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.



Football in the US has a culture all its own. In high schools football is the center of much of the student activity; everyone comes out to cheer on their school's team, the homecoming games and dances are almost bigger than prom, and the football quarterback is typically the most popular boy in school. It's almost an institution.

American football is a complex game with numerous rules and regulations. For those who are not football enthusiastic, they may find the game boring and weary. The strategy a team adopts is more important in football than just running and eluding the opponents while scoring. It takes years and years of study to chalk out the strategies to win. Often the credit does not go to the coach and the assistants, as the players snatch the limelight attributed to their on-field performance.

Professional football started back in 1895 when the first professional games were played in Pennsylvania. In the ten or so years that followed, teams started popping up and colleges created their own teams as well. In 1920, the American Professional Football Association was formed and two years later turned 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.

Football is popular in the US due to a variety of reasons. No one particular reason can be attributed to its success. Many are of the opinion that the game is very violent and barbaric. Many people end up with injuries due to the brutal tackling methods of the game. Some find the anticipation as the most exciting part of the game. For the one who has been a football player, the strategy employed in the game is of paramount interest. Spectators also like the way players scream at the coaches for employing wrong strategies.

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.

Young children, both boys and girls start playing football early on. Teams used to be made up only of boys, but now the girls are proving that gender doesn't have to play a part in sports.