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Football - The Great American Game
by Matt Ristman
http://www.footballbest.com
The American football style has developed from a combination
of rugby and soccer. Football is much younger and developed
only in the nineteenth century. This is one of the most
popular sports in the United States. American football
attracts millions of spectators and thousands of
enthusiastic players.
United States football has its own culture; in fact it's
practically an institution. Most high schools have a
football team, and it's the center of a great deal of
attention. Students, parents, and other fans turn out in
droves to watch the rivalries between schools. The
homecoming game follows with a dance that is possibly
bigger than the prom. Usually the most popular boy in
school is the quarterback.
Football rules are fairly complex. Those who don't
understand them, or care, can find the game slow moving and
boring. On the surface it looks like running and tackling
is all the players do, but actually the strategy is
difficult and confusing. The coaches and assistants spend
years studying offensive and defensive moves that go into
making touchdowns. Often they aren't given enough credit
for their hard work.
The first professional football game was played in
Pennsylvania in 1895. Within a decade many colleges formed
their own teams for football and apart from that many other
teams also came up. The American Professional Football
Association was formed in 1920 to give a fillip to the game.
In 1922, the American Professional Football Association was
converted into the National Football League.
The NFL and football are very popular in the US and has
given many superstars and celebrities to American Football.
The Super Bowl is one of the biggest attractions on
television, as it is the finals for each season of football.
It attracts millions of spectators even from Canada.
National television stations charge millions to advertisers
for slots during the Super Bowl, and the commercials are an
event all their own. So is the star- studded half time show
which is usually quite the spectacle thanks to recent
"wardrobe malfunctions".
Why is football so wildly popular in the United States?
Many people think its because of the game's violent nature.
Tackles are hard and rough, many players end up severely
injured. Also, many people find the anticipation quite
exciting. Anyone who has played football at one time or
another enjoys thinking up what strategy they would employ
given the current situation. Yelling at the coach for a
poor plan also seems to be a favorite of many spectators.
Football has turned into an attractive professional sport.
It is as popular as baseball and hockey. Canadians play a
different style of football which has slightly different
rules from the one played in the US. But it is not as
popular as it is in the US.
Football is introduced to many when they are just small
children and it's not just a game for boys anymore. Girl's
teams are sprouting up all over the place and are proving
that any gender can play any sport, and play it well.
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