Growth and rise in popularity of American football within the sports world
One of the most popular sports in America and Canada is American football. This contact team sport is really a combination of physical play along with strategic motion together with the ultimate aim of scoring points by furthering the ball in the opponents goal line or reaching their end zone by either carrying the ball and running with it or passing it to a team member. The team which scores the most points in the stipulated time is declared the winner.
American football has its origins in rugby football but has adapted itself with a few changes to the American and Canadian system. Though Canadian football and American football are predominantly quite similar there are some variations in the forms such as in the team size, playing area, number of downs, time rules etc. The differences are not major and each may be adapted into another with a few degree of tuning.
There are two major forms of American football played in the United States, namely, collegiate football and professional football. With the growth as well as the increasing popularity quite a few football leagues were born in the nation. Two of the most powerful and prestigious leagues which are around in the country presently are the National Football League and the United Football League.
American football games that see the participation of student athletes from the various colleges, military academies and universities across the nation is known as collegiate or college football. It had been through college football the American football came into the news and became as big a sports activity as it is today. Though football or rugby was played mostly in schools in England, the game was exported to America. The 1st American football game to be played in America was in 1874 between Harvard University and McGill University, Montreal. The 1st collegiate football competition was held the next year in 1875 in the match played between Tufts University and Harvard.
Present day college football is in the sports news from the first kick off in the football season on the first Labor Day weekend a week prior to the NFL games and continues until the beginning of December. The penultimate weekend in the college football season sees the majority of the rivalry matches and conference games being played.
The professional football players are teams that play American football at a professional level. These professional teams are a part of the two leagues within the Unites States known as the NFL and the UFL. The NFL enjoys the status of being the biggest professional football league in the world. Formed with eleven teams this league has grown in strength and today includes thirty two teams. The league is further divided into the American Football Conference and the National Football conference and the conferences contain four divisions consisting of four teams each respectively.
The NFL season particularly the Super Bowl, which is the final championship game is followed by sports enthusiasts and news providers equally as it is one of the biggest games among the Americans.