- Order:
- Duration: 24:45
- Updated: 29 Sep 2013
- published: 29 Sep 2013
- views: 0
Current season or competition: 2012 NFL season |
|
150 px | |
Sport | American Football |
---|---|
Founded | August 20, 1920 in Canton, Ohio, United States |
Commissioner | Roger Goodell |
Inaugural season | 1920 |
No. of teams | 32 |
Country(ies) | United States |
Most recent champion(s) | New York Giants (8th title) |
Most titles | Green Bay Packers (13 titles) |
TV partner(s) | CBS Fox NBC ESPN NFL Network |
Official website | NFL.com |
The National Football League (NFL) is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league globally.[1] It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of thirty-two teams from the United States. The league is divided evenly into two conferences – the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC), and each conference has four divisions that have four teams each, for a total of 16 teams in each conference. The NFL is an unincorporated 501(c)(6) association,[2][3][4] a federal nonprofit designation,[5] comprising its 32 teams.[6][7]
The regular season is a seventeen-week schedule during which each team plays sixteen games and has one bye week. The season currently starts on the Thursday night in the first full week of September and runs weekly to late December or early January. At the end of each regular season, six teams from each conference (at least one from each division) play in the NFL playoffs, a twelve-team single-elimination tournament that culminates with the championship game, known as the Super Bowl. This game is held at a pre-selected site which is usually a city that hosts an NFL team.
The NFL is the most attended domestic sports league in the world by average attendance per game, with 66,960 fans per game in 2010–11.[8] Although not as frequently as the other major professional sports leagues in the United States, the NFL still is not immune to labor disputes, such as the players' strikes of 1982 and 1987, and more recently a lockout in 2011, though the latest did not result in the cancellation of any regular-season games.
In 1920 representatives of several professional American football leagues and independent teams founded the American Professional Football Conference, soon renamed the National Football League. The first official championship game was held in 1933; before then, there was no playoff system, and instead the team that finished with the best regular season record was awarded the league title. By 1958, when that season's NFL championship game became known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", the NFL was on its way to becoming one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States. In 1965, football supplanted baseball as the most popular televised sport in America.[9] The merger with the American Football League, agreed to in 1966 and completed in 1970, greatly expanded the league and created the Super Bowl, which has become one of the most watched sporting events in the world, and is second to association football (soccer)'s UEFA Champions League final as the most watched annual sporting event worldwide.[10]
Although rules for NFL, college, and high school American football games are generally consistent, there are several differences. In addition, the NFL frequently makes rule changes because of exploits on the field by a single coach, owner, player, or referee.
Some of the major rules differences include:
Since 2002, the NFL season features the following schedule:
Traditionally, American high school football games are played on Friday nights, American college football games are played on Thursday nights and Saturdays, and most NFL games are played on Sunday. Because the NFL season is longer than the college football season, the NFL schedules Saturday games and Saturday playoff games outside the college football season. The ABC Television network added Monday Night Football in 1970, and Thursday night NFL games were added in the 1980s.
Following mini-camps in the spring and officially recognized training camp in July–August, NFL teams typically play four exhibition games from early August through early September. Each team hosts two games of the four. The exhibition season begins with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, so those two teams play five exhibition games each. Historically, the American Bowl(s) were played prior to the NFL scheduling regular season games abroad and those teams faced this similar predicament.
The games are useful for new players who are not used to playing in front of very large crowds. Management often uses the games to evaluate newly signed players. Veteran starters will generally play only for about a quarter of each game to minimize the risk of injury. Several lawsuits have been brought by fans, against the policy of including exhibition games in season-ticket packages at regular season prices, but none have so far been very successful.
Following the preseason, each of the thirty-two teams embark on a seventeen-week, sixteen-game schedule, with the extra week consisting of a bye to allow teams a rest sometime in the middle of the season (and also to increase television coverage). The regular season currently begins the Thursday evening after Labor Day with a primetime "Kickoff Game" (NBC currently holds broadcast rights for that game). According to the current scheduling structure, the earliest the season could begin is September 4 (as it was in the 2008 season), while the latest would be September 10 (as it was in the 2009 season, due to September 1 falling on a Tuesday). The regular season ends no later than January 3, in any given year.
The league uses a scheduling formula to pre-determine which teams plays whom during a given season. Under the current formula since 2002, each of the thirty-two teams' respective 16-game schedule consists for the following:[11][12]
Although this scheduling formula determines each of the thirty-two teams' respective opponents, the league usually does not release the final regular schedule with specific dates and times until the spring; the NFL needs several months to coordinate the entire season schedule so that, among other reasons, games are worked around various scheduling conflicts, and that it helps maximize TV ratings.[13]
The season concludes with a twelve-team tournament used to determine the teams to play in the Super Bowl. The tournament brackets are made up of six teams from each of the league's two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC), following the end of the 16-game regular season:
In each conference, the No. 3 and No. 6 seeded teams, and the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, face each other during the first round of the playoffs, dubbed the Wild Card Playoffs (the league in recent years has also used the term Wild Card Weekend). The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds from each conference receive a bye in the first round, which entitles these teams to automatically advance to the second round, the Divisional Playoff games, to face the winning teams from the first round. In round two, the No. 1 seeded team always plays the lowest surviving seed in their conference. And in any given playoff game, whoever has the higher seed gets the home field advantage (i.e. the game is held at the higher seed's home field).
