2. The National Football League, better known by NFL, is the largest professional
American football league in the United States. The NFL takes the legal form of Sport
Association, controlled by its own members.
3. It was created by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football
Association, the league changed its name to American Professional Football Leaguein
1921 to change it again for the name now in force in 1922. Currently comprises
32NFL franchises established in various U.S. cities and regions. It is divided into two
conferences: the National (NFC) and American (AFC). In turn, each conference is
comprised of four divisions (North, South, East and West) and each of them, for
fourdifferent teams.
4. The regular season consists of a calendar of seventeen weeks during which each
team has a break (called bye week), consisting of six games against teams from
the same Division as well as several cross-
divisional matchups and interconferenciales.The season begins Thursday
night, the first full week of September (the Thursday after the Labor Day) and
continues in early January.
At the end of the regular season, six teams from each conference compete for the
playoffs, a direct elimination match between the twelve teams that culminates in the
final match for the championship, known as the Super Bowl. This event is played on
adefault city, usually with some team in the NFL. The following week the Pro Bowl is
played in Honolulu, Hawaii, where they face both conferences composed of the best
players of the year.
7. This map shows the physical location of the computers of the National
FootballLeague today.
There are 32 teams in the NFL. A maximum of 53 players on their roster exemption,
but only usually use 45 for every game during the regular season. Unlike Major
League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Basketball
Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL), the NFL does not have a
team based in Canada.
8. There are de teams in 2002 in American Football Conference :
9. There are the teams national footbal conference in 2002:
10. AFL
The growth of the NFL in early 1958, was so rapid and forceful that overcame
baseball as the fans favorite sport of the United States of America. It also aroused
the interest of entrepreneurs and their appetite for buying a franchise or create a
new one. Such was the case with Texas entrepreneur Lamar Hunt, who submitted
a bid, which ultimately was rejected. This led to Hunt and some other businessmen
decided to form ten teams with a new association which they called the American
Football League (AFL), which became a serious rival to the NFL.
11. The AFL introduced innovative changes to the sport, further contributing to
acompetent rivalry with the NFL. This was the official installation of a clock visible tofans
during the game, the player names on the jerseys and a more
aggressiveoffensive air provided by the new rule of free substitutions during the match,
whicheventually led to specialization of positions. Another circumstance that differed
from the NFL was his attitude toward the group of black: the AFL included black
playersand actively recruited players in universities historically dismissed and
marginalizedby the NFL.
12. Subsequently, the NFL teams included black players in
positions theytacitly banned in the
NFL, like quarterback10 and middle linebacker.11 In January1965 there was
a boycott of the party of the stars of the AFL in 1964 in New Orleansbecause
of discrimination against black players from some hotels and shops in the city. It
was an act of activism for social rights and freedoms has been honored by
thePro Football Hall of Fame.
13. The new league also secured financially to choose to share with other teams, the
proceeds received by the television rights and ticket office at their meetings.
The AFL forced the expansion of the NFL: Dallas Cowboys were created
to competewith the Dallas Texans of the AFL created at the same time. In 1963,
the DallasTexans moved their headquarters for Kansas City and
were renamed the KansasCity Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings were a
donation for Max Winter for abandoning theAFL; the
Atlanta Falcons were where Rankin Smith to dissuade him from acquire
theMiami Dolphins.
14. The NFL-AFL merger
In the mid 60's the tension reached its limit. The competition that pitted both leaguesfor
the acquisition of players, including several college Drafts led to significant wage
increases. In 1965, one of the most hotly contested battles, which resulted in favor of
the AFL, the quarterback of the University of Alabama Joe Namath signed with the
New York Jets prefiriéndoles before the St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL for a
recordsalary of $ 427,000. IN 1966, the manager of the AFL Al Davis started a
campaignaimed to remove players to the NFL, especially quarterbacks, but behind
them,several owners of different teams began to make contact to
end the Cold Rivalrybetween the two major leagues.
