Portal:American football

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The American Football Portal

American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), 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 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. A game is won by the team with the higher number of points, which 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.

American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby. The first American football match was played on November 6, 1869, between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton, using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", established 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 sport is closely related to Canadian football, which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football.

American football is the most popular sport in the United States in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of the game are professional and college football, with the other major levels being high-school and youth football. , nearly 1.04 million high-school athletes play the sport in the U.S., with another 81,000 college athletes in the NCAA and the NAIA. The National Football League (NFL) has 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. In 2022, the league had an annual revenue of around $18.6 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. 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. (Full article...)

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

Sparty at a baseball game between Michigan State and the Lansing Lugnuts in 2007.

Sparty is the mascot of Michigan State University. Sparty is usually depicted as a muscular male Spartan warrior/athlete dressed in stylized Greek costume. After changing the team name from "Aggies" to "Spartans" in 1925, various incarnations of a Spartan warrior with a prominent chin appeared at university events and in university literature. In 1943, MSU art professor Leonard D. Jungwirth designed a statue for the university, which had to be cast in terra cotta because of World War II rationing. In 2005, the university replaced Jungwirth's original statue with a bronze replica, moving the original indoors to protect it from the elements.

Sparty appears in several other incarnations. In printed literature, the university uses a copyrighted cartoon Spartan, usually drawn with a grimace and several days worth of whiskers, lending the nickname of "Gruff" Sparty. Finally, Sparty appears as a foam rubber mascot with an oversized head. The mascot costume, worn by an anonymous student, appears at most university sporting, alumni, and fundraising events; he is often portrayed in MSU notices and materials. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1A Native American college football team (from History of American football)
Image 2An early American football team, from the turn of the twentieth century (from History of American football)
Image 31897 Latrobe Athletic Association football team: The first entirely professional team to play an entire season. (from History of American football)
Image 4Touchdown monument outside the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario (from Canadian football)
Image 5Walter 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 6Original entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 7Sewanee's 1899 "Iron Men" (from History of American football)
Image 8Colorado's first football team in 1890 (from History of American football)
Image 9Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hall of Fame in lower right (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 101902 football game between the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan (from History of American football)
Image 11Footballs and a helmet at a Calgary Stampeders (CFL) team practice (from Canadian football)
Image 12A moment of the second game between Tufts and Harvard at College Hill, October 1875 (from History of American football)
Image 13Morgan Athletic Club (pictured c. 1900), predecessor of the Arizona Cardinals (from History of American football)
Image 14Inside the original structure in 2008 (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 151906 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 16Don Hutson in 1940. (from History of American football)
Image 17Tom Davies of Pittsburgh runs against undefeated and unscored upon Georgia Tech in the 1918 game at Forbes Field (from History of American football)
Image 18A 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 19High school football stadium in Manhattan, Kansas (from History of American football)
Image 20An arena football goalpost structure featuring the rebound nets on either side of the uprights. (from Arena football)
Image 21A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy (from History of American football)
Image 22Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo looks down field with the ball during the 93rd Grey Cup game at BC Place. (from Canadian football)
Image 23The Big Game between Stanford and California was played as rugby union from 1906 to 1914 (from History of American football)
Image 24Jim Thorpe was the first president of the NFL. (from History of American football)
Image 25A football signed by the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement class (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 26Lehigh 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 27Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, originally built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, pictured in 2005. (from Canadian football)
Image 28Sign at the old entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 29A game between the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders, 1910 (from Canadian football)
Image 30One of the two Harvard vs. McGill games played in 1874 (from History of American football)
Image 31A 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 32The Hall is made up of several sections with display of the inductees at its heart (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 33Diagram of a Canadian football field (from Canadian 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.

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Gragg in 2015 with the Buffalo Bills

Christopher Le'Edward Gragg (born June 30, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for three seasons with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Gragg played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Bills in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Gragg played as a wide receiver for Warren High School, and converted to a tight end after his freshman season at the University of Arkansas. In his sophomore and junior seasons for the Razorbacks, the team made appearances in Bowl Championship Series games and defeated the Kansas State Wildcats in the 2012 Cotton Bowl Classic. A knee injury caused Gragg to miss eight games his senior season as Arkansas finished with a losing record. Gragg participated in the NFL Scouting Combine, an evaluative competition among prospective NFL players, and topped several statistics among the tight ends in attendance; in the following draft, the Bills chose him with the 222nd overall selection. (Full article...)

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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

“

You can call it a miracle or a legend or whatever you want to. I just know that on that day, Brett Favre was larger than life.

”

— Gene Stallings

former University of Alabama coach on Favre after he led the University of Southern Mississippi to a victory over Stalling's Alabama team. Less than six weeks earlier Favre underwent surgery to remove 30 inches of his small intestine.

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