The two surviving teams from the Divisional Playoff games meet in Conference Championship games, with the winners of those contests going on to face one another in the Super Bowl in a game located at a neutral venue that is usually either indoors or in a warm-weather locale. The designated "home team" alternates year to year between the conferences. In odd-numbered Super Bowls, the NFC team is the designated "home team", with the AFC team serving as the home team for even-numbered games.
The NFL is the only one out of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States to use a single-elimination tournament in its playoffs; Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League all use a "best-of" format instead.
The Pro Bowl, the league's all-star game, has been traditionally held on the weekend after the Super Bowl. The game was played at various venues before being held at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii for 30 consecutive seasons from 1980 to 2009.
However, the 2010 Pro Bowl was played at Sun Life Stadium, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV, on January 31, the first time ever that the Pro Bowl was played before the championship game. The game returned to Honolulu in 2011 and 2012, though both games were still played before the Super Bowl.
On April 26, 2012, Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported that the Pro Bowl was likely to be suspended for the 2012 season and beyond. According to league sources, Commissioner Roger Goodell was dissatisfied with the lack of competitive effort by players in that game, although he did not bear any ill will toward the players due to safety issues. Mortenson also reported that if the game is shelved, a Pro Bowl balloting process will continue because many player contracts include incentive clauses that are triggered by Pro Bowl selections.[15]
Though the NFL only plays in the late summer, fall, and early winter, the extended offseason often is an event in itself, with the draft, free agency signings, and the announcement of schedules keeping the NFL in the spotlight even during the spring, when virtually no on-field activity is taking place. A typical calendar of league events is as follows, with the dates listed being those for the 2012 NFL season:
The NFL consists of thirty-two clubs. Each club is allowed a maximum of fifty-three players on their roster, but may only dress forty-five to play each week during the regular season. Reflecting the population distribution of the United States as a whole, most teams are in the eastern half of the country; seventeen teams are in the Eastern Time Zone and nine others in the Central Time Zone.
Most major metropolitan areas in the United States have an NFL franchise, although Los Angeles, the second-largest metropolitan area in the country, has not hosted an NFL team since 1994.
The Rams and the Raiders called the Los Angeles area home from 1946–1994 and 1982–1994 respectively. On August 9, 2011, the LA City Council approved plans to build Farmers Field which could be home to an NFL team. It is unknown which team, if any, will move to the venue.[16]
Unlike Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, the league has no full-time teams in Canada, although the Buffalo Bills play one game per year in Toronto. There has been discussion of possibly bringing the NFL to Toronto, the largest city in Canada. In addition, as of 2012, the St. Louis Rams will begin hosting one of its regular season games in London, England as part of the International Series, making the NFL the first U.S.-based sports league to have one of its teams establish a home stadium outside North America.
The Dallas Cowboys are the highest valued American football franchise, valued at approximately $1.6 billion[17] and one of the most valuable franchises in all of professional sports worldwide, currently third[18] behind the Los Angeles Dodgers of MLB, sold in March 2012 for $2 billion,[19] and English soccer club Manchester United,[17] which has an approximate value of $1.8 billion at current exchange rates.[20] Since the 2002 season, the teams have been aligned as follows:
In its earliest years, the NFL was a very unstable and somewhat informal organization. Many teams entered and left the league annually. However, since the acquisition of the All-America Football Conference in 1950, the NFL has shown remarkable stability. The last NFL team to fold was the Dallas Texans in 1952; its remnants were salvaged to form the expansion Baltimore Colts.
Annually, the Super Bowl often ranks as the most watched show of the year in the United States and second most watched sporting event worldwide behind the UEFA Champions League final. Four of Nielsen Media Research's top ten programs are Super Bowls.[23] Networks have purchased a share of the broadcasting rights to the NFL as a means of raising the entire network's profile.[24] The Super Bowl is so popular annually that many companies debut elaborate commercials during the game.
The television rights to the NFL are the most lucrative and expensive sports broadcasting commodity in the United States. Under the current television contracts, which began during the 2006 season, regular season games are broadcast on five networks: CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. Regionally shown games are broadcast on Sundays on CBS and Fox, carrying the AFC and NFC teams respectively (the traveling team deciding the broadcast station in the event of inter-Conference games, presumably so that each network can show games from all the stadiums[citation needed]). These games generally air at 1:00 pm ET and 4:05 pm or 4:15 pm ET. (Due to differences between Eastern and local time, games played in the Pacific and Mountain time zones are never played in the 1:00 pm ET time slot.) Nationally televised games include Sunday night games (shown on NBC), Monday night games (shown on ESPN), the Thursday night NFL Kickoff Game (shown on NBC), the annual Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day games (CBS and Fox), and beginning in 2006, all Thursday and Saturday games on the NFL Network, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Football League.[25][26]
Additionally, satellite broadcast company DirecTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket, a subscription based package, that allows most Sunday daytime regional games to be watched.[27][28] This package is exclusive to DirecTV in the USA; for subscribers to Dish Network Verizon FiOS and Comcast, the NFL instead offers "RedZone," a less expensive single channel that launched in 2009 and airs "the touchdowns and most important moments during all the Sunday afternoon games."[29] In Canada, NFL Sunday Ticket is available on a per-provider distribution deal on both cable and satellite.
The NFL also produces programming for various networks, mainly highlight shows like Inside the NFL for Showtime and other historical games through its renowned NFL Films division that generally air on ESPN and NFL Network. Other NFL-produced programs include Hard Knocks, an HBO series detailing training camp for certain teams; plus the animated children's show RushZone: Guardians of the Core airing on Viacom's Nicktoons channel.
