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Why Is America So Fascinated With Football?
by Matt Ristman
http://www.footballbest.com
One of the most popular team sports in the United States is
football. Their version combines soccer and rugby and
wasn't played until the nineteenth century. Millions of
spectators and thousands of players participate in football
games every 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.
There is a complex set of rules that go along with football
and for those who aren't enamored with the sport it can seem
slow and tedious. However, strategy plays a huge part in the
game, not just running and tackling your opponent. People
spend years studying offensive and defensive strategies, and
quite often not enough credit goes to the coach and his
assistants, which play a huge role in getting a touchdown.
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.
Today professional football and the NFL are both very
popular and the most well-known players are celebrities in
their own right. One of the biggest television events each
year is the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is essentially the
finals for each season of football. It draws literally
millions of viewers from across the country and plenty from
Canada as well.
Television commercials are a big part of the draw of the
Super Bowl game. The networks charge their advertisers
millions of dollars for a few minutes of air time. The
elaborate and star-studded half-time show is also a major
event. Thanks to the recent "wardrobe malfunction" it will
probably be more popular than ever.
Many wonder why football is so popular in the United
States. Some attribute it to the violence. The tackles can
be so rough that players often end up with debilitating
injuries. People also often enjoy anticipating the next
move in the game. Those spectators who have played at some
time in their lives like to imagine what strategy they
would invoke in any given situation. Another popular
pastime during games is to yell at the coaches anytime a
play goes wrong.
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.
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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