Respect now, your comments are being read in
STEELER COUNTRY
Not a sports history buff but I think I read somewhere that in the begining linebackers ran the ball untill a coach came up with the idea of throwing it.
Steelers win history is made.

Tom, Leeper, USA

Okay, Venetia. Here's the rundown.

There is a 16-game season in the NFL because American football is so strenuous to the point that a 31-game season (or 62-game season!) would take an unbelievable toll on the players. They have only played 16-game schedules since 1978; before that, they played 14, and before that, they played 12 games. So here's how they do scheduling:

The NFL is currently organised into two conferences with 16 teams each; the conferences have four divisions with four teams each. Each team plays division rivals twice (home and away), all the teams in another division in their conference (which rotates each season), all the teams in another division in the other conference (which also rotates), and two additional conference rivals chosen according to their respective winning percentages the previous season. The schedule favours divisional play, so the only way to have favourable standing in the postseason is to win the division.

Eric, Watertown, MA, USA

google it John. cheers.

david worsham, san francisco, usa

can anyone tell me why their ar only 16 games when thier ar 32 teams and how they decide who playes who in regular season not including playoffs

venetia house, wigan, uk

I am a fan of both forms of football and I appreciate the U.K.'s attempt to understand and explain the American version of it. Unfortunately the game in Wembly a few weeks ago was pathetic I encourage new fans or casual watchers to pay close attention to the Indianapolis Colts and there systematic mastery of the game especially on the offensive side of the ball (they are not bad on defense either) Peyton Manning is truly a spectacle, and is redefining the Quarterback position. i agree that Amer. Football is similar to a chess match but the same could be said of football football, Americans like scoring and have little patience or understanding for the significance of a 0-0 ties or aggregate scoring. The best chance that soccer has in Amer. is for the National Team to be successful in future World Cups,(vis a vis: "What the Miracle on Ice" was to Hockey) Unfortunately our best players are better off in playing in Europe not in the MLS, a Catch 22 to American soccer success.

Zac, Indianapolis, IN

There is only one football, the first sport to develop the rules and the name. Played with the foot and the ball. The worlds number one sport.

Gridiron, is what they'll have to start calling it, is like painting by numbers. To stop a game so that one player can link up with another is mediocre to say the least.

In football we have 7 or 8 players linking up spontaneously and doing all this by controlling a ball with their feet. No wonder steve nash thought basketball was easy compared to football.

Gridirons superbowl is indeed a fun event to watch. But the NFL has failed to spread gridiron globally and with baseball out of the olympics I am afraid americans have lost the sports war.

Football has become the worlds number one pastime and most superior physical activity. Teamwork, skill, technique and passion taken to a new level above any other team sport.

I respect americans for keeping with gridiron and trying to sell it to us british, but football is number one.

Warrior1010, leeds, yorkshire

Imagine someone (John from Calgary) after all these years of internet access STILL asking why it is called football! BTW Calgary also has a 'football' team in the Canadian version of gridiron - the Canadian FOOTBALL League. Australia has its own football code as does Ireland, and in New Zealand 'football' usually means rugby union. Of course, in England there is an RFU - Rugby Football Union.

Perhaps every sports website on earth should have a link to a football codes explanation on its home page in order to avoid this tiresome discussion.

AndrewH, Toronto,

It is a different game, a great game, with a rythm all it's own.
The one thing that the NFL can take away from the Premiership
is to see how a game flows without endless interruption. There are going to be 30 second stoppages between plays, that is a given. However, there are so many TV time outs that at times it really drags on the game.

Games that use to be finished in 3 hours now take 3 1/4 hours. I swear that the actual run time of a game could be cut to 2.5 or 2 3/4 hours by knocking out the commercial breaks. I would love to just see halves sponsored by the same companies.