Each NFL team has its own radio network and employs its announcers. Nationally, the NFL is heard on the Dial Global Radio Networks (successor to CBS Radio Network and Westwood One), Sports USA Radio Network, the Compass Media Sports Network and in Spanish on Univision Radio. Dial Global carries Sunday and Monday Night Football, all Thursday games, two Sunday afternoon contests each week, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, and all post-season games, including the Pro Bowl. Sports USA Radio and Compass each broadcast two Sunday afternoon games every Sunday during the regular season, by agreement with individual teams.[25] Univision carries Monday Night games, select games from the New York metro area, and all playoff games.
The NFL also has a contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, which provides news, analysis, commentary and game coverage for all games, as well as comprehensive coverage of the draft and off-season on its own channel, Sirius NFL Radio.[30]
Internet radio broadcasts of all NFL games are managed through FieldPass, a subscription service. Radio stations are, by rule, prohibited from streaming the games for free from their Web sites; however, there are numerous stations that break this rule. All 32 teams, plus Dial Global and Univision, currently broadcast through FieldPass as of 2009; Compass and Sports USA do not.
In October 2006 the NFL announced the league would fully operate NFL.com, including the development of the technology, infrastructure and editorial content. Launching its first major redesign since 1999 in August 2007, the site had been previously produced and hosted since 2001 by CBS SportsLine. It is estimated that the contract cost CBS $120 million over a five year period. Prior to CBS, ESPN.com produced and hosted the NFL site.[31]
Brian Rolapp, senior vice president of NFL digital media and media strategy: “In a rapidly changing digital landscape, bringing NFL.com in-house provides us greater control of our valuable content and enables us to strategically build the site as a media asset. Fans can look forward to an even more entertaining, interactive and informative site built upon the expertise of the NFL and its other in-house media outlets such as NFL Network and NFL Films.”
Univision Online, Inc., the interactive subsidiary of Univision Communications Inc., and the NFL announced in January 2008 that they will jointly manage and operate NFLatino.com powered by Univision.com, the official U.S. Spanish-language website of the NFL. NFLatino.com is the only Spanish-language website in the United States to feature NFL video game highlights. In addition, the website includes live radio broadcasts, up-to-date stats, Hispanic player diaries, Fantasy Football and an insider’s view of all 32 teams.[32]
Announced in March 2009, NFL.com received its first-ever Sports Emmy nominations, which earned recognition for its NFL.com LIVE coverage of NFL Network’s Thursday and Saturday Night Football (Outstanding new approaches, coverage) and its Anatomy of a Play, a short-form 360-degree analysis of key plays of the week (Outstanding new approaches, general interest).[33]
Beginning September 2008, the NFL announced that it would simulcast all NBC Sunday Night Football games on NFL.com, located at nfl.com/snf. In 2007, they had provided an Emmy-nominated "complementary live broadcast" which included a partial simulcast of the NFL Network's Run to the Playoffs eight game package along with expanded NFL Network analysis. The number of games available on the Internet will expand over the course of the next television contract, as all of the networks except CBS acquired Internet rights to the league; many of these, however, will only be available through select Internet providers (Monday Night Football, for instance, is only available through Verizon FiOS, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks).
The NFL offers a pay service for people outside the United States to watch all regular season and playoff games, except for the Super Bowl, live online. This service is not available for fans within the United States or Mexico.[34] Instead, the service is available after games are played and offers full DVR functionality with the ability to watch up to four previously recorded games at once.
The NFL introduced a hosted fantasy football game prior to the 2010 NFL season. NFL.com Fantasy Football is a free fantasy football site featuring live scoring, custom and public fantasy leagues and prizes such as a trip to that year's Super Bowl. The NFL.com Fantasy game is the first of its kind to feature video highlights.[35] Video highlights appear as soon as 30 seconds after they occur in an NFL game, a feature exclusive to NFL.com. Users can join and create leagues each June at http://nfl.com/fantasy.
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has historically served as the labor union for NFL players. Among its duties is negotiating collective bargaining agreements (CBA) with league owners, which governs the negotiation of individual player contracts for all of the league's players. The NFLPA was established in 1956, and has renounced collective bargaining rights at least twice in its history during labor disputes: the 1987 strike and the 2011 lockout.
One CBA was in place since 1993, and was amended in 1998 and again in 2006. But in 2008, the owners exercised their right to opt out of the agreement two years early.[36][37] This led to a lockout in 2011, the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987, which is longer than Major League Baseball (1994 and beginning of 1995 seasons), the NBA (1998–99 season) or the NHL (2004–05 season canceled).
Among the items covered in the CBA are:
Under the 1993 CBA, players were tiered into three different levels with regards to their rights to negotiate for contracts:
In the 2010 season, the CBA was not extended, thus changing the rules so that players don't become "Unrestricted Free Agents" until they have played at least six full seasons in the league. They will be "Restricted Free Agents" if they have three–five full seasons in the league.
