So there aren’t too many interesting terms in football that start with “g” so I got to wondering – exactly why is the field called the gridiron anyway?  I googled the term and much to my surprise, it’s been around since the 14th century, when people grilled meat on trays called gridirons. In the early days of football, the fields were marked with horizontal and vertical lines, giving the field a checkerboard design that resembled a gridiron. Who knew food and football were linked beyond tailgate parties?