As Pee Wee League Football will attest, the game is the most physical of all games, easily eclipsing hockey or even basketball. Football may not be as physical as kickboxing or fast-paced as the car races, but it does require extreme endurance. No wonder the helmet is so essential to protecting yourself when you’re part of the game.
And that includes the thick body appendage that resembles the kind of insulation that keeps families safe from winter. Established in 1869, American football, also known as gridiron, has a Pee Wee League Football version. This involves the youth aged between five and 14 years old.
At this stage, the game doesn’t get any less physical or arduous. Thus, wearing the proper uniform is essential to safety and endurance in the field. The mouth guard is just as important here as in any other age range. After all, it’s one and the same game with identical rules such as making the touchdown.
From across the border, the same game is played by Canadians and referred to by the same name. However, there are a number of differences in as far as the rules are concerned. Just some of these are the size of the field, the number of players per team, and the number of downs. Also, while the game is simply the most popular sport in the United States, football takes a secondary role after hockey as far as Canada is concerned.
The game is worth US$10 billion yearly in the USA, with the Super Bowl easily the most anticipated sports finale annually in the country. The sport has come a long way since two American college teams first played it. The game that rugby built has definitely come on its own.
It’s almost as if the game ripped itself from Adam’s ribs. So demanding and utterly perilous American football is that in 2013, the National Football League made a US$765-million settlement for concussion-related claims made by 18,000 retired players. The positive gesture is a major indicator as well as an acknowledgment of the sport’s extreme body requirements.
This explains why NFL athletes are paid astronomical salaries for all the sacrifices they make during training, practice and actual games. Kickboxing might look more physical and yet it doesn’t demand all the running as well as the falls associated with the king of all American sports. Football is simply the most American of all games especially if you consider how it doesn’t get as popular in other countries.