The relationship between NFL and Rugby

Introduction:

The NFL is one of America’s biggest sports, with the Super Bowl ( the finals to decide the seasons winner) being a highly anticipated game every year throughout the world. Like a lot of American sports, it is just as big at the college level (university) as at the professional level. Each NFL team typically earns well over 1 million dollars in ticket sales per game.

Similarly, Rugby is one of Britain’s biggest sports. With the Gallagher premiership final at Twickenham being a massively exciting game. Throughout England different forms of rugby (usually to do with the amount of contact) are played at all sorts of different ages. In 2019 47.6 million pounds was made in ticket sales throughout all the teams.

Both sports have a victor at the end of each season and have an enormous amount of money pumped into them every year. These sports both originated from the same sport but diverged and grew to be completely different.

Both Rugby and American Football players view the other to be a lesser version of their sport So, in this project I aim to look at the ‘common ancestor’ of both sports, how the sports have developed. As well as the similarities and differences between the sports I will then end by talking about where both sports are going and how they will develop in the future.

Common Ancestor:

Everywhere you go people will agree the Rugby was made before American football. However it is not the rugby you might expect. Instead both sports descend from a game called Rugby Football which originated in 19th century England. You will recognise Rugby Football as the collective name for the sports, Rugby Union, Rugby league also included is the earlier

A drawing of an early game of rugby form of Football from which Australian rules Football and Gridiron evolved ( Gridiron is the name for the pitch that American football is played on).

At Rugby school in Warwickshire, England. In 1823 while playing a game of football, William Webb Ellis decided to pick up a ball and go with it. Then 40 years later in 1863 a group of boarding school and clubs decided upon the rules and in 1871 Rugby Football Union was officially formed.

The rules of rugby football was a lot less complicated than what we know today as rugby. The first rules were drawn up in 1846 at Rugby School and another set was produced by Blackheath FC. The following is the ‘highlights’ of the original rules made in 1846 ( The full unedited rules are in the bibliography at the end): i.Kick off from Middle must be a place-kick. v.Off-Side. —A player is off his side, if the ball has touched one of his own side behind him until the other party kick it. viii.It is not lawful to take the ball off the ground, except in touch, either for a kick or throw on. xi.If, in the case of a run in, the ball be held in a scrummage, it shall not be lawful for the holder to transmit it to another of his own side. xiv.No hacking with the heel, or unless below the knee, is fair. xv.No one wearing projecting nails or iron plates on the soles or heels of his shoes or boots shall be allowed to play. xvi.Try at Goal.— A ball touched between the goal posts may be brought up to either of them, but not between. xix.It shall be a goal if the ball go over the bar (whether it touch or no) without having touched the dress or person of any player; but no player may stand on the goal bar to interrupt it going over. xxiii.No agreement between two players to send the ball straight out shall be allowed. xxiv.A player having touched the ball straight for a tree and touched the tree with it, may drop from either side if he can, but one of the opposite party may oblige him to go to his own side of the tree. xxvii.No player may stop the ball with anything but his own person. xxxi.Heads of sides, or two deputies appointed by them, are the sole arbiters of all disputes. xxxii.All matches are drawn after 5 days or after 3 days if no goal has been kicked. xxxvii.Old Rugbeians shall be allowed to play at the matches of football, not, however, without the consent of the two heads of the sides; but no stranger may have a place-kick at goal.

I would like to point out now that although modern day Rugby was created in England many traditional forms of football that are very similar to rugby have been played throughout Europe and beyond. With a lot of these involving handling of the ball and scrummaging. New Zealand had Ki-o-rahi (still played in New Zealand today), Australia had marn grook, Japan kemari, Cornwall Cornish hurling, Central Italy Calcio fiorentino, South Wales Cnapan, East Anglia Campball.

All of these look nothing like the rugby we know today and existed with no connection to each other However, importantly they are games that involve a ball that is handled. Kemari for example when watching it looks like a group of priests playing keepy uppy. It is clear that a lot of those countries that had rugby esq games are now ‘superpowers’ in world rugby. America being the only country to have a rugby like game while not being particularly competitive in World rugby. So either America is an outlier and will always be an outlier or in the future America might become a stronger Rugby nation.

American Football A short history:

This following section will be a short history to catch you up to speed.

It started in Canton Ohio on the 17 of September 1920 where a group of professional American football teams met to form the APFA (American Professional Football Association). In two years the APFA would become the NFL and in 1925 the NFL would have its first proper star: Red Grange who went from the campus of Illinois to the Bears, he was paid $100,000 a year (a massive amount of money back then) and was nicknamed the Galloping Ghost.

To capitalise on its massive popularity the NFL created the NFL championship game in 1933 between the best teams in each division. World war two hurt the NFL badly (players being drafted as they are some of the biggest and fittest in America). With less players in the league, teams began to merge like the ‘Steagles’ a mix between the Steelers and the Eagles.

When the Soldiers returned Football was so popular that another league was created, The AAFC (All American Football Conference). A fear was that the rivalry between the two leagues could kill the sport all together so in 1949 they merged.

In 1950 Paul Brown coach of the Browns innovated American football by being the first to use film study (players rewatching footage of their matches to learn from mistakes). During the 1950’s the Browns dominated and when the Detroit was thanks to their quarterback Bobby

The catch by Odell Beckham Jr that made him a Star

Lane. Thanks to these two powerhouse teams the NFL championship game in 1958 was seen as the greatest game ever played.

This huge demand for football meant that another league was formed, The AFL (American Football League). With this the first ever super bowl was played, A Super Bowl is the game between the champions of the NFL and AFL. The Packers won Super Bowl I and Super Bowl ii. The trophy given to the super bowls winners was named after the packers coach Vince Lombardi and is now called the Lombardi trophy. In 1970 the style of Football and tactics played merged and the dolphins went on to win two super bowls in a row.

In recent years the rules of the sport have not changed but the tactics have evolved, with more emphasis being put on Quarterbacks (the person who throws the ball) and Wide receivers rather than Running backs ( a person who runs with the ball and is rarely passed too). In recent years the Quarterbacks have gone from being able to just throw the ball to being more mobile and able to throw the ball while being tackled or falling over.

TEAMS: AFC and NFC are the two divisions. AFC stands for American-FootballConference and NFC stands for National-Football-Conference. They come from the original leagues that were created and then joined together to form the NFL. Each division has 16 teams and teams from AFC do play teams from NFC. The post season playoffs decide who is the best team in each division for the season. The AFC and NFC champions then play in the Superbowl.