THE NFL

The National Football League, better known by NFL, is the largest professional American football league in the United States. The NFL takes the legal form of Sport Association, controlled by its own members.

It was created by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, the league changed its name to American Professional Football Leaguein 1921 to change it again for the name now in force in 1922. Currently comprises 32NFL franchises established in various U.S. cities and regions. It is divided into two conferences: the National (NFC) and American (AFC). In turn, each conference is comprised of four divisions (North, South, East and West) and each of them, for fourdifferent teams.

The regular season consists of a calendar of seventeen weeks during which each team has a break (called bye week), consisting of six games against teams from the same Division as well as several cross-divisional matchups and interconferenciales.The season begins Thursday night, the first full week of September (the Thursday after the Labor Day) and continues in early January. At the end of the regular season, six teams from each conference compete for the playoffs, a direct elimination match between the twelve teams that culminates in the final match for the championship, known as the Super Bowl. This event is played on adefault city, usually with some team in the NFL. The following week the Pro Bowl is played in Honolulu, Hawaii, where they face both conferences composed of the best players of the year.

The American football is the most popular sport in that country.

TEAMS.

This map shows the physical location of the computers of the National FootballLeague today.There are 32 teams in the NFL. A maximum of 53 players on their roster exemption, but only usually use 45 for every game during the regular season. Unlike Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL), the NFL does not have a team based in Canada.

There are de teams in 2002 in American Football Conference :

There are the teams national footbal conference in 2002:

AFLThe growth of the NFL in early 1958, was so rapid and forceful that overcame baseball as the fans favorite sport of the United States of America. It also aroused the interest of entrepreneurs and their appetite for buying a franchise or create a new one. Such was the case with Texas entrepreneur Lamar Hunt, who submitted a bid, which ultimately was rejected. This led to Hunt and some other businessmen decided to form ten teams with a new association which they called the American Football League (AFL), which became a serious rival to the NFL.

The AFL introduced innovative changes to the sport, further contributing to acompetent rivalry with the NFL. This was the official installation of a clock visible tofans during the game, the player names on the jerseys and a more aggressiveoffensive air provided by the new rule of free substitutions during the match, whicheventually led to specialization of positions. Another circumstance that differed from the NFL was his attitude toward the group of black: the AFL included black playersand actively recruited players in universities historically dismissed and marginalizedby the NFL. 

Subsequently, the NFL teams included black players in positions theytacitly banned in the NFL, like quarterback10 and middle linebacker.11 In January1965 there was a boycott of the party of the stars of the AFL in 1964 in New Orleansbecause of discrimination against black players from some hotels and shops in the city. It was an act of activism for social rights and freedoms has been honored by thePro Football Hall of Fame.

The new league also secured financially to choose to share with other teams, the proceeds received by the television rights and ticket office at their meetings.

The AFL forced the expansion of the NFL: Dallas Cowboys were created to competewith the Dallas Texans of the AFL created at the same time. In 1963, the DallasTexans moved their headquarters for Kansas City and were renamed the KansasCity Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings were a donation for Max Winter for abandoning theAFL; the Atlanta Falcons were where Rankin Smith to dissuade him from acquire theMiami Dolphins.

The NFL-AFL merger In the mid 60's the tension reached its limit. The competition that pitted both leaguesfor the acquisition of players, including several college Drafts led to significant wage increases. In 1965, one of the most hotly contested battles, which resulted in favor of the AFL, the quarterback of the University of Alabama Joe Namath signed with the New York Jets prefiriéndoles before the St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL for a recordsalary of $ 427,000. IN 1966, the manager of the AFL Al Davis started a campaignaimed to remove players to the NFL, especially quarterbacks, but behind them,several owners of different teams began to make contact to end the Cold Rivalrybetween the two major leagues.

