Portal:American football

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The American Football Portal

American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby. The first American football game was played on November 6, 1869, between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton, using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", established the snap, the line of scrimmage, eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the forward pass, created the neutral zone, and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football, which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football.

American football is the most popular sport in the United States in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of the game are professional and college football, with the other major levels being high-school and youth football. As of 2022, nearly 1.04 million high-school athletes play the sport in the U.S., with another 81,000 college athletes in the NCAA and the NAIA. The National Football League (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world. Its championship game, the Super Bowl, ranks among the most-watched club sporting events globally. In 2022, the league had an annual revenue of around $18.6 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. Other professional and amateur leagues exist worldwide, but the sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like baseball or basketball; the sport maintains a growing following in the rest of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan. (Full article...)

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Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Location in Seattle##Location in Washington State##Location in the United States

Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), and Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Originally called Seahawks Stadium, it was renamed Qwest Field in June 2004 when telecommunications carrier Qwest acquired the naming rights. The stadium became known as CenturyLink Field following Qwest's June 2011 acquisition by CenturyLink and was nicknamed "The Clink" as a result; it received its current name in November 2020 with CenturyLink's rebrand to Lumen Technologies. It is a modern facility with views of the Downtown Seattle skyline and a seating capacity of 68,740 spectators for NFL games and 37,722 for most MLS matches. The complex also includes the Event Center which is home to the Washington Music Theater (WaMu Theater), a parking garage, and a public plaza. The venue hosts concerts, trade shows, and consumer shows along with sporting events. Located within a mile (1.6 km) of Downtown Seattle, the stadium is accessible by multiple freeways and forms of mass transit.

The stadium was built between 2000 and 2002 on the site of the Kingdome after voters approved funding for the construction in a statewide election held in June 1997. This vote created the Washington State Public Stadium Authority to oversee public ownership of the venue. The owner of the Seahawks, Paul Allen, formed First & Goal Inc. to develop and operate the new facilities. Allen was closely involved in the design process and emphasized the importance of an open-air venue with an intimate atmosphere. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various American football-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Jim Thorpe was the first president of the NFL. (from History of American football)
Image 2Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", pictured here in 1878 as the captain of the Yale University football team (from History of American football)
Image 3Diagram of a Canadian football field (from Canadian football)
Image 4High school football stadium in Manhattan, Kansas (from History of American football)
Image 5Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (gold jerseys with black accents) vs. Triangle Torch (black jerseys with red and yellow accents) play an American Indoor Football game at Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, March 25, 2016 (from Arena football)
Image 6A football signed by the 1974 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement class (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 7Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo looks down field with the ball during the 93rd Grey Cup game at BC Place. (from Canadian football)
Image 8A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy (from History of American football)
Image 9A game between the 4th Canadian Armoured Division Atoms and First Canadian Army Red and Blue Bombers, in Utrecht, Netherlands, October 1945 (from Canadian football)
Image 10A Native American college football team (from History of American football)
Image 11An early American football team, from the turn of the twentieth century (from History of American football)
Image 12Original entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 131902 football game between the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan (from History of American football)
Image 14Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hall of Fame in lower right (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 15A game between the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders, 1910 (from Canadian football)
Image 16Don Hutson in 1940. (from History of American football)
Image 17The Hall is made up of several sections with display of the inductees at its heart (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 181897 Latrobe Athletic Association football team: The first entirely professional team to play an entire season. (from History of American football)
Image 19An arena football goalpost structure featuring the rebound nets on either side of the uprights. (from Arena football)
Image 20One of the two Harvard vs. McGill games played in 1874 (from History of American football)
Image 21A modern down indicator box is mounted on a pole and is used to mark the current line of scrimmage. The number on the marker is changed using a dial. (from Canadian football)
Image 22Morgan Athletic Club (pictured c. 1900), predecessor of the Arizona Cardinals (from History of American football)
Image 23Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, originally built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, pictured in 2005. (from Canadian football)
Image 24Touchdown monument outside the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario (from Canadian football)
Image 25A moment of the second game between Tufts and Harvard at College Hill, October 1875 (from History of American football)
Image 26The Big Game between Stanford and California was played as rugby union from 1906 to 1914 (from History of American football)
Image 27Sewanee's 1899 "Iron Men" (from History of American football)
Image 28Colorado's first football team in 1890 (from History of American football)
Image 29Inside the original structure in 2008 (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 30Tom Davies of Pittsburgh runs against undefeated and unscored upon Georgia Tech in the 1918 game at Forbes Field (from History of American football)
Image 31Footballs and a helmet at a Calgary Stampeders (CFL) team practice (from Canadian football)
Image 32Sign at the old entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (from Pro Football Hall of Fame)
Image 331906 St. Louis Post-Dispatch photograph of Brad Robinson, who threw the first legal forward pass and was the sport's first triple threat (from History of American football)

Selected image

Quarterback

Credit: Mike Kaplan, USAF

In gridiron football, the quarterback is the leader of the offensive team. At most levels, but especially at the college and professional level, the quarterback is one of the most visible and important roles on the team, being responsible both for calling plays and making decisions during the play. Shown here is Shea Smith of the Air Force Falcons during the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl.

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Billy Joe Tolliver (born February 7, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) for twelve seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Oilers, Shreveport Pirates, Kansas City Chiefs, and New Orleans Saints. Over the course of his NFL career, he played in 79 games, completed 891 of 1,707 passes for 10,760 yards, threw 59 touchdowns and 64 interceptions, and retired with a passer rating of 67.7. 7 A graduate of Boyd High School and Texas Tech University, Tolliver was selected in the second round of the 1989 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. He started 19 games in two seasons at San Diego before being traded to Atlanta, where he saw playing time as a backup for three seasons. In 1994, he became one of three starting quarterbacks for Houston and then served as quarterback of the Shreveport Pirates in the CFL during their final season of activity in 1995. After not competing in 1996, Tolliver played for both Atlanta and Kansas City in 1997. He then started 11 games for New Orleans in two seasons but did not take the field in 2000. A stint with the Green Bay Packers in the 2001 offseason concluded his professional career. (Full article...)

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Calendar

2023 season: NFL • NCAA FBS (Bowl games)
Jan 8	College Football National Championship: #1 Michigan vs #2 Washington
Jan 13-15	NFL: Wild Cards
Jan 20-21	NFL: Divisional games
Jan 28	NFL: Conference games
Feb 4	NFL: Pro Bowl Games
Feb 11	NFL: Super Bowl LVIII

Selected quote

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The quarterback just ran all over the place. He's a fantastic player. He was the difference. And how classic was it that he ran it in on the last play?

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