STORY OF FOOTBALL

    
HOW FOOTBALL BEGAN ?

Kicking a ball around out of your opponent's reach is far from being a 
recent game, and in the past, people played football with very unusual balls.
For instance, the ancient romans played football with the heads of their
enemies. In England tn the middle ages, men played football with a pig's 
bladder full of dried peas. In the 16th century, the soldiers in Queen 
Elizabeth I's armyplayed football instead of practising archery. So Elizabeth
made a law againts football. If soldiers were caught playing, they were sent
to prison for 6 days. Modern football began in the nineteenth century in
famous schools like Eton. The schools made rules about the number of players,
the size of the pitch and the way to play the game. At this time, the players
wore long stockings, trousers, striped shirts, caps and ordinary shoes.
In 1823 at Rugby school, a pupil called William Ellis picked up the ball
and ran with it to the goal. This was how the game of rugby began.






AMAZING BUT TRUE

FROM THE COTTON FIELDS TO THE STADIUM

Thanks to sport, the great grand children of slaves can become heroes and
millionaires. It is still very difficult for a black to succeed in America,
and most blacks are poor. Yet sport has enabled many of then to leave 
the ghetto and become rich and famous. Today, 65 % of all professional 
basketball players and 42 % of football players are black. 

THE NUMBER ONE SPORT IN THE USA

From the high school students of the pee wee league (pee wee = very small)
to the professional superstars of the national league, american football is
the number one sport in USA. For many players, especially blacks, winning 
a 4-year football scholarship is the only way to obtain a college education.
American football is also big business, with enormous natinal TV contracts
and astronomical salaries for top players. The best of them become national
heroes and millionai, just like basketball stars, tennis pros, golfers and
boxers. The most important game of the year is the superbowl, held in 
January, which opposes the two best teams of the national football league
in front of 70 million viewers. 


VIEWPOINT :

THE MEANING OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL

American football is a violent and spectacular sport. It is also a sort 
of ceremony that brings individualistic people together. A fully equipped 
football player looks like a ferocious visitor from another planet or
like a modern version of 13th century knights-at-arms. And like a tournament
in the middle-ages, a first-class game is a sort of ritual. Half an hour
before the game begins, bands with pretty (HM ! good-ed!) majorettes begin
marching and playing music on the field and supporters are urged to cheer 
by cheer-leaders pretty girls (more and more interessant!) wearing bright
coloured uniforms. Thus, the football game is in some ways also pageant, 
using many of the devices employed in political rallies.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN BRIEF

It is played throughout the fall season by high school, college and 
professional teams of 11 players. The aim of the game is to score by
carrying the ball across the opponent's goal line or kicking it between
the goal posts and over the crossbar. The rules are very different from 
those of rugby - from which it is derived. The ball can be passed forward
and a player can be tackled (stopped) even when he isn't carrying the ball.

It is also much more violent, which explains the crash helmets and the 
shoulder, elbow, knee and thigh pads worn by the players. The average player
is 6 ft. 5 in. tall and weighs around 200 pound. (Oups! I didn't want to
meet a football players when he is angry !!!).

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