. The phrase was "win one for the Gipper." This originated in American football where Knute Rockne was the coach of the US Notre Dame team in the 1920s and George Gipp was his star player at that time. The story goes that Gipp fell ill and when dying he asked Rockne to promise that, when things were going badly for the team, he should inspire them by asking them to 'win one for The Gipper'. This has been repeated many times since then and can still be heard today in various forms as represented here..

Hope this helps,
Charlie

And who was the star of that movie????

 

[HavBlue]

And who was the star of that movie????

Hmmmm???? Could it be the 40th President of the United States and the best military oriented President since Eike? Yup, that would be Ronald Reagan who played in the film Knute Rockne, All American.