Well, American Football was based on rugby but eventually morphed into what it is today, the name is a carry-over and honestly doesn't make too much sense at this point in time. Ontologically, it makes sense, though.
I was rooting for Barcelona, even though I figured they'd be dominated by ManU. I have no idea why, but the ManU that showed up to the game in Rome looked nothing at all like that team has looked for the past 5 or 6 years.
And yes, diving is a terrible problem in football/soccer... it takes away from the game. Sadly, the officiating rewards the behavior at the higher levels of the game and is where the root of the problem lies. The sport is making a huge impact more and more in America (for example, CNN.com ran a headline story today about the game, which I've never, ever seen before), but there's still a lot of anti-Europeanism that I think keeps people from embracing it, just as there's anti-Americanism that keeps American football from becoming as popular in Europe.
Did you know there used to be specific rules for "hacking" - kicking at the opponent's shins to obstruct them from reaching and controlling the ball? I kinda wish that rule were still part of the game