15. Formalized in an agreement by the founder
of the AFL Lamar Hunt and DallasCowboys general manager Tex Schramm, the two
leagues officially announced theirmerger on June 8, 1966. The league would have
a common Draft and organize a game of season finale to
decide the champion between the two leagues (later renamed Super Bowl), which
over the years would become the highest symbol of football and the celebration more
spectators convened every year worldwide. There was still a city would get a
franchise by the AFL, New Orleans, who was presented with a new team in the NFL
for the passage of Public Law 89-800 driven LouisianaFederal Congress, which
allowed the merger and that disavowed any exceptionrelated to anti-
monopoly restrictions.
16. In 1970, the leagues merged in a new fullyadopting the current name of National
Football League, splitting into two conferences with an equal number
of teams each. There was also a financial agreement whereby AFL teams would
pay a combined total of $ 18 million over 20 years. There was also an objection by
many fans of the AFL about the loss, due tothe merger, the identity of your
league, your logo and your name.
17. Regular Season
During the regular season (generally September to December) games are held
onSundays and Monday nights. In the final third of it extends the program
to Thursday and Saturday. Each team plays twice with the three division rivals,
and once againstthe four teams from another division of the same
conference and against a team fromthe other two divisions of the conference,
making a total of 12 conference games. In addition, you play against 4
teams from another division of the other conference. At the end of the
season each team will play 16 games in 17 weeks (each team has a
bye during the season). Qualifiers will be the division winners plus two teams
from each conference as a wildcard.
18. Playoffs "Playoffs") consists of four additional days at
The postseason (also known as the
for the title
the end of the regular season, where they play the top six teams
from eachconference (twelve in total). This is the structure (using the example
of just one of the conferences can be extrapolated to the other):
1.Mejor division champion (1).
2.Segundo best division champion (2).
3.Tercer best division champion (3).
4.Cuarto best division champion (4).
5.Wild Card with better balance (5).
6.Wild Card with poor balance (6).
The games will be made as follows:
Wild Card:
(6) home (3)
(5) home (4)
Divisions:
Worst winner (6, 5 or 4) home (1)
Best winner (3, 4 or 5) home (2)
Conference Championship:
Worst at home winner of Best winner.
Super Bowl:
AFC Champion - NFC Champion
19. Super Bowl
The postseason event culminates with the maximum of the
NFL, Super Bowl game, which requires planning, programming and
implementing comprehensive, being necessary to get the positions of
the teams and cities that aspire to appear as siteswith several years in
advance.
20.
21. Pro-bowl
The season officially ends with the Pro Bowl (in Mexico, "Pro Bowl") that takes
placeone week after the Super Bowl. Since 1980, has been disputed in Honolulu,
Hawaii.However, it has been speculated that since 2009, the Pro Bowl will be
played one week before the Super Bowl at the headquarters where they will
develop ésta.27However, the league has decided to keep the Pro Bowl 2009
in Honolulu.28 in 2010 we celebrate the Pro Bowl in the same venue
as the Super Bowl is in Miami. And a week before the Super Bowl.
In this game players who congregate in the opinion of the fans, coaches and
playershave emerged as the best in the league and deserve the opportunity to
representtheir respective conferences, to close with the season finale on duty in the
NFL.
22. Number System in Uniform
In the NFL, players wear numbers on their shirts as the position they play. The
current system was instituted in the league on April 5, 1973, as a means for
fansand officials can more easily identify players on the field for their position. Since
then, players use the numbers assigned within the following ranges, based
on theirprimary position:
Quarterbacks, kickers and punters: From 1 to 19.
Wide Receivers: From 10 to 19 and from 80 to 89.
Running backs and Defensive Backs (Safieties and Cornerbaks): From 20 to 49.
Offensive linemen: From 50 to 79.
Linebackers: From 50 to 59 and from 90 to 99.
Defensive linemen: From 50 to 79 and from 90 to 99.
Tight ends: From the 40 to 49 and from 80 to 89.
The numbers 0 (zero) and 00 (double zero) are not used by NFL players since
1973.
23. Commissioners and presidents
President Jim Thorpe (1920-1921)
President Joseph Carr (1921-1939)
President Carl Storck (1939-1941)
Commissioner Elmer Layden (1941-1946)
Commissioner Bert Bell (1946-1959)
Interim President Austin Gunsel (1959-1960, after the death of Bell)
Commissioner Alvin "Pete" Rozelle (1960-1989)
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (1989-2006)
Commissioner Roger Goodell (2006-present)
