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| | <big>'''''See [[Unplug the NFL]]'''''</big> | | <big>'''''See [[Unplug the NFL]]'''''</big> |
| | [[Image:2006 Pro Bowl.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Overrated Sports Stars|Overrated Sports Star]] NFL quarterback [[Peyton Manning]] of the [[Indianapolis Colts]] attempts a pass at the 2007 [[Pro Bowl]].]] | | [[Image:2006 Pro Bowl.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Overrated Sports Stars|Overrated Sports Star]] NFL quarterback [[Peyton Manning]] of the [[Indianapolis Colts]] attempts a pass at the 2007 [[Pro Bowl]].]] |
| − | The '''National Football League (NFL)''' is a professional sports league for [[American]] football in the [[United States]]. It is one of the four major sports leagues in the United States (the others being [[MLB]], [[NBA]], and [[NHL]], though the [[NFL]] has never had a franchise in Canada). More so than other televised sports, the NFL encroaches on religious holidays such as [[Christmas]] and [[Thanksgiving]], when it reportedly drew 42 million viewers in 2022.<ref>https://frontofficesports.com/nfl-most-watched-regular-season-game/</ref> | + | The '''National Football League (NFL)''' is a professional sports league for [[American]] football in the [[United States]]. Its billionaire owners loot the public and deliberately encroach on religious holidays such as [[Christmas]] and [[Thanksgiving]].<ref>https://frontofficesports.com/nfl-most-watched-regular-season-game/</ref> |
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| | The league began to supplant baseball as America's most popular spectator sport in 1958, when the then-NFL Championship Game between the then-Baltimore Colts and the [[New York Giants]] was broadcast nationwide (though ironically not in New York City) and ended in a sudden-death overtime win by the Colts. Today NFL franchises are a leading example of [[crony capitalism]],<ref>https://frontofficesports.com/anheuser-busch-ending-exclusive-super-bowl-deal-with-nfl/</ref> such that team owners rake in billions of dollars by milking taxpayers and promoting vices like [[beer]] and [[gambling]]. The NFL has $110 billion in media deals annually and yet supports shockingly little [[charity]]. Far more people are harmed by the NFL than genuinely helped by it. | | The league began to supplant baseball as America's most popular spectator sport in 1958, when the then-NFL Championship Game between the then-Baltimore Colts and the [[New York Giants]] was broadcast nationwide (though ironically not in New York City) and ended in a sudden-death overtime win by the Colts. Today NFL franchises are a leading example of [[crony capitalism]],<ref>https://frontofficesports.com/anheuser-busch-ending-exclusive-super-bowl-deal-with-nfl/</ref> such that team owners rake in billions of dollars by milking taxpayers and promoting vices like [[beer]] and [[gambling]]. The NFL has $110 billion in media deals annually and yet supports shockingly little [[charity]]. Far more people are harmed by the NFL than genuinely helped by it. |
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| | == History == | | == History == |
| − | The NFL was originally formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association and adopted its current name in 1922. Only two teams which were charter members of the league remain in operation today: the Chicago Cardinals (now the [[Arizona Cardinals]]) and the Decatur Staleys (now the [[Chicago Bears]]).<ref>Other teams currently in the league operated prior to 1920, either as independent clubs or in rival leagues. As an example, the [[Green Bay Packers]], considered one of the NFL's historic franchises, was not a charter member; it formed in 1919 and played its first two seasons as an independent club before joining the league in 1921.</ref> Then Staleys coach (and owner) George Halas is credited with being the father of the league and is compared to [[George Washington]] by many enthusiasts of the game. | + | The NFL was originally formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association and adopted its current name in 1922.<ref>Today the NFL is one of the four major sports leagues in the United States (the others being [[MLB]], [[NBA]], and [[NHL]], though the [[NFL]] has never had a franchise in Canada). </ref> Only two teams which were charter members of the league remain in operation today: the Chicago Cardinals (now the [[Arizona Cardinals]]) and the Decatur Staleys (now the [[Chicago Bears]]).<ref>Other teams currently in the league operated prior to 1920, either as independent clubs or in rival leagues. As an example, the [[Green Bay Packers]], considered one of the NFL's historic franchises, was not a charter member; it formed in 1919 and played its first two seasons as an independent club before joining the league in 1921.</ref> Then Staleys coach (and owner) George Halas is credited with being the father of the league and is compared to [[George Washington]] by many enthusiasts of the game. |
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| | During its existence it has merged with all or parts of three rival football leagues (unlike the NBA and NHL, the individual and team records of these franchises are recognized by the NFL): | | During its existence it has merged with all or parts of three rival football leagues (unlike the NBA and NHL, the individual and team records of these franchises are recognized by the NFL): |