The word football first described a game involving two teams and an inflated animal bladder in 1486.
The game evolved several times before North Americans introduced new rules, such as three chances to advance the ball five yards, that led to white lines being painted on the field.
From the stands, these lines gave the field the appearance of broiled meat from the metal grating of a griddle or “gridiron,” and so that’s what they called it.
And that’s why a football field is called a “gridiron”.
