National Football League

National Football LeagueThe Birth and Interesting FactsFounded on August 20, 1920 by Roger Goodell The NFL is a professional American football league that constitutes one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America78% of NFL players are bankrupt just two years after finishing their careersDuring a typical NFL game, the ball is only in play for 11 minutes! 73% of Men watch Football, 55% of Women.

The Longest, Greatest Field Goal(before the Broncos last year)On November 8, 1970, New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey, a man born without four fingers on his right hand and missing half of his right foot, was down by one in a tough 16-17 game with 2 seconds to go in the fourth quarterHe kicks a miracle 63-yard Field Goal and pulverized the previous record by seven yards, and the Saints go crazyGenerally whenever a field goal is kicked, the referees stand beside the field goal and give the signal whether he made it or not. They are to show no emotion. As the football clears the crossbar, the referee leaves his feet with excitement, giving the signal. Unseen in any other refereeTom Dempsey

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrxTjgFYoU8 Time Spent on FootballAmong adults who say they watch football60% say they spend 5 hours or less per week watching football27% say they spend sometime between 6 and 10 hours per week watching footballFantasy or Reality?Over 33 million people play Fantasy FootballTrends more in kids than adultsFantasy football is increasingly becoming more popularThe average person spends about $110 on it, equating to roughly $3.6 billion worldwide.39% of male FF players would sacrifice beer for an entire season to win their league19% would ditch their mobile phone16% would give up sex

Manufacturing FootballsApproximately 3,000 cows are slaughtered each year to provide a full seasons worth of footballsIf you are a cow, you have a one in 17,420,000 chance of becoming a football that will be used in the Super Bowl (the same odds of catching the Black Plague). The Cover of Madden CurseFor over a decade, players that were featured on the cover of the Madden NFL video games were cursed with a serious injury or a dramatic reduction in performance during the following season. 1999- Garrison Hearst: broken fibula, missed the next 2 seasons rehabbing; never got back to full strength2000- Barry Sanders: Sanders retired unexpectedly2001- Eddie George: Gave up interception return to Ray Lewis, lost the division finals for his team; spent next season injured2002- Daunte Culpepper: Went 4-7 as a starter, threw 23 interceptions2003- Marshall Faulk: Ankle injury; failed to break 1,000 yards or make the playoffs2004- Michael Vick: Broke his leg in the preseason; only played 5 games2005- Ray Lewis: recorded 0 interceptions in 2004, sat out the last game of the season with a torn hamstring, and barely missed out on the playoffs2006- Donovan McNabb: started the season with a hernia, had surgery, missed 7 games, and his team finished in last their division2007- Shaun Alexander: broke his left foot, missed 6 games2008- Vince Young: quadriceps injury, missed his first game ever from an injury (including middle school, high school, and college)2009- Brett Favre: started off well, but then threw just 2 touchdowns to 9 interceptions; failed to make the playoffs after starting out 8-3. Vacationed in a resort in San Antonio where I met him that year2010- Troy Polamalu & Larry Fitzgerald- Polamalu sprained medial collateral ligament, Fitzgerald rib injury missed playoffs & Pro Bowl2011- Drew Brees: Drew Brees presumably "broke" the curse by playing through a minor MCL sprain, but still threw a career-high 22 interceptions.The History of the HuddlePaul Hubbard, quarterback for Gallaudet University (for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington D.C.) came up with the huddle in the 1940s.The purpose was to prevent the other teams from reading their sign language when theyre discussing the plays.It caught on and is used to this day

Interesting FactsThe average lifespan for an NFL player in 1994 was 55 years (52 for linemen) vs. 77.6 years for the rest of the US population.The NFL requires football fields to be built either facing north/south or in the shade, so that the sun doesnt interfere with play. If you hand a ball to a fan after a touchdown, you are not fined. But if you throw it to them, you can be fined up to more than $10,000. Cheerleaders only get $50 a game.