Footballs 4 Family

 

At this time of the year all professional football fans (and many others, too) are focused on the Super Bowl. This annual event has become larger than life. Who will compete in the Super Bowl and who will win? These two questions are asked daily by football fans, including many family football players. This article does not hope to accurately answer these questions. But rather an attempt will be made to name the participants and the winner. As always it will review the equipment choices for family football.

At present the professional football season is just about over. Some teams, including the New York Giants, a recent Super Bowl winner, are already eliminated. The teams that seem most likely to be Super Bowl contenders are the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. These two teams have the best seasonal records. But, several other teams are also contenders. These include the Minnesota Vikings, the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. Who will be the final two teams? Right now no one knows.

One clear conclusion emerges. It is extremely difficult to repeat as either a Super Bowl winner or contender. As an example, just look at the present season. Last year’s Super Bowl teams were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. At present neither of these teams is in the running for a repeat Super Bowl appearance. They have been outclassed by other professional teams. This is a clear result of the impact of trades and other player moves. In years past teams like the Pittsburg Steelers and the Green Bay Packers established football dynasties and won repeated Super Bowls. This no longer happens and it’s a very healthy circumstance. Super Bowls are now wide open contests.

Based on current play one would select the Indianapolis Colts as the top team in football. As such they should win the Super Bowl. But there are no sure things in professional football. The 2009 Super Bowl is a good example. One team in this key game who almost won it was the Arizona Cardinals, a wild card team! So all football fans continue to watch the games each week and root for their favorite teams. But only one team can be the Super Bowl champ. Who will it be? No one knows or can even guess. So we’ll just wait and see!

As we wait it’s useful to consider family football equipment. This includes an official football, quality accessories and a sturdy tote bag. The best football is the official NFL football. It is covered in top grain leather and plays better than any other football. It can be a Rawlings football, a Spalding football or a Wilson football. The next best football is the composite football covered in leather and rubber. It plays reasonably well and can be an Olympia football or a Rawlings football. The least playable football is the rubber football. It is preferred by casual players due to its low cost. It can be a Baden football, a Champion football, a Mikasa football or an Olympia football.

Quality accessories truly help the family game to progress. These are a football pump, pressure gauge, inflating needles and a football repair kit. The ball pump can be a hand operated air pump or a foot pump.

Another key accessory is the ball bag or ball tote. It is made of nylon mesh, comes in many colors and has a nylon draw string. This nylon ball tote or nylon ball bag can accommodate up to 10 footballs. It is used to carry football equipment to and from games and to protect unused equipment from theft at the games.

Picking the Super Bowl winner right now is a fruitless exercise. It is much better to let the year play out and then watch the Super Bowl game on TV. Don’t worry about the winner! A good team will do it!

We take football for granted. In the fall we watch it on TV or in person and play a family game with an official NFL football or in organized leagues. How did football get started? This article sheds some light on football’s history.

Football likely began in 19th century England as part of a soccer game. Some frustrated soccer player got tired of kicking the ball and picked it up and ran with it. His action sparked other soccer players to do the same and so rugby was born.

Rugby caught on quickly around the world. It came to the United States in the mid 1800’s and was played in America’s northeastern colleges. Harvard and Yale played a key match in 1876 and formalized the rules for rugby, similar to English rules. The key difference was the ball. The American ball was egg shaped and so the game name was changed to football. This action led to forming the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA).

But football then was still American rugby and different than today’s game. So, in 1880, a Yale football player, named Walter Camp, convinced the IFA to change the rules of American rugby to the game we know today. Camp is popularly remembered as the father of modern football.

Football was an intercollegiate sport until the beginning of the 20th century when professional teams began to emerge. By then college sports fell under the NCAA (National College Athletic Association). The rules of professional football mirrored the collegiate game. By 1920 there were more than 10 professional teams. They met in Canton, Ohio to form what became the NFL (National Football League).

The rest is history. In the last 50 years TV has made football the fall sport. We watch and play football. What we see in the college and professional games we try to copy in our recreational games. We love football for its healthy outdoor recreation and play it for the fun and exercise it provides.

As we play family football, we don’t think about the game’s pioneers. We never consider the unknown English soccer player who began rugby. Little thought is given to old college teams or Walter Camp. Yes, we know about our favorite college and professional teams. But football only comes alive when we play it with family and friends for family football fun on a warm summer afternoon. That’s the way it’s meant to be!

Football is a great American tradition. It’s a game that mixes strategy, physical contact, and raw ability. Families have been playing family football since its conception. Football has its roots in early forms of rugby football and soccer. The original form of football consisted of a soccer net on either side of the field and much fewer players.

Official NFL Football has since refined itself with several rules and regulations that were not a part of the original design. Now, although it is connected with the processor sports through the kicker and its use of opposing goal lines, American football is truly a unique sport that amazes and inspires today’s youth by providing football fun.