American Football is one of the most popular sports played all across the world. The sport challenges the player to push your physical limits and bring the best out of them. Football in America is somewhat different from the standard variant of the game. Let’s dive into all the details to know more about Soccer in the United States of America.
First things first, and therefore, a brief history of American football
Football here in the United States of America originated from soccer and rugby, and the first match had taken place in November between two college teams in 1869. College football has been one of the most popular forms of football in the USA. The rules back then were the same as rugby and got modified with time. College football is one of the most prominent forms of American football, with various American states participating in the American football league.
College education and American leagues
American football’s popular form is college football, with almost all the American football fanatics having a close look at the college football scores. According to the NCAA, Alabama, Ohio State, and Notre Dame are among the top teams.
Colleges started the football scene in the United States and have developed and grown further in all these years. Before the existence of the NFL, the colleges had matches among each other. These games’ popularity grew with years as the locals were aware of their neighborhood’s college matches. This popularity brought in many crowds, and the players were already known in different households, thus slowly popularizing college football.
Know about the American football rules
The winner is the team who has scored most of the points throughout the game. There are different ways of achieving goals in football:
- Touchdown has most of the points (6 points). It is scored by crossing the opposition’s goal line with the ball or catching the ball in the end zone.
- The field goal gives an excellent 3 points to the team. It is mostly attempted during the fourth down when the kicker is closer to the end zone, usually between uprights.
- There’re one or two extra points that you can earn by kicking the ball through the uprights after a touchdown.
Each of the team comprises 11 players, with one on defense and the other on offense. There are four 15 minutes of quarters with three time-outs for each half of the team’s play. The team has to run to their opponents’ end zone either by carrying the ball or passing the ball to another teammate.
The different positions in the game
For the team who has the ball (offense) and is progressing to their opposition’s, the different positions include:
- Offensive center
- Offensive guard
- Offensive tackle
- Receivers – Quarterback and running back are the two back positions whereas wide receiver and tight end are the two receivers precisely one on each of the sides of the line of scrimmage
For the team defending, i.e., the unit without the ball, the rushers are positioned along the defensive line and include defensive tackle and defensive end. Then comes the linebackers for different situations and have two positions, the middle linebacker and the outside linebacker. The defensive backs are the last lines of defense and are often positioned along the sidelines to defend against pass plays.
What about the leagues and rankings?
There are different leagues and championships almost always going on in the country, given its popularity. It started with the American football league until 1970, which finally merged with the National Football League. College football championships are the most popular in the country, drawing many spectators from all the states. Espn, the famous broadcaster, has also started an ESPN fantasy football. Here anyone can play and make their fantasy teams after watching the scores and considering all the analysis of the games.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is needless to say that football has been one of the most entertaining and popular sports in the country, with the industry valued at billion dollars. Americans know how to enjoy their football, and with so many fantasy games, this has become a lot hotter.
