In my jr high days, “athletic supporter” meant this. But it also referred to any member of the teams boosters clubs.
Just look up Archimedes. See this and this. (SFW – they’re just cartoon drawings.)
See also The Streak song and video by Ray Stevens. (Also SFW. Sorry.)
I’m surprised nobody else has thought of this:
I’m going to have to cooungh it up and I wish you great stuff,
Do it!
Maybe I shouldn’t have said CAN’T, but boy did I ever get made fun of the first time I wore one for football practice and put it on over my briefs.
“Haven’t you ever worn a jockstrap before, Smith?”
Well, NO, you neanderthals, I haven’t. They aren’t required for fencing or the shot put, and those are the only sports I ever went out for before football. Which leaves wearing them for enjoyment, I guess, and I prefer a free swing under most circumstances.
I played football in junior high school in the mid-'80’s, and jockstraps were never mentioned at all. Neither were cups, for that matter.
We were each issued a full set of football equipment, but undergarments were simply not discussed. Absent any real notion of an alternative, I just wore a pair of briefs under my football pants, and it was never a problem; I’m pretty sure that’s what just about everybody else did, too.
The first time I ever handled a jockstrap was in college, in 1989. My school’s gym had the policy that anyone using it (for P.E. classes, lifting weights, etc.) had to be wearing a set of the school’s gym clothes: Upon check-in you were handed a basket containing a cotton t-shirt, shorts, a pair of socks, and a jockstrap. Since they didn’t actually check undergarments of users, you could wear whatever you wanted underneath in practice. However, I sometimes wore the jock just to avoid getting the briefs I’d worn over there sweat-soaked. It felt kind of strange, and my shorts would sometimes get stuck in my butt crack. 
I’ve played soccer and basketball through the years, and have always simply worn briefs. I’m now a recreational runner, and usually wear purpose-built running shorts that contain a liner for support - they feel comparable to briefs, as far as amount of support. I don’t own a jockstrap and have never worn a cup in my life.
Reading this thread seems to give the idea that one is incapable of doing anything aside from watching TV unless they’re wearing a jockstrap.
Nobody wore one in the high school gym classes. Or on the soccer or wrestling team in high school. Don’t believe more than a few wore one for wrestling in college either. I can’t imagine people generally wore them for pickup basketball games and the like.
Well Played, Sirrah! 
What hasn’t been mention is that while a cup offers protection from impact injuries which are usually minor due to the testicles being spongy and elastic, jock strap, athletic supporters, etc. offer protection from more serious injuries such as testicular torsionor testicular rupture.
***warning - researching these topics may cause slight nausea in male viewers -LOL
A jock is a bra for the balls. When I am running and jumping I don’t want the jewels flipping and flopping around. When I was in high school, a long time ago, there was jocks, briefs and boxers and they made us all use a jock in PE. The point, I think, was to teach us all about this useful underwear option that many if us would have overlooked.
After high school I played rugby for years wearing briefs (Ha, ha. Yes I had other clothes on.) I should have used a cup but didn’t like them and I felt the briefs gave prevented flopping around just fine. If I was a boxer guy I might have gone with a jock.
These days there are bike shorts. I think of men’s bike shorts as a job-bra for the testes.
Apparently, Floridais one option (SFW).
I attended public school all my life, middle school through graduation from HS went from '78-'85. I was never told to wear a jock strap or a cup. I also played little league for four years during my youth; same deal. I’ve run a bunch of marathons, 1/2 marathons, and endurance/mud runs… never wore a jock or a cup.
At one point as an adult, I was participating in some sport, can’t remember what, and decided I should probably protect the boys. I couldn’t figure the fucking thing out. Wearing the jock without the cup just sort of squashed the whole package flat, and things were squeezing out to the sides. That can’t be it, it sort of defeats the purpose of the thing. So I slid the cup in, and it didn’t get much better. The back of the cup sleeve- the part up against my genitals- was stretched straight from one side to the other, resulting in things getting squashed flat again.
I wrestled with it for 15 minutes in my bedroom before taking it off and throwing it into the back of my drawer, never to be worn again. These days, a pair of running shorts with the wicking inner layer keeps the boys comfortably nestled.
What answer do you honestly think you’re going to get from a bunch of internet geeks?
I wear assless chaps while lifting weights.
Yeah, we never showered for PE. On the days when it was necessary, we’d dress out, but that’s it. Throw in some deodorant, and that’s generally enough. And, even if it weren’t, there’s no way you’d want to be caught dead taking a shower in the open showers in the locker rooms, anyway. Not that you’d have time.
Point taken.
I’ve used them, jocks and cups, and never had a problem, but I’ve got plenty to protect, I believe that a lot of the men and boys, doesn’t have anything to protect, like women and girls, there’s nothing poking out . So if anyone made fun of you wearing them, I would explain that.
Moderator Note
Welcome to the board. We prefer that old threads in GQ only be bumped to add new factual information. Since this does not, I’m going to close it.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