Under the current (2011) CBA, several items were altered:[40]
The new 10-year collective bargaining agreement runs through 2021, and has an estimated value of $12–$16 billion per year.[42][43]
A player's salary, as defined by the CBA, includes any "compensation in money, property, investments, loans or anything else of value to which an NFL player may be awarded" excluding such benefits as insurance and pension. A salary can include an annual pay and a one-time "signing bonus" which is paid in full when the player signs his contract. For the purposes of the salary cap (see below), the signing bonus is prorated over the life of the contract rather than to the year in which the signing bonus is paid.[44]
Among other things, the CBA establishes a minimum salary for its players,[44] which is stepped-up as a player's years of experience increase. Players and their agents may negotiate with clubs for higher salaries, and frequently do.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement (2011), Paragraph 5 guarantees first year after year of injury 50% of salary up to $1 million; 30% of salary up to $500,000 in second year after year of injury.[45]
The salary cap is defined as the maximum amount that a team may spend on player compensation (see above) in a given season, for all of its players combined. Unlike other leagues, for example the NBA (which permits certain exemptions) or Major League Baseball (which has a "soft cap" enforced by "luxury taxes"), the NFL has a "hard cap": an amount no team under any circumstances may exceed. The NFL also has a so-called "hard floor", a minimum payroll that each team is required to pay regardless of the circumstances.
The NFL salary cap is calculated by the current CBA to be 59.5% of the total projected league revenue for the upcoming year. This number, divided by the number of teams, determines an individual team's maximum salary cap. For 2008, this was approximately $116 million per team.[46] For 2009, it increased to $127 million.[47] As a result of the NFL owners opting out of the CBA two years early, the 2010 season had no salary cap or floor.[37] Under the 2011 CBA, players get the following percentages of league revenue from three revenue streams:[17]
Teams and players often find creative ways to fit salaries under the salary cap. Early in the salary cap era, "signing bonuses" were used to give players a large chunk of money up front, and thus not count in the salary for the bulk of the contract. This led to a rule whereby all signing bonus are pro-rated equally for each year of the contract. Thus if a player receives a $10 million signing bonus for a five-year contract, $2 million per year would count against the salary cap for the life of the contract, even though the full $10 million was paid up front during the first year of the contract.[44]
Player contracts tend to be "back-loaded". This means that the contract is not divided equally among the time period it covers. Instead, the player earns progressively more and more each year. For instance, a player signing a four-year deal worth $10 million may get paid $1 million the first year, $2 million the second year, $3 million the third year, and $4 million the fourth year. If a team cuts this player after the first year, the final three years do not count against the cap. Any signing bonus, however, ceases to be pro-rated, and the entire balance of the bonus counts against the cap in the upcoming season.[44]
Each April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as "the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", which is more commonly known as the NFL Draft.
Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the team having the worst record picking first, and the second-worst picking second, and so on. Regardless of regular season records, the last two picks of each round go to the two teams in the Super Bowl immediately preceding the draft, with the Super Bowl champion picking last.
The draft proceeds for seven rounds. In the past, Rounds 1–2 were run on Saturday of draft weekend, rounds 3–7 were run on Sunday.
During 2010 the league experimented with a new system. Round 1 was run on Thursday night of the draft weekend. Rounds 2 and 3 were run on the Friday night of the draft weekend. Rounds 4 through 7 were run on Saturday. The impact of this change—according to commentators at ESPN and Sports Illustrated—was that teams gained more time to make trades for draft picks in the early rounds and that process enhanced the value of the first picks in Rounds 2 and 4. [48]
Teams are given 10 minutes in the first round of the draft, 7 in the second round and 5 in all other rounds.[49] If the pick is not made in the allotted time, subsequent teams in the draft may draft before them. This happened in 2003 to the Minnesota Vikings.[50]
Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. While player-for-player trades are rare during the rest of the year (especially in comparison to the other major league sports), trades are far more common on draft day. In 1989, the Dallas Cowboys traded running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and six draft picks over 3 years. The Cowboys would use these picks to leverage trades for additional draft picks and veteran players. As a direct result of this trade, they would draft many of the stars who would help them win three Super Bowls in the 1990s, including Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, and Darren Woodson.[51]
The first pick in the draft is often taken to be the best overall player in the rookie class. This may or may not be true, since teams often select players based more on the teams' needs than on the players' overall skills. Plus, comparing players at different positions is difficult to do. Still, it is considered a great honor to be a first-round pick, and a greater honor to be the first overall pick. The last pick in the draft is known as Mr. Irrelevant, and is the subject of a dinner in his (dubious) honor in Newport Beach, California.
Drafted players may only negotiate with the team that drafted them (or to another team if their rights were traded away). The drafting team has one year to sign the player. If they do not do so, the player may reenter the draft and can be drafted by another team. Bo Jackson famously sat out a season in this way.[39]
As of the 2011 NFL season, the college with the most active players in the NFL is the University of Miami, with 42.[52]
As defined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a free agent is any player who is not under contract to any team and thus has fully free rights to negotiate with any other team for new contract terms.[36][53] Free agents are classified into two categories: restricted and unrestricted. Furthermore, a team may "tag" a player as a franchise or transition, which places additional restrictions on that player's ability to negotiate. However, the ability to "tag" is quite limited, and only affects a handful of players each year.
Free agency in the NFL began with a limited free agency system known as "Plan B Free Agency", which was in effect between the 1989 and 1992 seasons. Beginning with the 1993 season, "Plan A Free Agency" went into effect.
