Portal:American football

The American Football Portal

American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby. The first American football game was played on November 6, 1869, between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton, using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", established the snap, the line of scrimmage, eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the forward pass, created the neutral zone, and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football, which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football.

American football is the most popular sport in the United States in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of the game are professional and college football, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2022^[update], nearly 1.04 million high-school athletes play the sport in the U.S., with another 81,000 college athletes in the NCAA and the NAIA. The National Football League (NFL) has one of the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world. Its championship game, the Super Bowl, ranks among the most-watched club sporting events globally. In 2022, the league had an annual revenue of around $18.6 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. Other professional and amateur leagues exist worldwide, but the sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like baseball or basketball; the sport maintains a growing following in the rest of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan.

Unlike most other ball sports, like basketball, baseball, and soccer, players of American football are not expected to play both offense and defense- usually, each player is assigned to either offense or defense, not both. As such, each individual player usually only plays for, at most, about half of the game. In modern professional American football, it is very rare, although not unheard of, for players to play both offense and defense. Players who play on both sides of the ball are more common in high school and college football. (Full article...)

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Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Ralphie the Buffalo is the name of the live mascot of the University of Colorado Buffaloes. The current Ralphie – nicknamed Ember – is the sixth bison to fill the role since 1967. Ralphie is best known for running a horseshoe pattern around Folsom Field prior to each half of home football games. She begins each run as the public address announcer exclaims "Here comes Ralphie!" and typically leads the football team as they enter the playing field. She has frequently been named one of the best mascots in sports.

While commonly referred to as a buffalo, Ralphie is actually an American bison. Due to their smaller size, reduced strength, and less-aggressive temperament, female bison have always been chosen as Ralphie as opposed to males. She can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour, and it traditionally takes five handlers to guide her around the field. The team of approximately 15 "Ralphie Handlers" are student-athletes that earn varsity letters for their efforts. They spend more than 20 hours per week training, practicing, and caring for Ralphie, while rotating the privilege of running with her at the games. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various American football-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Sewanee's 1899 "Iron Men" (from History of American football)
Image 2Indoor Football League (from Arena football)
Image 31897 Latrobe Athletic Association football team: The first entirely professional team to play an entire season. (from History of American football)
Image 41906 St. Louis Post-Dispatch photograph of Brad Robinson, who threw the first legal forward pass and was the sport's first triple threat (from History of American football)
Image 5Don Hutson in 1940. (from History of American football)
Image 6Tom Davies of Pittsburgh runs against undefeated and unscored upon Georgia Tech in the 1918 game at Forbes Field (from History of American football)
Image 7A modern down indicator box is mounted on a pole and is used to mark the current line of scrimmage. The number on the marker is changed using a dial. (from Canadian football)
Image 8Footballs and a helmet at a Calgary Stampeders (CFL) team practice (from Canadian football)
Image 9An arena football goalpost structure featuring the rebound nets on either side of the uprights. (from Arena football)
Image 10High school football stadium in Manhattan, Kansas (from History of American football)
Image 11Inside the original structure in 2008 (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 12One of the two Harvard vs. McGill games played in 1874 (from History of American football)
Image 13Touchdown monument outside the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario (from Canadian football)
Image 14A game between the 4th Canadian Armoured Division Atoms and First Canadian Army Red and Blue Bombers, in Utrecht, Netherlands, October 1945 (from Canadian football)
Image 15A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy (from History of American football)
Image 16Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo looks down field with the ball during the 93rd Grey Cup game at BC Place (November 2005) (from Canadian football)
Image 17Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hall of Fame in lower right (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 18A Native American college football team (from History of American football)
Image 19Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (gold jerseys with black accents) vs. Triangle Torch (black jerseys with red and yellow accents) play an American Indoor Football game at Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, March 25, 2016 (from Arena football)
Image 20Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", pictured here in 1878 as the captain of the Yale University football team (from History of American football)
Image 21An early American football team, from the turn of the twentieth century (from History of American football)
Image 22A moment of the second game between Tufts and Harvard at College Hill, October 1875 (from History of American football)
Image 23Morgan Athletic Club (pictured c. 1900), predecessor of the Arizona Cardinals (from History of American football)
Image 24A football signed by the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement class (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 25A game between the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders, 1910 (from Canadian football)
Image 26The Big Game between Stanford and California was played as rugby union from 1906 to 1914 (from History of American football)
Image 27Hanged U-shaped Continental Indoor Football League goalpost (from Arena football)
Image 28Sign at the old entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 29Colorado's first football team in 1890 (from History of American football)
Image 30The Hall is made up of several sections with display of the inductees at its heart (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 31Jim Thorpe was the first president of the NFL. (from History of American football)
Image 32Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, originally built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, pictured in 2005. (from Canadian football)
Image 33Original entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 34Diagram of a Canadian football field (from Canadian football)
Image 351902 football game between the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan (from History of American football)

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Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Credit: J. Glover

The Mercedes-Benz Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and commonly The Superdome) is a multi-purpose dome-covered stadium and arena comprising, as regards American football, a FieldTurf playing field, situated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

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Speedie on a 1950 Bowman football card

Mac Curtis Speedie (January 12, 1920 – March 5, 1993) was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) for seven years before joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Canada. He later served for two years as head coach of the American Football League's Denver Broncos. A tall and quick runner whose awkward gait helped him deceive defenders and get open, Speedie led his league in receptions four times during his career and was selected as a first-team All-Pro six times. His career average of 800 yards per season was not surpassed until two decades after his retirement, and his per-game average of 50 yards went unequalled for 20 years after he left the game.

Speedie grew up in Utah, where he overcame Perthes Disease to become a standout as a hurdler on his high school track team and a halfback on the football team. He attended the University of Utah, where he continued to excel at track and football before entering the military in 1942 during World War II. He spent four years in the service before joining the Browns in 1946, where he played as an end opposite quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and fellow receiver Dante Lavelli. The Browns, a new team in the AAFC, won the league championship every year between 1946 and 1949. The Browns merged into the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC disbanded, and Speedie continued to succeed as the team won another league championship. After two more years with the Browns, however, Speedie left the team for the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU) amid a conflict with Paul Brown, Cleveland's head coach. He played two full seasons in the WIFU and one game in a third season before leaving professional football. (Full article...)

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Calendar

2023 season: NFL • NCAA FBS (Bowl games)
Jan 8	College Football National Championship: #1 Michigan vs #2 Washington
Jan 13-15	NFL: Wild Cards
Jan 20-21	NFL: Divisional games
Jan 28	NFL: Conference games
Feb 4	NFL: Pro Bowl Games
Feb 11	NFL: Super Bowl LVIII

Selected quote

“

You can call it a miracle or a legend or whatever you want to. I just know that on that day, Brett Favre was larger than life.

”

— Gene Stallings

former University of Alabama coach on Favre after he led the University of Southern Mississippi to a victory over Stalling's Alabama team. Less than six weeks earlier Favre underwent surgery to remove 30 inches of his small intestine.

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