My favorite football teams are: The Green Bay Packers, Glasgow Celtic, Manchester United. As much as i love the Packers, there is no way that they have the same endurance that rugby players (or football (soccer) players)have

Tom, Chicago, USA

College football is never boring, and I can honestly spend an entire Saturday watching it with a big bowl of chips and a 6 pack of beer. Football has really dedicated fans, no matter how bad your team does, you may or may not travel over 2,500 miles to watch them play a game (as I do twice or more a year with friends!) Notre Dame could lose every single game in a season but I still love cheering on my Fighting Irish. Football is a game of time, wits and a little brawn thrown in. Anyone who questions that needs to watch the LSU v. Auburn highlights from last week- that touchdown pass with 3 or 4 seconds to go was awesome!

"And the crowd goes wild!!!!" I wish the Brits could watch college football rather than the NFL- the heart and intensity is 1000x greater.

Holly, Los Angeles, CA USA

phil, new york city, i disagree almost entirely. coaches and players spend endless hours drawing up game plans to attack and defend opponents. sometimes yes, on one play, a ball will bouce in a odd direction and can be a deciding factor in a game, but a good team, well coached with a good game plan will succeed overwhelmingly more often then a mere unlucky bouce. look closer, the game has more character than the curve of its game ball. I like to watch the offensive and defensive lines go at it. to me the game is decided at the "line of scrimage." (which is where the ball is hiked from at the beginning of every play)

David, Neptune, USA / New Jersey

Comparing NFL football to WWF? I think not...Rugby has more akin to WWF given its non-stop predictability and lack of intelligence. and European football pales in strategy, strength and endurance, and intelligence requirements ....Unlike the chaos as most Europeans view the game, American football is more akin to chess played out on field ( each play offensively and defensively represents each teams strategy to counteract the others movements - most footballers and rugby players would be aghast at the combination and number of plays which players and coaches must learn) with the skill and tenacity of the players the variable dynamics which create unpredictability and excitement ( "on any given sunday")......

Abe Littleman, Prague, Czech Republic

I think one of the things that many non-Americans don't get is that it is way more interesting to bet on American football, which has tons of statistics, than it is to bet on the other football, where you really don't have much more other than the final score, and maybe shots defended or taken.

I cede the point that in person, soccer is probably more interesting and intense. However, as most people need TV to see the games (generally, all 16 games play out over a 10-12 hour span on Sundays), you may find that it is more interesting to watch them on TV.

The unparalleled popularity of the NFL, however, has mostly to do with Fantasy Football. It provides an easy way to "gamble" on the outcome of the games, keeps one interested in the entire league rather than one team specifically, and allows one to exchange smack-talk with their friends or office colleagues.

Chris, Seattle, WA, USA

The ball isn't ROUND! It can hit the ground and bounce in favor of one team or another. No amount of skill or tactics can help anyone determine or guess the direction the ball will bounce.

I gave up watching football several years ago when too many instances of this 'whimsy' decided the outcome of games. A team can be well trained, perform far better than the opposing team, and still lose because the ball can (and DOES) bounce in any direction. Why not just flip a coin to decide the winning team? Can a clump of dirt or grass in a playing field cause the same 'chance' in any other sport? Sure, but that is the point, it IS pure chance. In American football the ball was DESIGNED this way!

Watch the game for the novelty of it, you will see some very skilled players and amazing athletes. But don't put too much stock in the outcome of the game, the winner is too often decided by pure luck.

phil, New York City,

Nothing in the world beats the competetion of Football. I'm sorry A.K. Your team has lost 2 in a row. That's musts hurt. Even though our division sucks your team still has a chance. I'm a Raider fan so I am feelin the pain too. It's alright we have many weeks ahead of us!

Ryan, Laguna Hills, Ca.

An English friend once said that American football epitomises two characteristics of American society -- violence and committee meetings.

Julian, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

The runs of the receiver to pick a quarterback's throw out of the air 50-60 yards downfield are something to seen. Truly amazing. And I'm an Englishman.

Ken, Ottawa, Canada

I've always seen American Football as a 300 pound game of chess. Always thinking 3 plays ahead. I've watched it for years and it's taken me years to get used the tactics, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Cant wait for the new season to start. BRONCOS FOREVER!!