A player who has 3 years of experience is eligible for restricted free agency, whereby his current team has the chance to retain rights to this player by matching the highest offer any other NFL franchise might make to that player. The club can either block a signing or, in essence, force a trade by offering a salary over a certain threshold. In 2006, these thresholds were as follows:
In 2011, free agency guidelines returned to the way they were from 1993 to 2009. This means that a player needs four years of experience to become an unrestricted free agent, and three years of experience for restricted free agency.[40]
A player who has four or more years of experience is eligible for unrestricted free agency, whereby his current team has no guaranteed right to match outside offers to that player. This means that players in this category have unlimited rights to negotiate any terms with any team.[53]
In 2010, the CBA was not extended, thus the rules changed so that players don't become "Unrestricted Free Agents" until they have at least six years of experience. They will be "Restricted Free Agents" if they have three–five years of experience. There will also be limitations imposed on which clubs are allowed to sign free agents. This is part of a set of rule changes written into the CBA designed to encourage the owners and the NFLPA to negotiate a new CBA: the players lose some free agency rights, and the owners lose the salary cap.[36]
The franchise tag is a designation given to a player by a franchise that guarantees that player a contract the average of the five highest-paid players of that same position in the entire league, or 120% of the player's previous year's salary (whichever is greater) in return for retaining rights to that player for one year. An NFL franchise may only designate one player a year as having the franchise tag, and may designate the same player for consecutive years. This has caused some tension between some NFL franchise designees and their respective teams due to the fact that a player designated as a franchise player precludes that player from pursuing large signing bonuses that are common in unrestricted free agency, and also prevents a player from leaving the team, especially when the reasons for leaving are not necessarily financial. A team may, at their discretion, allow the franchise player to negotiate with other clubs, but if he signs with another club, the first club is entitled to two first round draft picks in compensation.[53]
The NFL banned substances policy has been acclaimed by some[54] and criticized by others,[55] but the policy is the longest running in American professional sports, beginning in 1987.[54] The current policy of the NFL suspends players without pay who test positive for banned substances as it has since 1989: four games for the first offense (a quarter of the regular season), eight games for a second offense (half of the regular season), and 12 months for a third offense.[56] The suspended games may be either regular season games or playoff games.[56]
While recently MLB and the NHL decided to permanently ban athletes for a third offense, they have long been resistant to such measures, and random testing is in its infancy.[57][58]
Since the NFL started random, year-round tests and suspending players for banned substances, many more players have been found to be in violation of the policy. By April 2005, 111 NFL players had tested positive for banned substances, and of those 111, the NFL suspended 54.[55]
A new rule is in the works due to Shawne Merriman. Starting the 2007 season, the new rule would prohibit any player testing positive for banned substances from being able to play in the Pro Bowl that year.[59]
In 2009, nearly 1 in 10 retired NFL players polled in a confidential survey said they had used now-banned anabolic steroids while still playing. 16.3 percent of offensive linemen admitted using steroids, as did 14.8 percent of defensive linemen.[60]
There have been several American football video games based on NFL teams created for various consoles over the years, from 10-Yard Fight and the Tecmo Bowl series for the NES to the more well known Madden series that have been released annually since 1988. The Madden series is named after former coach and American football commentator John Madden. Prior to the 2005–2006 football season, other NFL games were produced by competing video game publishers, such as 2K Games and Midway Games. However, in December 2004, Electronic Arts signed a five-year exclusive agreement with the NFL, meaning only Electronic Arts will be permitted to publish games featuring NFL team and player names. This prompted video game developer Midway Games to release a game in 2005 called Blitz: The League, with fictitious teams and players. In February 2008, EA Sports renewed their exclusivity agreement with the league through Super Bowl XLVII in 2013.[61] A free flash based online game called Quick Hit Football was released in 2009 and was granted an official NFL license in 2010.
Commissioners and presidents
Main league offices
Unlike many professional leagues, the NFL forbids corporate owners. Ownership groups must contain twenty-four or fewer individuals, and at least one partner must hold a thirty percent or greater share of the team. The Green Bay Packers are an exemption to the current policy, since they have been a publicly owned stock corporation since before the rule was in place.[63]
In recent years, NFL owners and the NFL itself have become politically active, donating millions of dollars to political candidates.[64]
In the NFL, players wear uniform numbers based on the position they play. The current system was instituted into the league on April 5, 1973,[65] as a means for fans and officials (referees, linesmen) to more easily identify players on the field by their position. Players who were already in the league at that date were grandfathered and did not have to change their uniform numbers if they did not conform. Since that date, players are invariably assigned numbers within the following ranges, based on their primary position:
Prior to 2004, wide receivers were allowed to wear only numbers 80–89.[66] The NFL changed the rule that year to allow wide receivers to wear numbers 10–19 to allow for the increased number of players at wide receiver and tight end coming into the league. Linebackers are allowed to wear numbers between 40–49 when all of the numbers 50–59 and 90–99 are taken. Prior to that, players were allowed to wear non-standard numbers only if their team had run out of numbers within the prescribed number range. Keyshawn Johnson began wearing number 19 in 1996 because the New York Jets had run out of numbers in the 80s. Oakland Raider offensive center Jim Otto wore a 00 jersey during most of his career with the AFL team and kept the number after the leagues merged. Devin Hester is a wide receiver/return specialist for the Chicago Bears but wears number 23 because he was drafted as a cornerback but transferred to wide receiver after his rookie year.
Occasionally, players will petition the NFL to allow them to wear a number that is not in line with the numbering system. Brad Van Pelt, a linebacker who entered the NFL in 1973 with the New York Giants, wore number 10 during his eleven seasons with the club, despite not being covered by the grandfather clause. In 2006, New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush petitioned the NFL to let him keep the number 5 which he used at USC. His request was later denied.[67] Former Seattle Seahawks standout Brian Bosworth attempted such a petition in 1987 (to wear his collegiate number of 44 at the linebacker position which he used at the University of Oklahoma), also without success. The Seahawks attempted to get around the rule by listing Bosworth as a safety, but after he wore number 44 for a game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL ruled Bosworth would have to switch back to his original number, 55.
