NFL Team Helmets - Great Football History: A Look into the Past

If you ask people in this country what their favorite sport is, chances are you would hear a lot of them say, “football.” In fact, it is common to see football fans collecting NFL team helmets, wearing NFL jerseys, and going crazy over their favorite teams and players. The popularity of this sport can be rooted from the excitement and thrill one can get from watching it or from the fact that its rules are not too complex to understand.

It is important to note, however, that the success of this sport did not happen overnight. From its rich and colorful history, you will see how it went through some ups and downs and how it was able to surpass all the challenges and problem along the way. This article will give you an overview of the historical facet of this well-loved sport.

Football was said to have begun in England sometime during the 19^th century. It happened when an English soccer player become frustrated at the soccer rule that requires only the use of the feet for playing with the ball. He decided to pick up the ball with his hands and run around with it. This led the way to the birth of the sport of rugby.

This new sport found its way to the United States of America sometime in the middle of the 1800s. What started as a game played by many northeastern colleges became a formal sport after Harvard University and Yale University adopted the game and formalized the rules in 1876.

The rules of the game were similar to those in England but the difference is that instead of a round ball, an egg-shaped ball was used instead. Moreover, the name rugby was changed to football. After this, an organization named Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA) was founded to regulate and be in charge of the new Americanized sport.

Because the rules of football were practically the same with rugby, this sport was dubbed as the American rugby. However, within the years of 1880 to 1883, Yale football player Walter Camp petitioned and convinced the IFA to change a series of rules in the sport. This became the football that is much similar to the one we know of today. Because of this, Camp is said to be the father of modern football.

In the 20^th century, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) was founded and college football fell under the supervision of this organization. During the year of 1920, there were around 10 professional teams in the United States. These teams were regulated by the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which later on was changed to National Football League (NFL).

With the establishment of this body, the sport became more and more popular. The NFL meanwhile, continued to employ changes in the rules of football. Some of the most well loved teams at that time included Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Tigers and New York Giants. These teams and their players drew more fans and crowds to watch this game.

NFL decided to divide itself into two divisions. The final game of the season was going to be played by the best teams from the two divisions. The first NFL championship game was played in 1933.

Because of the growing popularity of NFL at that time, many other leagues tried to follow suit by establishing their own franchise. But none of them was able to beat NFL’s dominance and some of these leagues did not even last for more than four years. The only rival league that seemed to have almost become at par with the NFL is the American Football League (AFL) which was created by Lamar Hunt.

In 1966, NFL and AFL agreed to merge while keeping the name of the NFL. Within this merger, two conferences were developed, namely the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The two best teams from these conferences played in a championship game, which was later called the Super Bowl.

Today, football remains as one of the top sports in this country. One proof of this is the creation of NFL mini helmets like the Riddell NFL mini helmets, which people collected as a testament of their love and passion for this game. This game will continue to evolve into a more exciting and fun sport while it will continue to draw more and more people into becoming avid fans of this well-loved game.