Formalized in an agreement by the founder of the AFL Lamar Hunt and DallasCowboys general manager Tex Schramm, the two leagues officially announced theirmerger on June 8, 1966. The league would have a common Draft and organize a game of season finale to decide the champion between the two leagues (later renamed Super Bowl), which over the years would become the highest symbol of football and the celebration more spectators convened every year worldwide. There was still a city would get a franchise by the AFL, New Orleans, who was presented with a new team in the NFL for the passage of Public Law 89-800 driven LouisianaFederal Congress, which allowed the merger and that disavowed any exceptionrelated to anti-monopoly restrictions.

 In 1970, the leagues merged in a new fullyadopting the current name of National Football League, splitting into two conferences with an equal number of teams each. There was also a financial agreement whereby AFL teams would pay a combined total of $ 18 million over 20 years. There was also an objection by many fans of the AFL about the loss, due tothe merger, the identity of your league, your logo and your name.

Regular Season During the regular season (generally September to December) games are held onSundays and Monday nights. In the final third of it extends the program to Thursday and Saturday. Each team plays twice with the three division rivals, and once againstthe four teams from another division of the same conference and against a team fromthe other two divisions of the conference, making a total of 12 conference games. In addition, you play against 4 teams from another division of the other conference. At the end of the season each team will play 16 games in 17 weeks (each team has a bye during the season). Qualifiers will be the division winners plus two teams from each conference as a wildcard.

Playoffs for the title The postseason (also known as the "Playoffs") consists of four additional days at the end of the regular season, where they play the top six teams from eachconference (twelve in total). This is the structure (using the example of just one of the conferences can be extrapolated to the other):1.Mejor division champion (1).2.Segundo best division champion (2).3.Tercer best division champion (3).4.Cuarto best division champion (4).5.Wild Card with better balance (5).6.Wild Card with poor balance (6).The games will be made as follows:Wild Card:(6) home (3)(5) home (4)Divisions:Worst winner (6, 5 or 4) home (1)Best winner (3, 4 or 5) home (2)Conference Championship:Worst at home winner of Best winner.Super Bowl:AFC Champion - NFC Champion

Super Bowl The postseason event culminates with the maximum of the NFL, Super Bowl game, which requires planning, programming and implementing comprehensive, being necessary to get the positions of the teams and cities that aspire to appear as siteswith several years in advance.

Pro-bowlThe season officially ends with the Pro Bowl (in Mexico, "Pro Bowl") that takes placeone week after the Super Bowl. Since 1980, has been disputed in Honolulu, Hawaii.However, it has been speculated that since 2009, the Pro Bowl will be played one week before the Super Bowl at the headquarters where they will develop ésta.27However, the league has decided to keep the Pro Bowl 2009 in Honolulu.28 in 2010 we celebrate the Pro Bowl in the same venue as the Super Bowl is in Miami. And a week before the Super Bowl.In this game players who congregate in the opinion of the fans, coaches and playershave emerged as the best in the league and deserve the opportunity to representtheir respective conferences, to close with the season finale on duty in the NFL.

Number System in Uniform

In the NFL, players wear numbers on their shirts as the position they play. The current system was instituted in the league on April 5, 1973, as a means for fansand officials can more easily identify players on the field for their position. Since then, players use the numbers assigned within the following ranges, based on theirprimary position:Quarterbacks, kickers and punters: From 1 to 19.Wide Receivers: From 10 to 19 and from 80 to 89.Running backs and Defensive Backs (Safieties and Cornerbaks): From 20 to 49.Offensive linemen: From 50 to 79.Linebackers: From 50 to 59 and from 90 to 99.Defensive linemen: From 50 to 79 and from 90 to 99.Tight ends: From the 40 to 49 and from 80 to 89.The numbers 0 (zero) and 00 (double zero) are not used by NFL players since 1973.

Commissioners and presidents

President Jim Thorpe (1920-1921)President Joseph Carr (1921-1939)President Carl Storck (1939-1941)Commissioner Elmer Layden (1941-1946)Commissioner Bert Bell (1946-1959)Interim President Austin Gunsel (1959-1960, after the death of Bell)Commissioner Alvin "Pete" Rozelle (1960-1989)Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (1989-2006)Commissioner Roger Goodell (2006-present)

THE ENDTRINIDAD SERRANO DE LA

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