To aid the officials in spotting certain penalties, such as "illegal formation" or "ineligible receiver", usually only offensive players with numbers 1–49 and 80–89 are allowed to play at the end or back positions or handle the ball in normal game situations. However, a player wearing 50–79 or 90–99 may play in an "eligible" position simply by reporting to the referee that he will be doing so. The NFL numbering system is based on a player's primary position. Any player wearing any number may play at any position on the field at any time, subject to the reporting rules described above. It is not uncommon for running backs to line up at wide receiver on certain plays, or even to have a large offensive or defensive lineman play at fullback or tight end in short yardage situations. Also, in preseason games, when teams have expanded rosters, players may wear numbers that are outside of the above rules. When the final 53-player roster is established, they are reissued numbers within the above guidelines.
26 of the 32 NFL teams are supported by their own professional cheerleading squads. These squads attend games and promote the team. The teams without cheerleading squads are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and Detroit Lions.
There is wide-ranging criticism regarding whether the NFL has been sufficiently proactive regarding issues of brain safety.
In Nov. 2011, the Journal of Neurosurgery released a study online conducted by Cleveland Clinic's Center for Spine Health in which various helmets were compared with each other by having crash test dummies wear the helmets. It was found that vintage leather helmets tested similarly to modern helmets, and in some cases, the leather helmets provided superior protection against concussive blows. However, the leather helmets do not provide as much protection against catastrophic skull fracture.[68][69][70]
As of May 2012, the NFL faces about 70 lawsuits involving approximately 1,800 former players.[71] For example, in April 2012, a group of former Dallas Cowboys including Hall of Fame players Randy White, Bob Lilly, and Rayfield Wright joined with other retired players in filing a lawsuit accusing the NFL of ignoring a link between concussions and permanent brain injury.[72]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: National Football League |
|
|
|
|
Mike Pereira is a former Vice President of Officiating (formerly Senior Director of Officiating) for the National Football League (NFL). He first took over the position in 2001, succeeding Jerry Seeman. He was also a game official in the NFL for two seasons (1996 and 1997) as a side judge on the officiating crew headed by referee Mike Carey.[1] He wore uniform number 77, which is now worn by side judge-turned-two-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay.
Pereira appeared on the NFL Network show, NFL Total Access, during the "Official Review" segment, to discuss key calls made during the previous week's games with host Rich Eisen every Wednesday during the season.
In a Conference Championship edition of "Official Review" on January 21, 2009, Pereira confirmed that he would be retiring from the position of Vice President of Officiating after the 2009 season.[2]
In June 2010, it was announced that Pereira would be joining Fox Sports to serve as a rules analyst for the network's college and NFL coverage.[3] He began a column on FoxSports.com and started to provide commentary during Fox Sports football telecasts. In 2012, Sports Illustrated named Pereria named as one of the NFL's most indispensable broadcasting talents, saying that "Viewers have longed for broadcasters to provide accurate explanations from the NFL's byzantine rule book, and Pereira, thankfully, has taken the burden off ex-jocks and announcers".[4] Michael Hiestand of USA Today wrote that "after Fox's groundbreaking move to put the ex-NFL vice president of officiating on-air, Pereira proved to be a candid voice — not a shill for the almighty NFL".[5] However, Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times wrote that "Pereira has assumed the role of the overzealous defense attorney ... his appearances generally conclude with him concluding that the referees have gotten it right yet again ... Analyst is the title that FOX hangs on Pereira, but advocate is more appropriate".[6]
Pereira also sparked coverage by others in the media when he criticized the commentary of Monday Night Football announcer Jon Gruden, calling him out as a "blowhard ... who spouts off when he doesn’t know what he’s talking about".[7] Pereira specifically felt that Gruden "butchered" the analysis of two defenseless receiver plays during the telecast of a Atlanta Falcons-New Orleans Saints game.[8][9] However, Doug Farrar of Yahoo! Sports thought that Pereira should have instead taken the higher road, and Fox should "lay down the law to Pereira [and] needs to be told to put the agendas away".[10]
From February to June 2011, Pereira was the Pac-10's interim coordinator of officiating, charged with implementing changes in the conference's officiating program. Current Pac-12 coordinator of officiating Tony Corrente has retained Pereira on his staff as a consultant through the Pac-12's 2011-2012 football season.[11][12]
Color so warm
As the summer sun goes down
You are there you are there
Walls broken down
My soul cries out for you
You're aware you're aware
Whispers in the night
Calling my name I feel the light
On me now I hear you
Whispers in the night
Pieces of this dream
Don't fit as they would seem
But you care I know you care
And through it all
I know your love
Is a constant stream
Seeking places in our hearts
Whispers in the night
Calling my name I feel the light
On me now I hear you
Whispers in the night
When I don't hear a sound
I cry hysterically
I loosen from my ground
And think pathetically
Because the voice I long
to hear is yours
Colors so warm
As the summer sun invades
You are there you are there
Words you spoke in the night
Sustain me through the day
You are there you are there
Whispers in the night
Dust from the desert road
Settles on the plain
It looks just the same
As a road traveled before
And there in the distance
Sits a man I've seen before
He's just to hard to ignore
And He slowly speaks to me
OOOh I can feel the warmth
When I look inside deep inside
your fire eyes
OOOh I can see the rage
Through a burning love
deep inside your fire eyes
Show me your world
Hidden within yourself
Knowledge on the shelf
Can't compare to what you know
Give me your peaces
Ask me what you will
I'm eager to tell
Of all you've done for me
He said scream
Then reach out and touch the sky
Where all things try
And dreams melt into one
He said cry
When you face the night alone
And find that black stone
Which slowly replaced your heart
Chorus
Soon maybe quicker then soon
There will come a day
Where the dawn is like night
And the heat of the Sun
Will make us wish it would go away
Think real think hard
Do we just surrender
To the conscience of the few
Think hope think about forever
Do we just surrender
To a world we never knew
OOOh for the love of the big dollar
The sea rages
As it gives up it's precious treasure
And the sky has opened wide
Leaving us no places to hide
Think real think hard
Do we just surrender
To the conscience of the few
Think hope think about forever
Do we just surrender
To a world we never knew
Paint a picture
of the western shore
This faith within me
Like the sea you
just can't ignore
The wind surrounds me
Like the spirit from above
It will toss and turn me
And shape me into a
tower of love
Oh men of power who
rocks the boulevard
Work until the hour
where life's end
means a new reward
Paint a picture
Of the eastern skyline
The sun, the moon, and the stars
Which gave us all the sign
Oh men of power who
rocks the boulevard
Work until the hour
where life's end
means a new reward
One big sky, one big hope
Two forgotten memories
Own dark question
one bright truth
His answer's for you and me.
