AMERICAN FOOTBALL HISTORY
The Beggining
Both American football and soccer have their origins in varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, and American football is directly descended from rugby football.
McGill University athletes, who had learned rugby from the local British Army garrison, introduced the sport to the U.S. with a game against Harvard University in 1874. The game quickly spread to other Ivy League colleges.
Encouraged by Yale University's Walter Camp, the schools began to adopt rules that would differentiate American football from rugby in the 1880s. The scrimmage was introduced in 1880 and the system of downs in 1882.
The first American Football game was in 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton .
By the turn of the 20th century, football had become notoriously dangerous; 18 college players died in 1905 alone. Colleges responded with a series of rule changes to open up the game, most importantly the forward pass.
The game had achieved its modern form by 1912, when the field was changed to its current size, the value of a touchdown increased to 6 points, and a fourth down added to each possession. Originally dominated by the Ivy League, football soon captured the interest of colleges nationwide. By 1916, when the Rose Bowl game matching eastern and western teams became an annual event, football had developed a national following second only to baseball among team sports. Play worldcup mania video slot and try to win big money.
Professional football developed in the mill towns of Pennsylvania and the American Midwest in the early years of the 20th century. The NFL was founded in 1920 in Canton, Ohio. Professional football remained a largely regional sport of secondary importance until after World War II. Television broadcasts greatly enhanced NFL football's national appeal, and the pro game surpassed both college football and baseball in popularity in the 1960s. The first Super Bowl—between the champions of the NFL and the rival American Football League—was played in 1967, and the two leagues merged in 1970.
About the American Football
American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport. The object of the game is to score points by advancing the football into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by carrying the ball, or by throwing or handing it from one teammate to the other. Points can be scored in a variety of ways, including carrying the ball over the goal line, throwing the ball to another player past the goal line or kicking it through the goal posts on the opposing side. The winner is the team with the most points when the time expires and the last play ends. However, tied games can occur.
Outside of the United States and Canada, the sport is usually referred to as American football (or sometimes as gridiron or gridiron football) to differentiate it from other football games.