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. In the case of a tie after four quarters, the game enters overtime.

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; by 1875, the sport had adopted rules similar to rugby union. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", established concepts that would define the sport, among them 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 modern sport is closely related to Canadian football, which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game; the two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football.

American football is the most popular sport in the United States; the most popular forms of the game are professional and college football, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. Over a million Americans played college or high school football in 2022, and 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. 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. Flag football, a variant of the sport, will be played at the 2028 Summer Olympics. (Full article...)

Recognized content -

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

The history of the New York Jets American football team began in 1959 with the founding of the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League (AFL); they began actual play the following year. The team had little success in its early years. After playing three seasons at the Polo Grounds, the team changed its name to the New York Jets, and moved into newly built Shea Stadium in 1964. In January 1965, the Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath to a then-record contract. The team showed gradual improvement in the late 1960s, posting its first winning record in 1967 and winning its only American Football League championship in 1968. By winning the title, New York earned the right to play in Super Bowl III against the champions of the National Football League (NFL), the Baltimore Colts. The Jets defeated the Colts in the game; in the aftermath of the upset, the AFL was deemed a worthy partner to the NFL as the two leagues merged.

Following the merger, the Jets fell into mediocrity; Namath was dogged by injuries through much of his later career. In 1981, New York qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the post-Namath era. They reached the AFC Championship Game in 1982; they were defeated on a rain-soaked Orange Bowl field by the Miami Dolphins. Beginning with the 1984 season, the team played in New Jersey's Giants Stadium. The team started the 1986 season with a 10–1 record, but the injury-plagued Jets lost their last five regular season games and relinquished a ten-point fourth quarter lead to lose in double overtime to the Cleveland Browns in the playoffs. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

General images

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

Image 1A moment of the second game between Tufts and Harvard at College Hill, October 1875 (from History of American football)
Image 2Don Hutson in 1940. (from History of American football)
Image 3Original entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 4A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy (from History of American football)
Image 5Morgan Athletic Club (pictured c. 1900), predecessor of the Arizona Cardinals (from History of American football)
Image 6Colorado's first football team in 1890 (from History of American football)
Image 7Indoor Football League (from Arena football)
Image 8Walter 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 9Footballs and a helmet at a Calgary Stampeders (CFL) team practice (from Canadian football)
Image 10One of the two Harvard vs. McGill games played in 1874 (from History of American football)
Image 11Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hall of Fame in lower right (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 12A football signed by the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement class (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 13Montreal 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 14An early American football team, from the turn of the twentieth century (from History of American football)
Image 15Sign at the old entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 16A 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 17Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, originally built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, pictured in 2005. (from Canadian football)
Image 18Diagram of a Canadian football field (from Canadian football)
Image 19Touchdown monument outside the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario (from Canadian football)
Image 20Sewanee's 1899 "Iron Men" (from History of American football)
Image 21The Big Game between Stanford and California was played as rugby union from 1906 to 1914 (from History of American football)
Image 22Inside the original structure in 2008 (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 23A game between the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders, 1910 (from Canadian football)
Image 24High school football stadium in Manhattan, Kansas (from History of American football)
Image 25A Native American college football team (from History of American football)
Image 261902 football game between the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan (from History of American football)
Image 27Jim Thorpe was the first president of the NFL. (from History of American football)
Image 28Lehigh 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 29Washington Valor vs. Philadelphia Soul (2017) (from Arena football)
Image 30A 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 31The Hall is made up of several sections with display of the inductees at its heart (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 321897 Latrobe Athletic Association football team: The first entirely professional team to play an entire season. (from History of American football)
Image 331906 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 34Tom Davies of Pittsburgh runs against undefeated and unscored upon Georgia Tech in the 1918 game at Forbes Field (from History of American football)
Image 35An arena football goalpost structure featuring the rebound nets on either side of the uprights. (from Arena football)
Image 36Hanged U-shaped Continental Indoor Football League goalpost (from Arena football)

Selected image

Quarterback

Credit: Mike Kaplan, USAF

In gridiron football, the quarterback is the leader of the offensive team. At most levels, but especially at the college and professional level, the quarterback is one of the most visible and important roles on the team, being responsible both for calling plays and making decisions during the play. Shown here is Shea Smith of the Air Force Falcons during the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl.

Selected biography -

Ben Edwards (born April 11, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played football and basketball at York High School in Yorktown, Virginia. He played college football for the Richmond Spiders for four years. Edwards earned first-team All-CAA honors in 2012 after leading the CAA in receptions with 80. He was also named first-team All-CAA his senior year in 2013. After going undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft, Edwards remained unsigned until being signed by the Giants in May 2015. He played in two games for the Giants in 2015, catching one pass for nine yards. He spent the entire 2016 season on injured reserve and became a free agent afterwards. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

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

“

I don't understand American football at all. It looks like all-in wrestling with crash helmets.

”

— Sting (musician)

English musician on the brutal and physical quality of American football, especially as against that of association football

Did you know...

...that while at the University of Miami, Devin Hester, pictured, became the first person in the university’s history to play in all three phases of American football?
...that in 1968, placekicker Garo Yepremian left his professional football career with the Detroit Lions to enlist in the United States Army?
...that during his senior season at the University of Pittsburgh, linebacker Hugh Green won the Walter Camp Award, the Maxwell Award, the Lombardi Award, and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting to running back George Rogers?

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American football

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WikiProject Sports
- WikiProject American football
  - WikiProject American Football League
  - WikiProject Arena Football League
  - WikiProject College football
  - WikiProject National Football League
    - WikiProject Pittsburgh Steelers
    - WikiProject Chicago Bears
    - WikiProject Green Bay Packers
    - WikiProject New England Patriots
    - WikiProject San Francisco 49ers
    - WikiProject Los Angeles Rams
- WikiProject Canadian football
- WikiProject European League of Football

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