Sweet rising sun
There's a distant rain
There's a healing hand
And it wipes the shame
There's a constant love
And it fills complete
Wit a heart full and yearning
I could only believe
Chorus
I live for the day
When I feel the red fire
of love
I live for the reign
Deep in my heart
I live for the truth
That I hear within
myself
I'd die for the love
Deep in my heart
Sweet rising sun
There's a hole in our hearts
Here's a fragile soul
That's been torn apart
But the sweet breathe
of air
From a Savior true
Leaves me wanting nothing
Leaves me only wanting you
Remember you, remember me when you were young,
Now you've gone your way; hope you make it back someday,
Someday is never, someday might be so cruel,
Just make it this day,
Come on back to what you always knew.
Story, it's a story,
We're a story,
Story of how it all began,
Story, it's a story,
We're a story,
Story of how it all began.
How long can you hold out? How long can you wait?
Some say it's destiny, others say it might be fate,
The love's forever, the hope is for the world,
Let's make it this day,
Go on back to what you always knew.
Story, it's a story,
We're a story,
A story of how it all began,
Story, it's a story,
We're a story,
Story of how it all began.
All began, all began.
Story, it's a story,
We're a story,
Story of how it all began,
Story, a little bit of story,
We're a story, yeah,
Story of how it all began, all began.
Story, (story, yeah)
Story, (it's a story)
Story, (we're a story)
Story, (story)
Story, (it's a story)
Story, (we're a story)
Story, (story, yeah)
Story, (it's a story, yeah)
Story, (we're a story)
Hearing inside
Your heart whispers the truth
He's playing your song
And it's playing for you
I've been in love
And I've been around
I've seen hearts die
Without making a sound
Towing the line
Nearing the end
You reach out reach out
Reach out again
Aren't we all winners
In this crowded old world
And once in a while
You go running home
Aren't we all singers
Always singing the blues
And once in a while
You go running home
Always our light
He's always leading us home
So why do we hide
From the love He has shown
I've been in love
And I've been around
I've seen hearts die
Without making a sound
Towing the line
Nearing the end
You reach out reach out
Reach out again
If I say to you, "Live life and be free," If I say to you, "Just believe in me," If we walk these fields of dreams together, Just know I am here, always and forever.
Please know I won't go, You're always a friend of mine, Right on time to show me...show me...show me the way.
Fire, fire, There's fire in the house tonight, Fire, fire, Holy fire in the house, yeah, Fire, fire, There's fire in the house tonight, Fire, yeah, Fire in the house.
If we hold onto what is not there, Stretch out arms out to touch the air. If we call the name and shout out loud, Flowers fall and gently touch the ground.
Please know I won't go, You're always a friend of mine, Right on time to show me the way, Show me the way. Come on, show me the way.
Fire, fire, There's fire in the house tonight, (fire in the house) Fire, fire, Holy fire in the house, (cover me with your...) Fire, fire, There's fire in the house tonight, (can you feel it?) Fire, yeah, Fire in the house.
Fire, fire, There's fire in the house tonight, (fire in the house) Fire, fire, Holy fire in the house, Fire, fire, Fire in the house tonight, Fire, Fire in the house.
We don't always see eye to eye, We don't always feel the same way, Trapped inside this empty room, waiting to hear from me, Just settle down and listen deep inside, yeah.
Hope always feeds the heart, This world where I live has only you and I.
Don't you run, Don't you run, Don't you run away, Don't you run, Don't you run away.
My body has been broke in two, Only if you believe it's true, I'm a bridge between you and my father, Let me in your empty room, then you will hear from me, Just settle down and listen deep inside, yeah.
Hope always feeds the heart, yeah, This world where I live has only you and I.
Don't you run, Don't you run, Don't you run away, Don't you run, Don't you run away, Don't you run, Don't you run, Don't you run away, Don't you run, Don't you run away.
Don't you run, Don't you run, Don't you run away, Don't you run, Don't you run away, Don't you run, Don't you run, Don't you run away, Don't you run, Don't you run away.
