Evolution Of American Football Essay

American football has quickly become America’s favorite sport, nothing like turning on the TV on a Saturday or Sunday and watching some football with friends or family. Whether you love it or hate it there is no denying that football has become one of the most popular sports on the planet. Despite the controversy surrounding the dangers of football, it has still developed into a multi-billion dollar industry. Pretty much everyone has heard of football or the stars that surround it, but few people know how football got its start. Football is believed to have descended from the ancient Greek game of harpaston. Harpaston is mentioned often in classical literature, where it is often referred to as a “very rough and brutal game“. The rules

The rules and the way it was played were still very rugby like, this was until a man named Walter Camp came along and completely changed the way this game was played. Camp was an unreal player at Yale University and is known as the father of American football. Camp helped write the first rules for American football — which were already being played in universities on the East Coast and in Canada in about 1876. These changes included reducing the number of people from 15 players to 11 players and replacing the traditional rugby scrum to the kickoff. Camp also created the rule that a team needed to gain 5 yards in three plays in order to keep possession. “Today, teams must gain 10 yards in three plays or decide to punt on fourth down.” Camp devised plays and formations and brought in referees. However, his biggest idea was the idea of tackling, which was introduced in 1888. Tackling, which allowed players to hit below the waist for the first time and made the game more violent. It also made an offensive strategy known as the flying wedge, where a whole team (ten players) would get in front of one ball carrier in the form of a