American football emerged from the European game of
Rugby in 1879. Walter Camp, a player and coach of Yale University, is
recognized as “The Father Of American Football” as the early rules of
the game was instituted by him. However, previous to that, the students
of Princeton were already playing a game called “Ballown”. It was about
fisting the ball and then using their feet to advance the ball past
their opponents. There were no hard and fast rules that applied and
could be stated as the easiest form of football at it’s early times.
However, the physical aspect of the game was immense and often it
turned violent. At Harvard too, a football-type game was being played
on the first Monday of the school year. This game was so much physical
that the day it was played was often mentioned as “Bloody Monday”. The
year 1865 was very important for American Football.
The Civil War
had ended and football started gaining popularity in the colleges. It
was in this year that some basic rules for the game were established
and the game got its patent for the first time. Thus on 6th November,
1869 the first inter-collegiate football was played between Rutgers and
Princeton where Rutgers won by a score of six goals to four. In 1873,
the Intercollegiate Football Association was formed by the
representatives of Columbia, Rutgers, Princeton, and Yale. Till then,
the increasingly popular game was being played with many different
rules. The association brought into effect the first set of rules of
intercollegiate football which allowed fifteen players in each team.
However, it was Walter Camp, a coach at Yale, who began the final
process of evolution from rugby like game to what we know today as the
American Football. The number of players was reduced to eleven and the
standard size of the field was set to hundred and ten yards. A little
later downs were introduced and tackling below the belt was legalized.
However, the violent physical challenge that the game demanded, caused
many serious injuries and deaths in the next few years. As a result,
though still gaining popularity, football was banned in many colleges.
In
1905, under a directive from President Theodore Roosevelt, Yale,
Harvard and Princeton setup a couple of meetings between schools and
formed a seven member Rules Committee which was later came to be known
as National Collegiate Athletic Association, or the NCAA. American
Football has now become a multi-billion dollar industry. With the
advent of cable television, the game have crossed the boundaries of
America and spread its wings all over the world. Dozens of games both
collegiate ad professional are aired almost every Friday and Saturday
afternoons and Sunday and Monday nights during the football season. The
super Bowl, that decides the national champion, has become the most
watched sporting event of all times. Plenty of merchandise and football
products have taken the markets by storm. Quite a number of innovative
products are often offered as token gifts and memorabilia. Even free
American Football ecards can be found over the net .
Some online
greeting card sites like 123greetings has an entire category dedicated
to the game . Thus from the humble past where football only meant
throwing or kicking a ball past the opponents, American Football has
emerged as a game which has influenced the culture and economy of the
United States of America.
Sean Carter writes on holidays, celebrations around the world. He also writes on family, relationships,womens issues american football, inspiration, religion, love and friendship. He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry. He writes for 123greetings.com.
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