A.K, London,

yes indeed American football can be confusing to watch and to understand initially.
No matter what is said pro or con football is similar to life on a micro scale.
The ups the downs the dramatic victories and crushing defeats both on a micro and macro scale. Its also about combat. down and dirty hand to hand combat. Its about small unit tactics and land warfare. About taking and holding ground. Its about strategy with hundreds of pre-described and practiced senarios that will lead to victory if executed properly. It is brutal bone jarring gladitorial competition. It is a game that defines the american spirit and mentality. Its the greatest game ever conceived.

wt katz, scottsdale, arizona USA

It's called "football" for historic reasons. Originally, the term "football" could have referred to both soccer or rugby. "Football" was actually a mixture of soccer and rugby. Later on, the two games were separated after rules were clarified. American football evolved from rugby, which is still often referred to as "rugby football" even though there is relatively little kicking.

Ted, Alexandria, Virginia, USA

John: The history of "football" extends back much farther than the comparatively modern sport of "association football" (abbreviated to "soccer" in the US) that you are referring to. There are references to football in Shakespeare, and kings were trying to ban it as early as 1300. Football in fact means simply a game played on foot, as opposed to the aristocratic games played on horseback, such as polo or jousting. There were many, many different variations of the game over the last millennium -- some involved carrying the ball, some involved kicking it. (Indeed, I think it's worth noting that in soccer, you don't move the ball with your foot, but rather with any part of your body besides your arms. By your logic, John, perhaps you should call it "anything-but-hands-ball"?) Rugby, association football, and American football are actually all about as old in terms of written, codified rules -- they all date from around the mid-nineteenth century.

David, Austin, TX

I wonder if European football fans would still be as disdainful of American football, and if American football fans would still look with such scorn at European football, if they'd simply given American football an original name. Sometimes I think half of the reason that so many "soccer" fans think American football is boring/stupid, and vice versa, is based on a subconscious pissing match over who's game is the more exciting representation of the title "football."

Personally, I love them both. American football for the sheer spectacle of watching one 300-pound ball of muscle run full-speed into another, and European football for the sheer beauty and pace of the game when it is played at a high (read: non-MLS) level. Both can be incredibly exciting. Both can be painfully boring.

However, if I want consistent boredom, I look no further than baseball or cricket. Sweet tapdancing Christ, people actually devote their lives to these games?

Nate, Buffalo, New Y ork

Football and beer have much in common: That which we call beer and football in the States, . . .aren't.

Steven M. Armstrong, Virginia Beach, Virginia USA

Why do they call it football?. Only two people on each team really kick the ball (the punter and the field goal kicker). The majority of the game generally involves handing someone the ball and having them run it or throwing it to someone to catch......

Real football (a.k..a. as soccer to the American football fan)
is a game where the teams really do use their feet to move the ball In fact with the exception of the goalkeeper the other ten players cannot handle the ball without being penalized, just the opposite of the American "football" game.
Perhaps American football should be renamed and called handball but unfortunately I think that is yet another game.
By the way the offical time of the game is one hour which is divided in to four quarters, however, the actual time to complete the game usally takes closer to 3 hours. Almost like watching paint dry.

john , calgary, Alberta, Canada

I agree, Jeff is still bitter about LA having no teams. Pobrecito. You can learn to live without a football team. In fact, no one in Houston really cares about football as much anymore. We're a baseball town now.

But I wouldn't say that American football is an acquired taste. In fact, I'll quote a friend of mine who is here from Bangladesh. He said, "I don't understand what is happening, and this is perhaps the stupidest sport I've ever watched, but, for some reason, I like it."

John, Houston, Texas, USA

Jeff is probably bitter about both the Rams and Raiders leaving town.

American football is a great sport, but kind of like beer-an acquired taste.

Eric Stratton, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

This is such a lame sport.

Jeff, Los Angeles, Calif, USA