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Whats Behind America's Love of Football
by Matt Ristman
http://www.footballbest.com
American style football came from a combination of soccer
and rugby. Football is a relatively new game and wasn't
created until the nineteenth century. Football is one of
the most popular sports in the United States, attracting
millions of spectators and thousands of players each year.
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.
Professional football began way back in 1895 in
Pennsylvania. Within the next ten years more teams emerged
and colleges started creating football teams as well. The
American Football Association formed in 1920, but two years
later became known as 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.
The Super Bowl is a big source of revenue for the television
channels as they charge a huge amount for advertising. Every
second of the Super Bowl is made interesting, especially the
star- studded half time which is remarkable to watch.
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 continues to draw more people into the excitement
of professional sport. Football is just as popular if not
more so than the nation past time of baseball and of hockey.
Canadians play their own brand of football, with slightly
different rules. However, the sport of football has not
seen nearly the same amount of popularity in Canada as it
has in the United States.
Children in the US are exposed to the game very early in
schools. Even all girl teams are coming up in a big way and
there is no gender restriction on the game. Anyone who loves
the game can play it in America.
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