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. 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.

Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, hosted the Orange Bowl.

The 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl was the 75th edition of Orange Bowl, an annual college football bowl game. It pitted the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion Virginia Tech Hokies against the Big East Conference champion Cincinnati Bearcats on January 1, 2009, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Virginia Tech defeated Cincinnati, 20–7. The game was the second contest in the 2008–2009 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. The game was televised in the United States on FOX, and an estimated 9.3 million viewers watched the broadcast live.

Virginia Tech was selected to participate in the Orange Bowl after a 9–4 season that culminated in a 30–12 victory in the 2008 ACC Championship Game. Cincinnati was selected as the other half of the matchup after an 11–2 season that ended with a 29–24 win against Hawaii. In the weeks between the teams' selection and the playing of the game, media attention focused on the nature of Cincinnati's first BCS game appearance and Virginia Tech's attempt to win its first BCS game since 1995. Attention also focused on Cincinnati's proficient offense and Virginia Tech's highly rated defense. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

General images

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

Image 1A 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 2A moment of the second game between Tufts and Harvard at College Hill, October 1875 (from History of American football)
Image 3A game between the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders, 1910 (from Canadian football)
Image 4Original entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 5Touchdown monument outside the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario (from Canadian football)
Image 6A 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 7Sign at the old entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 8Lehigh 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 91906 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 10Walter 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 11Washington Valor vs. Philadelphia Soul (2017) (from Arena football)
Image 12High school football stadium in Manhattan, Kansas (from History of American football)
Image 13Footballs and a helmet at a Calgary Stampeders (CFL) team practice (from Canadian football)
Image 14Morgan Athletic Club (pictured c. 1900), predecessor of the Arizona Cardinals (from History of American football)
Image 15Jim Thorpe was the first president of the NFL. (from History of American football)
Image 16An early American football team, from the turn of the twentieth century (from History of American football)
Image 17Hanged U-shaped Continental Indoor Football League goalpost (from Arena football)
Image 18Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hall of Fame in lower right (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 19Inside the original structure in 2008 (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 201897 Latrobe Athletic Association football team: The first entirely professional team to play an entire season. (from History of American football)
Image 21Montreal 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 22Colorado's first football team in 1890 (from History of American football)
Image 23An arena football goalpost structure featuring the rebound nets on either side of the uprights. (from Arena football)
Image 24Indoor Football League (from Arena football)
Image 251902 football game between the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan (from History of American football)
Image 26A football signed by the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement class (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 27The Hall is made up of several sections with display of the inductees at its heart (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 28Sewanee's 1899 "Iron Men" (from History of American football)
Image 29Tom Davies of Pittsburgh runs against undefeated and unscored upon Georgia Tech in the 1918 game at Forbes Field (from History of American football)
Image 30Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, originally built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, pictured in 2005. (from Canadian football)
Image 31One of the two Harvard vs. McGill games played in 1874 (from History of American football)
Image 32A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy (from History of American football)
Image 33Don Hutson in 1940. (from History of American football)
Image 34The Big Game between Stanford and California was played as rugby union from 1906 to 1914 (from History of American football)
Image 35A Native American college football team (from History of American football)
Image 36Diagram of a Canadian football field (from Canadian football)

Selected image

Gerald Ford

Credit: Gerald R. Ford Library

Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States, played center and linebacker for the Michigan Wolverines, helping his team to two national titles.

Selected biography -

Cannon on a 1961 trading card

Billy Abb Cannon Sr. (August 2, 1937 – May 20, 2018) was an American football halfback and tight end who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He attended Louisiana State University (LSU), where he played college football as a halfback, return specialist, and safety for the LSU Tigers. At LSU, Cannon was twice named a unanimous All-American, helped the 1958 LSU team win a national championship, and received the Heisman Trophy as the nation's most outstanding college player in 1959. His punt return against Ole Miss on Halloween night in 1959 is considered by fans and sportswriters to be one of the most famous plays in LSU sports history.

Cannon was selected as the first overall pick in the 1960 NFL draft and as a first-round territorial pick in the 1960 American Football League draft, resulting in a contract dispute that ended in court. Cannon played in the AFL for the Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders before ending his football career with the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL. He began his professional career as a halfback for the Oilers. A twice AFL All-Star, Cannon led the league in rushing and all-purpose yards in the 1961 season. He was named the most valuable player of the first two AFL championship games, which were won by the Oilers. He was moved to fullback and later tight end after being traded to the Raiders, with whom he won another league championship in 1967. That season, he played in the second AFL–NFL World Championship game, retroactively known as Super Bowl II, in which his team was defeated by the Green Bay Packers. (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

“

The quarterback just ran all over the place. He's a fantastic player. He was the difference. And how classic was it that he ran it in on the last play?

”

— Pete Carroll

University of Southern California Trojans head coach, on the play of University of Texas-Austin Longhorns quarterback Vince Young, pictured rushing in the 2005 Big 12 Championship Game, in the 2006 Rose Bowl Game, in which Young rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 267 yards to help the Longhorns to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A national championship

Did you know...

...that former Houston Oilers and Philadelphia Eagles defensive end William Fuller is one of the few players in National Football League history to record more than 100 quarterback sacks?
...that Lawrence Taylor (pictured) is the only defensive player in National Football League history to win the league's Most Valuable Player Award unanimously?
...that wide receiver Scott Couper, a national player for the Scottish Claymores in nine of the side's ten NFL Europe seasons, is the only Scottish-born player to have been inducted into the Claymores Hall of Fame?

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- WikiProject American football
  - WikiProject American Football League
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  - 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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