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NFL
USINFO | 2013-08-09 14:50
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league composed of 32 teams divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference(AFC). The highest level of professional football in the world,the NFL runs a 17-week regular season from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing sixteen games and having one bye week. Out of the league's 32 teams, six (four division winners and two wild-card teams) from each conference compete in the NFL playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of the NFC and AFC. Most games are played on Sundays, with games regularly held on Mondays and Thursdays.
The NFL was formed on August 20, 1920, as the American Professional Football Conference; the league changed its name to the American Professional Football Association (APFA) on September 17, 1920, and changed its name to the National Football League on June 24, 1922, after spending the 1920 and 1921 seasons as the APFA. In 1966, the NFL agreed to merge with the rival American Football League (AFL), effective 1970; the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that same season in January 1967. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl is among the biggest club sporting events in the world and individual Super Bowl games account for many of the most-watched programs in American history.
Out of the league's 32 current teams, only six have failed to win at least one NFL or AFL championship. Eighteen teams have won at least one Super Bowl and all but four have appeared in at least one Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers have the most NFL championships (13), followed by the Chicago Bears (9) and the New York Giants (8). The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl wins (6), followed by theDallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers (5). The current champions are the Baltimore Ravens, who beat the 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII to secure their second league championship.
The NFL was formed on August 20, 1920, as the American Professional Football Conference; the league changed its name to the American Professional Football Association (APFA) on September 17, 1920, and changed its name to the National Football League on June 24, 1922, after spending the 1920 and 1921 seasons as the APFA. In 1966, the NFL agreed to merge with the rival American Football League (AFL), effective 1970; the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that same season in January 1967. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl is among the biggest club sporting events in the world and individual Super Bowl games account for many of the most-watched programs in American history.
Out of the league's 32 current teams, only six have failed to win at least one NFL or AFL championship. Eighteen teams have won at least one Super Bowl and all but four have appeared in at least one Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers have the most NFL championships (13), followed by the Chicago Bears (9) and the New York Giants (8). The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl wins (6), followed by theDallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers (5). The current champions are the Baltimore Ravens, who beat the 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII to secure their second league championship.
