Football
How the Game Came to Be
American football originated from a convergence of rugby and soccer, drawing aspects from both games. The first match of American football was played on
6th November, 1869, between 2 college teams: the
Rutgers and
Princeton, which are both still active.
The first match used rules that were heavily based on soccer: the ball they used was round and could not be picked up and carried, much like in soccer. However, unlike soccer, the ball could be hit with the hands without any penalties. During the end of the
1870s, teams started favouring rugby-like rules.
In spite of this, there was much dispute during the
1870s about the preferred rules of the sport: different colleges played the sport differently, and even Canadians played differently from their American neighbours! It wasn't until
1880 that
Walter Camp gave us the rules we know of today.
Known as the
Father of American Football, Camp managed to establish the size of teams to the current
11 players, and introduced the
snap (that is, the backwards pass of the ball at the start of the game) to replace the unpredictable scrum. After a few more rule revisions, American football was finally born.
NFL
The NFL stands for the
National Football League, and is one out of four major professional sports leagues in North America, the highest levels of professional sports competitions in both Canada and the United States. The NFL is the
topmost professional competition of American football around.
The NFL was first founded in
1920, where it was known as the
American Professional Football Association, or
APFA for short, until a name change in
1922. It's one of the most highly attended and watched sports events in the world, making it
a great contender for football on TV!
32 teams participate in the NFL over a
17-week period, where each team will play
16 games. The best
12 teams will then advance to the final rounds, which are a series of single-elimination rounds. The best
2 teams will then play in the
Super Bowl for a chance to win the entire league!
Rules and Scoring
The aim of the game is for one team to get more points than the other (
duh!), and there a few ways of doing this. The game proceeds in a series of
downs, or stages of play, where the
offence, the team with the ball, attempts to advance to the
end zone, the opposite end of the field, for a
touchdown.
Otherwise, the offence may attempt a
field goal, by kicking the ball through the vertical goal posts for
3 points.
After a touchdown, which gives
6 points, the offence may attempt a
conversion, an attempt to score extra points, either by a field goal for
1 point, or another touchdown for
2 points.
Meanwhile, the
defence, the team without the ball, attempts to stop the advance of the offence. If the defence manage to acquire the ball, they may themselves attempt a touchdown. Otherwise, they can get
2 points for a
safety, by tackling the offence's ball-carrier in the offence's end zone.
Leagues and Tournaments to Watch on TV/Live Stream
The NFL is definitely one of the biggest football events on TV, but more options means more entertainment, right? Unfortunately, besides the NFL, there are no other major professional leagues for American football, but there are a handful of minor professional leagues.
These include the very recent
Alliance of American Football (
AAF), the
Minor Football League (
MFL), the
Gridiron Development Football League (
GDFL), and the
Rivals Professional Football League (
RPFL). Although not as important as the NFL, these leagues should prove to be
fantastic shows of football on TV!
International Play
"But, what about American football outside of the U.S.?", you might ask? Not to worry, for there are options here as well! The
BIG6 European Football League, or
BIG6, is the current most prestigious and important tournament of American Football in Europe, which culminates in the
Eurobowl!
Apart from the Eurobowl, there is also the
EFAF Cup, the
Atlantic Cup, and the
Challenge Cup. Outside of Europe, one can find the
International Federation of American Football, or
IFAF, which hosts tournaments like
IFAF World Championship and the
IFAF Women's World Championship!
The Excitement of American Football on TV
Fans of
rugby and football on TV should seriously consider watching American football! With so many professional leagues and competitions around, there will be some serious athletes playing their best on the field! It couldn't get any more exciting!
