Welcome
Welcome to The Football Zone
Every summer we'd go out to the park and kick the pigskin around, we
even had winterball where we'd play football in the snow, and our own
creation football-hockey we referred to as Hockball, which was
basically football on ice.
A woman's
true confession:
I finally understand the male obsession with Football
by Melody Wigdahl
Football season is here, which means that for
the next several weeks - 90% of the male population of the US will
spend an enormous amount of their free
time watching games on TV (the bigger
the screen, the better), attending football games (Friday=high school,
Saturday= college, Sunday & Monday=Pro), and of course every day of
the week they will be moaning,
groaning or crowing about their
Fantasy League, uh, excuse me, in most cases - make that Fantasy
Leagues... because it seems you
can't join just one.
Now, I
grew up in a female dominated home - 3 women (mom, myself and my
sister) and one male (dad, unless you count the dog...but he tended to
be loyal to the person with the food in hand), and I have to admit, we
did tend to make Dad as miserable as possible about his obsession
with football. We whined and fussed every time he tried to watch a
game, and sooner or later he would usually give up and let us watch
girl
stuff�.
My first husband was
never much of a sports fan, so for most of my adulthood, my exposure to
football was minimal, but fast forward a few decades - new husband, new
life...new lifestyle.
And suddenly I find myself in the midst of
a VERY sports oriented family - with a particular emphasis on football.
So, for the first time in my life, I found myself attending Friday
night high school games, rooting for my stepson as he ran up and down
the field, screaming at the refs even though I
wasn't always quite sure WHY I was
screaming but hey! you do get caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment.
For
3 years, I never missed a game, through rain and snow, I bundled up and
cheered the team on, sometimes to victory and sometimes to defeat. I
grew to understand the game, and enjoyed being a fan more with every
game. I clapped along as the team came to the home side after every
victory and sang their fight song, and endured long, quiet rides home
when they lost.
But - I never truly understood the 'obsession'�
until my stepson's last game in
high school.
The game was over, the weather was cold and
drizzly, the song was done, and the seniors walked back out on the
field one last time, helmets in hand. They stood there, silently,
exchanging hugs and pats on the back, and one by one, they knelt to one
knee and just looked around, as the lights blinked out around the
stadium.
The silence was deafening - and the emotion overpowering.
Most
of these boys had played football together since the age of 9,
practicing and playing as a team for long months every year, sharing
bumps and bruises and injuries, big wins and bigger losses, developing
a camaraderie that few women will ever experience.
And now
suddenly - it was over. Most of the boys would never again don the pads
and the uniform, never again be part of that team spirit. If you play
baseball - you can play some form of it for the rest of your life, but
football is over for most men with that last Friday night game in high
school.
And so is born the obsession with all things football -
it's an ongoing quest to recapture
even just a small piece of that team experience in high school, the
closeness, the camaraderie that made it worth all the work.
In
just a few brief moments that night, I suddenly understand the deep
chasm left in these young men's
lives, the sudden emptiness in their hearts, and I felt sadness for a
loss that I could never truly comprehend.
My stepson was
fortunate - he now plays college ball on Saturday so the "last game"
has been delayed a bit. I still
don't share the same enthusiasm
for weekend football marathons as my husband and his two sons - but at
least I find it easier to understand their passion/obsession, and that
goes a long ways towards a peaceful, happy weekend at home.
Of course, having more than one TV has also helped....
Article Source: http://www.my-articles.com
A
Quick Introduction to Fantasy Professional Football
by: Kevin T. Fairbanks :
Football has become a gigantic sport in the
United States. Heroes are being made each weekend and the number of
people watching football on TV is at an all-time high. With this
popularity, more and more people want to get more from their experience
with football. With computers and gaming on computers also gaining
popularity, Fantasy Football is gaining popularity, also. Have you
caught the bug yet and started participating in a Fantasy Football
League? Now would be a great time!
Whether you already know
every professional football team and player like the back of your hand,
or you just want to learn enough to look less blank when conversing
with friends, family or coworkers, fantasy football can enhance your
NFL viewing experience.
As a lottery commercial says, "you have
to be in it to win it". In order to join the fun, you have to pick a
"host", select your preferred NFL players, and join or start a league.
You
have a ton of options when considering where to host a fantasy football
team. Some of the most commonly played "hosts" include CBS
Sportsline.com, SportingNews.com, YahooSports Fantasy Football and CDM
Fantasy Sports.
Depending on the host and league, you'll play
one of several formats. One requires an upfront payment to enter your
league, but doesn't charge you for players you pick up during the
season from a free agent or "waiver" pool. Generally, the higher you
pay as your upfront fee, the larger your prize if you win your league
for the season.
