As its name suggests, American football originates from an American country, the United States. It is a sport that emerged in the late nineteenth century as a variant of British rugby, which in turn is a different version of football. The history of American football dates back to the earliest versions of rugby and football, as all sports originate from some varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, in which a ball was kicked into goalposts. Just like in football, American football has 22 players on the field of play. Even the names of various positions of soccer players are used in American football, such as the terms halfback (runner) and fullback (power broker in Latin America). American football is the result of divergences from rugby, mainly due to the changes in the rules instituted by Walter Camp, who is considered the father of American football. Among the most important changes are the introduction of the scrimmage line (literally, confrontation line), and downs or attempts. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the game method developed by college coaches such as Amos Alonzo Stagg and Glenn "Pop" Warner helped take advantage of the new forward pass rule (previously it was only passed backwards, such as in rugby). . College football's popularity grew to become the dominant version of the sport in the first half of the 20th century. Bowls, a tradition of college football, attracted a national audience in the United States for college teams. Reinforced by fierce rivalries, college football still maintains a very remarkable overall appeal within the United States. However, it must date back to 1892 to trace the origin of professional football, the date of the $ 500 contract signed by William "Pudge" Heffelfinger to play in an Allegheny Athletic Association game against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. In 1920 the American Professional Football Association was established. The first game took place in Dayton, Ohio, on October 3, 1920 with the home team, the Dayton Triangles, beating the Columbus Panhandles 14-0. The league later changed its name to its current name, the National Football League, two years later, to become the most influential professional league in American football and to be considered the most lucrative sports league in the world. Having started in the industrial cities of the Midwest, football has become a media phenomenon not just in the United States. The growing popularity of the sport can generally be traced back to the 1958 NFL Championship Game. The rival NFL league, the American Football League (AFL), began in 1960. The competition represented by this new competition led to a merger between the two leagues in 1970 and the emergence of a unified championship, in which the old separate leagues became two conferences (National and American respectively) of the new NFL, and whose champions face each other in a final called Super Bowl, which has become the most watched sporting event globally, with figures that increase from year to year. American football is currently very popular in the United States, something that the sport has achieved thanks to its great historical evolution briefly discussed in the previous sections. Its spectacular nature makes it a very attractive sport for most of the Americans. Therefore, it could be firmly said that, together with basketball and baseball, it is the most important sport in the country. It is very common for students to practice it in universities, and it is also very followed by large majority of Americans. For this reason, the university leagues have become great shows attended by hundreds of people. However, American football is also very famous in Canada, where they also have a great league. Basic rules Two teams of 11 players each face each other on a 100-yard court divided into 10 equal parts and for four 15-minute periods. The main objective of the game is for each team to take the oval ball to the other end of the field to score a goal, a touchdown. Each team has four opportunities or downs to advance 10 yards, which are marked on the field of play. If 10 yards or more is advanced, there are four other opportunities to move the ball forward, which can be done in several ways (running with the ball in hand or passing the ball forward to another player). At the same time, the opposing team tries to prevent the ball from advancing. In this way, the members of each team try to advance their position while the rivals try to prevent it. Strategic games, in which to anticipate the opponent's moves In the event that after 3 attempts they have failed to advance 10 yards, they will most likely kick the ball away from the end zone. If they manage to advance with the ball towards the opposite extreme zone, a touchdown will be scored, which is worth 6 points or 7 points if they kick the ball and it crosses the posts of the rival goal. Another option is to kick a field goal on the fourth opportunity, as long as the team is near the posts and has failed to advance 10 yards on the previous three opportunities (in this case the goal is worth 3 points). Interception? Fumble?
The team that has possession of the ball may suddenly lose it when two events occur that are usually very dramatic. Intercept: When the quarterback throws an air pass to his receiver, rivals will seek to steal it before it reaches its destination; if they succeed, they will have intercepted it and try to run in the opposite direction to score. Loose ball: a player in possession of the ball may lose it due to an oversight or a tackle by the opponent, which generates a loose ball situation; all the players will try their best to keep the ball in a very spectacular fight. The referees On and off the court there are multiple referees or umpires who have the power to flag a rule violation. They use a yellow scarf to indicate that there was a foul and the chief referee - identifiable because he wears a white cap - communicates the refereeing decisions through a microphone. Terminology In each sport there are a series of terms that are necessary to understand the dynamics of the game and all the culture related to it. As for the players, there are the attackers (known as quarterback), the receivers are the wide receivers, the fastest are the runningbacks and the center is the one that puts the ball in play. In the media it is very common to talk about the All Pro Team, which would be the ideal team. Assistant coaches are called assistant coaches. The visiting team is the Away game and one of the main judges of the match is the back judge.
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