The term “American football” refers to a type of game, not a regional sport. American football is enjoyed world-wide. Professional American-style football leagues exist in Canada, Europe, South America and Japan. NFL Europa is a organization operated by the US based National Football League. NFL Europa has teams in six German and Dutch cities. In Canada, there are 2 organizations, the Canadian Football League, a professional league, and Canadian University Spot, which is a network of nonprofessional University level teams.
Both Canadian leagues play American style football but with some variations known as Canadian Rules. New Zealand, Mexico, Japan and several other countries have amateur football leagues. American style football is governed by the International Federation Of American Football (IFAF), which has over 45 affiliates in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. However, the true moving force in American football is the NFL, or National Football League.
The NFL is the regulatory and organizational arm of football in the US. It makes and enforces rules for sportsmanship and drug use. When a player behaves overly aggressively during a game, misses practice sessions or becomes involved in extracurricular illegal activity, the NFL will impose a fine and/or suspend a player. The NFL bans recreational and steroid, or performance enhancing, drug use. It authorizes and conducts urine testing on its professional athletes.
The NFL also decides yearly whether the rules of the game should be changed, and in what ways. Often the rules are done to make the game more interesting or more fair. Safety is another motivation behind rule change and the NFL tries to make this aggressive and even violent game as safe as possible by modifying the existing rules and the forms of protective equipment used. However, merchandising is also a factor and the NFL has advocated rule changes, such as a sponsor time out which is a pause in the play of the game, that are solely for the purpose of allowing the sponsor to show commercials.
The NFL decides which cities can have a team and how many teams will make up the two franchises, The American Football League and the National Football League, which originally was the only and prototypic league in American football. Fans have intense loyalties to these two franchises, which is capitalized upon in the yearly Super Bowl. This game was established to play upon this rivalry and pits the AFL and NFL Champions against each other. This is held in February and is the single most watched event on American television. It is an event that begins weeks in advance with football interviews, panels of sports figures who speculate on the game’s outcome, and betting opportunities. This hype grows over the weeks of playoff games and builds to a near frenzy by the time Super Bowl Sunday arrives.
The game is an all day event with ceremonies and a legendary half time, Las Vegas style, show that features top celebrities. For the multitudes watching at home, the Super Bowl is also augmented by the premiere screening of a collection of the most innovative and often humorous advertising blips. Because of the exposure and the terrific numbers of viewers, the competition to be one of the favored advertisers is nearly as hearty as the team competition to play in this game.
American Football is sweeping the rest of the world and becoming a popular phenomenon in nearly every country. This growth in popularity is slower in countries that have established rugby or soccer franchises but American Football is rapidly becoming as popular as American fast food.
Football Q & A
* First of all, from where did the name ‘football’ originate?
Based on its history, it was the Greeks who had first played the football called harpaston. In the United States, it was called foot ball. A blown-up bladder was used in Virginia in the year 1609.
Football in Europe is actually soccer, the sport from which American football evolved.
Football got its name because originally the hands could not be used in the sport. Only the feet were allowed. Then rugby football came into action wherein the hands were allowed to be used. American football had been widely influenced by these sports and is now known throughout the world.
* What is the average height and weight of an NFL Football player?
On the event of the NFL Kickoff Roster, in 2003, there were 321 players weighing in at a minimum of 300 pounds and 6’3” in height. Different positions require a different height and weight. But most of the players are required to be at least 6’1” in height and can a weigh about 245 lbs.
* Where can you find the official rules and regulations of Pro Football?
The National Football League has the official rules and regulations of Pro Football. NFL set of rules consist of Official’s Jurisdiction, positions and its duties. Football’s officials are the umpire, the referee, head linesman, line judge, field judge, side judge, and back judge.
NFL has the definitions of the game, Summary and Penalties, field end zone and the official markings to avoid confusion in terms of goal lines, sidelines, and end lines.
Other sets of rules like fumble, double foul, unfair acts, kicking from scrimmage and intentional grounding of forward pass are also imposed by the NFL. Official Rules and Regulations of NFL are followed by the players in the whole game season.
Many websites dedicated to the NFL have the official rules and regulations of Pro Football that can be downloaded or viewed for free. There are also books that can be purchased locally with the official rules and regulations.
Football is a sport that many people follow passionately. If you hope to know why some people are practically religious in their football team devotion, then keep reading. Once you understand the just how much the players put into the game, you can’t help but root for them.
Becoming a football fan is easy enough, but learning the intricacies of the game requires a much greater understanding of the rules and how to play. If you desire to learn about all the “little things” that go into a football game that most people aren’t aware of, then continue on to the article below. You will gain a better grasp of the strategies that go into each football game.
The wide receivers are some of the most athletic and fastest players on the field. When the quarterback wants to throw, he usually looks towards the wide receivers to receive the pass. In practice, you should be training yourself to become a faster runner. Sprints are a great way to increase your speed.
One of the best things you can do as a football player is to listen to your coach. While you may not agree with what your coach has to say, they are in charge of directing the team, not just you as an individual. Without the coach, there would be 11 guys running around in circles on the field.
Remember, you don’t need to tackle to have a fun game of football. There are many variations on the game that are just as fun while being a lot safer. Try a game of touch football. Instead of tackling, if the person with the ball is touched by the opposition, then it’s a tackle.
Keep a positive attitude at all times when playing football. Even if you feel down about your performance, keep things up beat and focus on the game at hand. A negative attitude will not only pull your play down, but it will also become contagious and infect the attitude of the entire team.
Take every chance you can to study football footage, but when you can, study footage of yourself. Try and see yourself through an opponent’s eyes. Look for tells or signs of what you are about to do, as well as habits you have that are predictable. Always have a way to keep your opponent guessing.
Watching a football game is a great pastime; however, you can enjoy it even more by understanding the game better. You’ve just been given some great advice, so now you can enjoy the game a lot more. Learn these tips and see for yourself how football can be so much fu