American Football

American football, known in the United States (only in English) as simply football, is a competitive team sport that rewards players' speed, agility, tactics, and brute strength as they push, block, tackle, chase, and outrun each other, trying to force a ball further into their opponent's territory for one hour of game time, which translates into three to four hours of real time. Like most team sports (and individual sports in the context of a meet like the Olympics), American football is often seen as a metaphor for war. It is one of the more physically demanding sports, as there is a great deal of physical contact occurring on every play as players often weighing 300 pounds or more shove each other with every ounce of their strength, and with a clearly defined front line, moving up and down the field, separating the offensive and defensive squads. American football does not much resemble soccer, the sport which most of the rest of the world, with the notable exception of many of the nations in the British Commonwealth, calls "football". It does owe its heritage to soccer, however. Rugby Union, "Rugby Football" or simply "Rugby" evolved from soccer when players began carrying the ball, and American football still has some things in common with rugby, especially rugby league.
Popularity
Football is extremely popular in the US. Since the 1990s it has surpassed even baseball as the nation's most popular spectator sport. The professional league, the National Football League (NFL), which consists of 32 teams, is very popular. Its championship game, the Super Bowl, is annually watched by nearly half of US television households, and is also televised in over 150 other countries.

College football is extremely popular, with many major colleges and universities playing NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I football, and consistently selling out huge stadiums. College games are widely televised and widely watched. Many colleges in lower NCAA divisions and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) have varsity football teams, as do most high schools. There are also amateur, club and youth teams (such as teams in the Pop Warner leagues). In addition to those leagues and teams, now there is an American Football World Cup. In addition, there are many "semi-pro" teams, meaning the players are paid to play, but at a small enough salary that they generally must also have a full-time, more traditional job.

Naming
The word football has a number of different meanings. In the United States football almost always means what, in the rest of the English-speaking world, is usually called American football (or in some cases Gridiron football). In most of the rest of the world, the word football means the game that is called soccer in the US, although it is occasionally called Association football or International football. Soccer, the most popular form of football world-wide, is also popular in the US, particlarly as a participation sport for children. It is played at all levels, youth, amateur, high school, college and professional, and in internationals by teams involving both sexes.

The name football might seem a curious name for the sport of American football, as the players' feet rarely have much to do with the ball -- kicking the football is only allowed in certain situations and is most often inadvisable. The vast majority of game time involves players holding the ball in their hands as they run. However, the sport is a direct descendant of rugby union football (which in turn descended from soccer), as explained below, and has retained the name.

In the remainder of this article, the word football refers to American football.

Professional, college, and other leagues
Football is played at a number of levels in the United States. These include the following.

Professional football (NFL)
Women's football
Arena football - (professional) played indoors
College football - played by many US colleges (very popular)
High School football - played by most high schools
Amateur and youth league football
Flag football - non-tackle; almost exclusively amateur
Touch football - also non-tackle and almost exclusively amateur
The descriptions on this page are based primarily on the current rules of the National Football League (NFL, 1920-present). Differences with college rules will be noted.

Professional, college, high school, and amateur rules are similar. The minor Arena Football League (1987-present) plays an indoor adaptation of American football, at a faster pace, on a smaller field with no built-in sidelines -- the edges of the grid are coincident with padded walls similar to those found in a baseball outfield. Flag football and touch football are non-tackle versions of American football.

The game
Play in American football consists of a series of individual plays of short duration, between which the ball is not in play. Substitutions are allowed between plays, which allows for a great deal of specialization, as coaches put in players they think are best suited for any particular situation. The game is very tactical and strategic. With 22 players on the field at a time, (eleven on each team), each with an assigned task for a given play, the strategies are complex.

Object of the game
The object of the game is to advance the ball to the opponents' end of the field and score points. The team with the most points when time has expired wins.

Duration, kickoffs and free kicks
The game is 60 minutes long, divided into two halves separated by a halftime. Each half consists of two quarters, each 15 minutes long. Teams change ends of the field after the first and third quarters. If a game is tied at the end of regulation, overtime is played. Overtime periods are "sud

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