Football
How it came to be...
Sometime in the 19th century, a soccer player, frustrated at using only his feet to manipulate the ball, decided to simply pick it up and run with it. Although it was clearly against the rules of soccer, other players soon found the new way of playing soccer appealing and so rugby was born.
From rugby to football
When 1920 arrived, there were more than 10 professional teams across the United States. Organizers from the teams decided to meet in Canton, Ohio to form the American Professional Football Association(APFA) which later became the National Football League(NFL). The NFL continued to change the rules of the game and the game of football
Gaining popularity
After NFL was formed, general public of America quickly grew to love the sport
The games played by the Chicago Bears against teams like the Los Angeles Tigers and the New York Giants helped football gain its popularity. (1930s)
Competition within the sport
-NFL was the top league for the most part
-Other leagues that were formed wouldn't last more than 4 years
-Under millionaire Lamar Hunt, the American Football League (AFL) was the only lasting follow-up league that was able to keep up with the NFL
Representatives from both the NFL and the AFL met in 1966 to agree on merging both leagues, but keeping the NFL name. Within the new league which actually began in 1970, two conferences were created that reflected the NFL's origins: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference(NFC). From then on, the two best teams from each NFL conference were set to play a championship game
America + Football
http://www.usatoday.com/news/acovwed.htm
