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American Football: introduction
Updated: Jul 18, 2022
American football started in 1882 and was developed by US college athletes who combined rugby with soccer.
In American Football you have 3 tries to move the ball down the field which is why the field is painted into a gridiron, enabling the referees to track the movement of the ball. The Gridiron is 360 feet long by 160 feet wide. The game lasts 60 minutes and is divided into four quarters and of course, many commercial breaks. The first televised American Football game was in 1939 between the Philadelphia Eagles and Brooklyn Dodgers
American Football Stadiums
🏈 Green Bay could fit 77% of its town into their 105,000-seater stadium which is also the 4th biggest in the league.
🏈 Surprisingly, Los Angeles is the biggest city in the USA that does not have an NFL team.
🏈 The only teams that share a football stadium are the New York Giants and the New York Jets, and confusingly the stadium is actually in the state of New Jersey.
🏈 The smallest stadium is Soldier Field with a capacity of 61,500 and is based in Chicago
🏈 American Football teams used to share their stadiums with Major League Baseball teams but that is rarer today. The sport has grown so much that this is no longer needed.
🏈 Tottenham Hotspur from London, England, does a great job of transforming from a soccer stadium to an American Football stadium.
Superbowl - What you need to know
The two best teams from the league faceoff in what is known as the Superbowl
The Superbowl usually captivates the entire country, even those that normally don’t watch the sport.
The first Superbowl was played in 1967 where 60 million people tuned in. Today 100 million watch this amazing event.
Superbowl tickets can cost as much as $60k that’s 5k more than the average USA salary.
In the most memorable Superbowl of them all, Tom Brady helped his team overcome a 21-0 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime in 2017.
The last Superbowl in February 2021 was the first time a team played at home. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made full use of the home advantage to beat the Kansas City Cheifs 31-7 and at age 43 Tom Brady won his 7th Championship ring.
Superbowl Gatherings
If you’re not watching the games live in the stadiums, there are plenty of other options to get in on the excitement. Many restaurants and bars will stream the event, just be prepared for loud yelling and drinks spilling all over the place. If you want to skip the noise of the crowded places that are filled with eager fans, many fans also host their own Super Bowl parties/bbqs, but there is no guarantee that those will be any quieter.
If you’re invited to a Super Bowl party, chances are you will be asked to prepare chicken wings, guac, pizza, some form of dip, or nachos. This is basically an excuse to indulge in all of the greatest foods.
Do you have any fun Super Bowl experiences or recipes? Let us know!
Article Written by Brian
Brian played professional football in the US, but has since moved to Asia and studies Chinese Medicine. Brian tries to fly back home every year for the Super Bowl parties as they are “a staple of culture.”
