American football has many different aspects that helped change America today. Football has earned millions of fans to the game every year. The sport has changed and helped various people strive through life. At the same time, football has caused many downsides that have changed people’s lives forever. Through the beginning to now, football has been filled with many impacts and injuries that have changed the game.
College football and the NFL are two of the biggest sports today in America. The first college football game was played on November 6, 1869 between the New Jersey Tigers and the Rutgers Queensmen. The first NFL game was played on September 26, 1920 between the Buffalo Bills and the Boston Patriots. College football is more fun to watch than the NFL because there are more teams, better games, and immaculate stadiums.
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.
The NFL started in 1920, when the league originated as the American Professional Football Association. The NFL was the first professional football league to effectively start a national existence, after numerous periods of unsuccessful tries. League membership slowly evened out between the 1920s-1930s as the league took on a more official organization. Many changes came about following the war, such as the resigning of African-American players.
Before the 1920’s, football was overshadowed by baseball and it’s rising superstars, which largely gained popularity through the use of media. When analyzing the rise of college football in America, it is no surprise that media had the same impact on it’s growth in popularity. Media was a key reason why Americans became interested in college football. Most people could not afford, nor could they find transportation to get to the Saturday college football games. With the introduction of the radio and the press, people now had a way to be informed with what was happening in the world of sports.
There were less offensive and defensive designed plays. African-Americans were banned from the NFL in 1933 to 1945. Most teams were run dominant so they rarely threw the ball. As years went on the NFL improved in numerous ways. Players had an increase in physical size.
Sammy Baugh was the greatest QB but even though he was great other players were just like him in other areas. College Football was also excelling at this time. “U of A finished second in the whole country in 1933, with a 79-11-15”(Lawrence 3). All NFL football players had to come from somewhere and a lot of them came from the U of A college. College football was being excelled at this time but the NFL still needed players to play.
According to Cork Gaines, “there are now 20 schools that make at least $100 million in sports”. This fact is supported by Figure C (Revenue* of college football teams in 2014 (in million U.S.
FOOTBALL FOOTBALL. The game of American football as played today by high school, college, and professional teams grew out of rugby-style football which in the mid-1870s replaced a largely kicking game known as association football. Although initially played on village greens and on college fields, the first intercollegiate game took place on 6 November 1869 when Rutgers defeated Princeton 6–4 in a soccer-style game. Five years later, Montreal's McGill University playing at Harvard introduced rugby football, which would be rapidly adopted by eastern teams.
Football was considered a minor sport at the time, and was not that popular. The first football league was created August 20, 1920 and was called the American Professional Football League, or APFA, and led to what today is known as the NFL in 1922(5). At the time, APFA only consist of 14 teams, and 11 games(6). The 1920’s also gave birth to professional football teams such as the Arizona Cardinals (previously known as the Chicago Cardinals) and the Chicago Bears(previously known as the Decatur Staleys)(7). Although very different from what is known as football today, this was the beginning of the known and loved sport.
College football is apart of the American culture just as much as having a democracy. College football includes the cost of tuition to students who play for their school. This means that players have a place to live at the college and schooling. College football does provide as an afterschool activity for students that would like to play football. College football players should not be paid for playing football.
In 1920, the National Football League (NFL) was founded and found success throughout the years. As the NFL grew more popular, wealthy entrepreneurs sought to buy their own teams in new cities, expanding the league. NFL commissioner Bert Bell refused to expand the league as he was being accused of monopolizing the football industry. As a result, Lamar Hunt decided to create his own league, thus the American Football League (AFL) was founded in 1960, challenging the authority of the NFL.
Ever wonder how one of the most famous sporting events began? Well, I am going to tell you how the First World Championship began. It began when two rival football companies, AFL and NFL fought to win the name as the best. Then, the AFL and NFL league had a football game to see who would be the best. Eventually, they signed a contract saying that they would merge together to become one and they would use NFL names and all of NFL and AFL teams.
College football saw an increase in the number of men that went out and saw in increase in the want of people to watch the game so something had to be done. The solution was to build grand football stadiums that could trump any baseball ballpark attendance. Michigan’s Big House, when it was first built in 1927, could seat 72,000 and Ohio States Horseshoe stadium, was the largest poured concrete structure and could seat over 65,000 when it was first built in 1922. (www.retrowaste.com)
And in 1932 the DFB (Deutscher Fußball Bund) introduced professional football. Because of the steady growth more and more money had to be put in the sport. The Coaches, the players and the playing facilities: everything costs money. So the commercialism was inescapable.