The second format is free to join, but will cost
you for most or all players you claim off waivers or as free agents
after the initial draft period ends. Generally, trades with other
players are free of charge. Be careful, though! Those trades can be
costly in another way to you if you give away too much to get that
must-have player.
The most common formats allow you a team made
up of one or more quarterbacks, one or more running backs, one or more
wide receivers, one or more tight ends and one or more defense/special
teams (DST) units. Depending on the league, you may play all of your
players at once or pick some players as "starters" and assign others as
"reserves". Only your active players (starters} earn you points for
that week. You get points for their league-defined accomplishments each
week. What and how much your team will score will vary from league to
league.
Now you need players on your team, so it is time for you
to "draft" some football players. Using your basic understanding of
football, and drawing on your NFL savvy, or some free or paid
information sources to review, you'll rank real NFL players before your
league draft. You may also be able to use the players as "pre-ranked"
by your host.
You'll also need to decide whether you want the
excitement and time commitment of a live draft, or the relative ease
and less time offered by an automated draft. If you are a beginner, the
automated draft is highly recommended.
During the season, there
are "BYE" weeks, during which an NFL team and its players get the week
off to recharge. Real players also can be injured, so you lose their
productivity. On the other hand, you and your team don't get any time
off, so you'll probably have to make trades and perform waiver wire
moves to ensure that you have a full, strong team playing every week.
Those
are the basics. Now, it is up to you to apply your special knowledge,
instinct or hunches, and "Win one for the Gipper". Before your draft,
you might want to challenge friends, family members or co-workers who
have similar skills to yours to join your league. Some healthy
competition can make your fantasy football experience even more
enjoyable.
As with any game, keep in mind that it is only a
game. You will not become rich or popular dependent upon how well you
play. It is mostly purely entertainment. If you keep this in mind and
don't take yourself or the game too seriously, you will have a great
time. It is a great game and you should have no trouble finding others
with your passion and skill level. Have fun and good luck!
About The Author
Kevin
T. Fairbanks is the husband of Becky and the father of 2, Nicholas and
Kirsten. He is an avid sports fan and over-all good guy. He has taken
his love of sports and developed web sites that offer that love of
sports to others.
http://CollectibleSport.com
http://www.Collectible-Sports-Memorabilia.com
http://www.GolfClubsHome.com
A Brief
Football History
The History of Football – Are You Ready for Some Football?!?
It’s confusing. If you find yourself at an international airport
and tell someone that you love football, they might think you
mean soccer, which the rest of the world calls football. It may
be necessary to specifically say American or Canadian football
(also a little bit different from each other) to come to any type
of understanding. How can three different games be called the
same thing? They are all related. The history of football has its
roots in rugby and soccer.
Despite the manly football men who like to think soccer is a
sissy sport, it is the first cousin of football. Soccer was the
first of the three sports to be played. In 1823, during a game of
football (soccer), a guy named William Ellis at Rugby School in
Rugby, England, picked up the ball and ran with it to the goal.
No account of the story mentions if he had gone insane or if the
move was planned. Apparently, someone else also thought that was
a great idea, so the game of rugby football was born. They made
the ball oval shaped so it was easier to carry, but it would
still bounce and be easily kicked. In 1871, the English Rugby
Union came into being and gave everyone standard rules. Before
this, teams would just decide on the rules before the game.
The Father of Football
Meanwhile, in America, the same confusion was beginning. On
November 6, 1869, the first college soccer football game was
played. Rugby was actually pretty popular already at the time,
but Harvard had banned it in 1860 because it was considered
“barbaric.” After 1869, when collegians started playing soccer,
the games got more and more like rugby. No one knew the rules
anymore, because they changed constantly. The game wasn’t just
growing into something different than soccer. It was becoming
different than rugby, too.
Teams and fans liked it, but it was still confusing. In 1876,
Walter Camp started attending Yale to study medicine and
business. He played in the first Yale vs. Harvard rugby game that
year. He was a smart man who had always been incredibly athletic.
He is an important player in the history of football. He was
instrumental in coming up with the rules for American football,
which were written at the Massasoit Convention later that year.
That convention paved the way for the NCAA.
Walter Camp played Varsity for Yale from 1877 to 1882 (the last
two years in graduate school), and he was captain of the team for
three of those years. He’s credited with a lot of the football
rules and scoring still used today. While he didn’t invent
football – it came about more by evolution – he is widely
credited as “the Father of Football.”
Camp created the quarterback position, the idea that one team
should have undisputed possession of the ball at a time,
strategic plays, the number of players, and other key positions.
He was the first Yale football coach, and he was involved in
every rulemaking convention and committee until his death in
1925.
