We call it football....

It's not what the rest of the world thinks of as football (we call that game soccer), but it's one of the most popular sports in the USA. Beginning from the game played at Rugby school in England, US football came to the colonies in the 1800s as a collegiate sport. The danger of the sport almost terminated it's play, but a rules committee was set up to civilize it, adding a scrimmage line, passing (throwing), and safety equipment. Now we have an agressive, contact sport of major proportions.

Boys can start playing on a peewee league at age 5 (no tackling allowed), progressing to tackle football at age 7, and high school teams at age 14 or 15. If he's very good, he can play on a college team, sometimes getting a full scholarship. The rare player is good enough to play professionally, making the really big bucks.

The season starts in August or September and has 6 to 10 regular games, followed by play-offs for championships on the different levels.. High schools have state-wide champions, Colleges can play in Bowl Games, with the Professionals winding up the season with the Super Bowl Championship, seen all over the world.

It is not limited to American males, there is a smaller Canadian league, an exhibition league in Europe, and a very small female league.

While I have occasionally tossed a football around in fun, I have only been a spectator at games, especially in high school and college where I participated in the marching band. I do enjoy watching a good game, rooting for the Miami Dolphins or the Tennessee Titans on occasion. I know the basics of the game enough to follow the play, but for a good explaination of the rules and play of the game look here.