All You Need To Know About The Great and Mighty NFL

Known for its thrilling leagues, the Super Bowl final, and its marathon games on Sundays, the NFL (National Football League) has quite the reputation. By far and large the wealthiest sport in the world and one of the biggest, it is an absolutely monstrous part of American culture and sporting identity. A simple sport at its core, it’s made complicated by experts. With technical terms thrown about, long haul games and a lot of jargon the sport often gets shrouded in an unfair light by many outside of America as being boring and complicated. The sport is anything but this and we are going to have a look at all you need to know about the great and mighty NFL.

The league:

The NFL league is trickier to understand than the likes of the English Premier League and is very American in its setup. 32 teams compete and are split into 2 conferences. Once in their respective conferences the teams are then split into groups of 4 whereby they play each other to get into the playoffs. This league structure is similar to that of the NBA and the NHL in North America. Each team is a franchise and as such this sport is a big moneymaker. You can only expect with the recent opening up of gambling around the USA with regards to sports betting that there will be even more money pumped into the sport, especially with bookies offering NFL odds and betting tips.

History:

The NFL is the 32 team professional league of American football in the USA.

Part of the ‘big four’ leagues in America, it is the wealthiest league in the world and holds 29 out of 50 wealthiest sport franchises in the world. This is a clear testament to its caliber and popularity throughout mainly America but also the world. Initially founded in 1920 the league wouldn’t become the NFL until 1922 and wouldn’t include a playoff system until 1933. Indeed, the superbowl which would determine the winner of the NFL and the AFL(American Football League) at the time was not created until 1967 and the full merger of the leagues would not occur until 1970. It would be 1970 until this illustrious American team sport became what it is known today. Since then it has blossomed and has the highest average attendance at live games in all of the world sport. Indeed the peak of the league, the Superbowl, is the creme de la creme of the sport and it is reflected in its audience. Every year being one of the most watched TV programs, never mind sporting events, this final is like no other.

Rules:

Many get confused by the technicalities and in & outs of the NFL rules but at its basic level American football is really easy. Essentially, each team gets 4 turns to try and advance 10 yards till they make it to the touchdown zone and score points. Based on 4 x 15 minute quarters the game does have further technicalities which should be understood before indulging in a game but they are not notably hard to understand. Unfortunately, many dismiss the sport due to the stop/start manner of the playing and also the technical rules. This seems to me to be blind ignorance of a sport which is heaped in tactics, athleticism and dynamism and rewards the athletes and coaches alike for their superb play of the game.

Overview:

So that’s a brief overview of the great and mighty NFL and all the basics that you need to know about this league. There are much more nuances and things you should know as you get more into the sport but for now, focus on learning the simple things first!

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