By 1885, modern American football was pretty much what it is now,
with a few minor exceptions. Obviously, a lot more pads are worn
now, and football helmets are required. For those of you who love
to watch the most brutal tackles at the end of every year, you’ll
be glad to know that Camp was the first to fight for tackles as
low as the knee. In 1905, there were almost 20 deaths and well
over 100 serious injuries. The public (no doubt led by players’
mothers) was outraged, and there was even a White House
conference. Soon after, the NCAA was formed. There were more
safety precautions and equipment after this point.
Professional Football
The first professional player appeared in 1892. People who think
the salaries of pro football players are outrageous these days
will be shocked to learn that the first paid player got $500 for
one game. In 1892, that was a small fortune. The cause of it was
a serious local rivalry. The Allegheny Athletic Association (AAA)
was playing the Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC). The AAA was so
desperate to win this game that they found a guard who played for
Yale and the All-America team and paid him to make sure they won.
His name was William “Pudge” Heffelfinger, and the AAA did win
(four to nothing) after he ran 35 yards for a touchdown.
In 1893, the PAC wised up. They made a smarter decision than
their rivals did, and signed the first player to a professional
paid contract. The player had to play for Pittsburgh for the
entire year. Not to be outdone, in 1896, the AAA decided to have
the first completely pro team, but only played two games that
season.
In 1897, the Latrobe Athletic Association team also went to a
completely paid team, and they were the first to play a full
season as professionals. The history of football now goes pro.
In 1899, the longest running pro team began. On the south side of
Chicago, the Morgan Athletic Club was formed. After going through
a handful of name changes, they are now (since 1994) the Arizona
Cardinals.
For the next twenty years, chaos grew. Salaries were rising, and
the players were abandoning teams and contracts and running to
the highest bidder. College players were playing both college and
pro, teams were disbanding and forming throughout every season,
and the sport lacked organization. In 1920, the American
Professional Football Association was formed.
In 1922, the association officially changed their name to the
National Football League. The first American Football League came
and went in 1926, lasting only the one season. There were several
other leagues, including the AAFC, USFL (a spring league), and
many reincarnations of the AFL. All finally merged with the NFL..
The first NFL draft took place in 1936. The first drafted player
was Jay Berwanger, a halfback for Chicago. He chose not to play.
On September 7, 1963, the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in
Canton, Ohio, where the NFL was first formed as the APFA. That
same year, NFL Properties, Inc., was formed to deal with the
licensing of merchandise including replica jerseys.
Birth of the Super Bowl
1966 was the most contentious year between the NFL and the AFL.
Both leagues spent a record amount of money recruiting the best
players. They finally agreed to merge, but not until 1970. At the
end of the 1966 season, the first AFL – NFL World Championship
Game was played. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City
Chiefs 35 to 10. The third AFL-NFL World Championship was called
the “Super Bowl” in 1969 (after the 1968 season). The name stuck,
and the 1967 World Championship became the first Super Bowl.
After the two leagues combined in 1970, the Super Bowl became a
game played between the two best NFL teams, which were now
divided into conferences.
Ever wonder when the Super Bowl commercials started to become big
business? In 1984, a British director named Ridley Scott directed
a commercial for Apple Computers where they announced the
upcoming availability of Macintosh Computers. The rest is history
– Scott became a famous director (Black Hawk Down, Gladiator),
and Super Bowl commercials are definitely the most expensive, and
usually the most entertaining, on television.
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football began as an idea that the NFL tried to sell
to CBS or NBC. Both networks declined. CBS had the successful
“Laugh In” on that night, and NBC had the “Doris Day Show.” ABC
was the last to be offered the deal, and they jumped on it. In
September of 1970, Monday Night Football made it’s debut. It, of
course, was wildly successful, and is still on today.
Incidentally, one of the main arguments against prime time,
weekday football was that women would never watch, which might
keep households from watching. In 2003, women made up a little
over 40% of the Monday Night Football audience.
The History of Football Spin-Offs
Flag football has been around since the 1940’s. It was designed
as recreation for soldiers on military bases. Every December
since 1979, there has been a National Collegiate Flag Football
Championship. Children are often introduced to the sport of
football through flag football, which many feel is much safer
than tackle football.
In 1981, a man watching an indoor soccer game got the idea for
Arena Football. In 1987, the first game was played. The sport is
much faster paced and higher scoring than traditional football.
In 2001, there was a spring league formed called the XFL (Extreme
Football League) with ties to professional wrestling. The games
were very low-rated on TV and the league only lasted one
disastrous season.
Whether it’s high school football on Friday nights, College
Football on Saturdays, or NFL games on Sundays and Monday nights,
football is one of the most popular sports in the United States
(as well as Canada and Australia). It will no doubt continue to
be played, perfected, and loved for many decades to come.
Shannon Schwartz is a successful freelance writer offering
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