Association football, also commonly called simply football, is a rough-and-tumble team sport generally played by a spherical object between two teams of eleven players, often with referees to stop play when play is being unsportsmanlike or when there are too many fouls to be whistled or called. It’s played by about 250 million people in more than 200 different countries and dependencies, which make it the most popular sport in the world. It’s so popular in the United States, in fact, that American football is the most-watched sport on Versus, a satellite television channel dedicated to sports.
The game of football evolved from the game of croquet, a French pastime that involved throwing a racquet that was long and hard and able to be volleyed back and forth like a volley ball, and/or using the feet instead. This game was eventually adopted by English sports lovers and turned into a “game of sixes,” literally meaning six balls in the volley; though today, “sixes” is just an upgrade from the original game. Later during the Renaissance, football spread throughout Europe and became an even more popular pastime between the estates of the rich and powerful. And because it was against the law for someone to play a game of football in public without a referee to call a foul, the game became even more popular amongst the upper and middle classes. In England alone, football became the most popular game in the entire country, and it’s popularity only grew after the mid-eighteen hundreds, when Queen Elizabeth II enacted a law allowing people to play football provided they kept the rules of the game while being drunk.
The origins of the game of football can be traced back to Australia, where it was played with the ball called “pork”, since pigs can kick the ball pretty easily. Eventually, with advancements in technology, rugby was created and played with the ball called “pitch”. Originally, the pigskin was made of wool, but later hemp was used, and eventually leather was used, as the game became more popular. As the years went on and competition among teams increased, the football uniform changed from a simple fabric to a durable leather or textile-based material that would provide great traction. The term “friction” comes from the fact that when two objects make contact, such as during a tackle, the friction increases the speed of the ball. Since the game of football is played at an average speed of thirty feet per second, that translates to over one hundred tackles for every two minutes of play.
Today, nearly every major college and professional football team to play the game of football. The American football teams tend to be the well-known powerhouse teams in the National Football League. The gridiron game of football is played in a completely different style than American football. Although both games require players to be able to throw passes and run with the ball around their bodies, the positions for the two games are very different.
Rugby is played between two teams on an oval field much like the American game of football. Two forwards, three backs, two corners, and two special teams are on each team. Unlike the American game, rugby players are not allowed to line up in the same way as their football counterparts; they are allowed to move around a lot of different ways on the rugby field to try to create some confusion on the opposing teams. The rugby ball is played with tenons, which are made out of ten foot wide rubber balls.
The object of the game is for the team on offense to run the ball into the end zone, and for the defense to stop the offense before it gets to the end zone. The offense is scored when the player who kicked the ball makes a pass into the end zone. The defense is scored when the player who intercepts the ball makes a tackle and takes it back to the house. In order for a team to win, the offense can only score passing, rushing, or receiving the ball, while the defense can score on any of these plays. When teams play each other, there are three points given for each point made by either team.
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