In me and in you the colours bleed true, Though hearts beat red, my love has been so dead for so long, for so long, I need someone like you, whose colour is the bright blue sky, 'Cause I've had enough of this loveless world I'm in, yeah.
I know the colour of love and I've found where it's been, The colour is red, You know I'm so in love with you, yeah.
Colours surround me, spinning around me, winding me into a heart of gold, Telling me where I've been, that I'm in colour world once again, once again, I need someone like you, whose colour is the bright, white light, yes, And I might shed a tear when you're near, if I hear...hear you coming close.
I know the colour of love and I've found where it's been, The colour is red, You know I'm so in love with you, yeah, I've found the colour of love - do you know where it's been? The colour is red, You know I'm so in love with you, with you.
Colour of love, Colour of love, Colour of love.
Oh, no, no.
I know the colour of love and I've found where it's been, The colour is red, You know I'm so in love with you, with you - check it out, I've found the colour of love - do you know where it's been? The colour is red, You know I'm so in love with you, with you.
Here we go, come on.
Don't wait, just go around me, I'll wait as they cry constantly, yeah.
Touch the fire that's burning red, Can you hear what the man said? Hold the fear in your hand, He's coming close, he understands.
Give to me life that's torn and I'll be missionary, If you care like I do, you'll be missionary too.
Over here, over there - can you see they're everywhere? Grab a home on the street - I don't mind, if you keep it neat, Touch the fire that's burning red, Can you hear what the man said? Hold the fear in your hand, He's coming close, he understands.
Give to me life that's torn and I'll be missionary, If you care like I do, you'll be missionary, Touch the fire burning red when you're missionary, A liquid Earth can't keep me, no, from missionary, yeah.
Give to me life that's torn and I'll be missionary, If you care like I do, you'll be missionary, Touch the fire burning red when you're missionary, A liquid Earth can't keep me from missionary. (yeah, oh)
Hands of love reach out for hands that reach out for love always, Lord of mercy, gently hurt me, Heal me with your eyes of love forever.
Right in the middle, right in the middle, I was on my own and then you walked right in the middle of my heart this time, Right in the middle, yeah, right in the middle, We're on our own until you walk right in the middle of our hearts.
Show me who you really are, Honesty is all I have, but I'll give it to you, yeah, And it's you that I have wanted, you I've been looking for, And now that I have you, Lord, I want you so much more, so much more.
Right in the middle, right in the middle, yeah, I was on my own and then you walked right in the middle of my heart this time, Right in the middle, yeah, right in the middle, We're on our own until you walk right in the middle of our hearts, oh yeah.
And I want you, always need you, yeah, You know I hear you everywhere, And I want you, yeah, always need you, I want to hear you everywhere.
(I love you.) (Is this a joke?) (I love you very much.) (Am I losing my mind?) (Doh!)
I've danced this world, seen the faces, There's hard luck, there are lonely places, Love's a dream, a fantasy scene played out between you and me, What is true? What is real? It's in your heart, and you want to feel, Feel the love, just like me, yeah, Open up and be free.
I know your love is higher than I've ever been.
Can we break through the fire? And let's talk about love, Can we touch pure desire? And let's talk about love, Let's talk about love.
I've had it once, I've had it twice now, You know, I think I've even had it three times maybe, Baby, times are changing, Love is not what it used to be, This other love is pure and it's free, What is true? What is real? It's in your heart, and you want to feel, Feel the love, just like me, yeah, Open up and be free.
I know your love is higher than I've ever been.
Can we break through the fire? And let's talk about love, Can we touch pure desire? And let's talk about love, Break through the fire, And let's talk about love, Can we touch pure desire? And let's talk about love, Let's talk about love, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's talk about love, Let's talk about love, Let's talk about love, Talk about love, Let's talk about love.
Come to me, I really don't know that I need you, I won't mind when I feel that your love has rescued me, Don't you know I could have a heart of gold if you'd just talk to me? Talk to me, t-t-t-talk to me, talk to me.
I have cried many years; now life's changed by the stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front door, I have tried many years; now life's rearranged by the stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front door.
Time to go, Time to realise that it's not just you and me, Time to fight, time to win, Together we can take the war, Take the war, take the war, Don't you know they can have hearts of gold if we'd just talk to them? Talk to them, t-t-t-t-talk to them, yeah.
I have cried many tears; now that's changed by the stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front door, I have tried many years; now life's rearranged by the stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front door.
I have cried many tears; now that's changed by the stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front door, I have tried many years; now life's rearranged by the stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front door.
Stranger at the front, Stranger at the front door. Stranger at the front, Stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front, Stranger at the front door. Stranger at the front, Stranger at the front door, Stranger at the front door.
Stranger at the front door.
Hope is at the door and you let her wait, Now she's gone away, Free...free to chose, Win or lose - only you can say.
Oh, when you gonna live in the bright light?
Live right and walk true, If only you knew the bad, bad place, Give love patiently, Soon we'll see what's in the bad, bad place.
Dream a silly dream, Does it mean that we're here forever? Faith that's gone astray, Any day I'll find you home again.
Oh, when you gonna walk in the bright light?
Live right and walk true, If only you knew the bad, bad place, Give love patiently, Soon we'll see what's in the bad, bad place.
In the bad place, Come on.
Live right and walk true, If only you knew the bad, bad place, Give love patiently, Soon we'll see what's in the bad, bad place.
The bad place, The bad place, What's in the bad, bad place? The bad place, The bad place, What's in the bad, bad place?
It seems so far from here, but I know that it's real, Unlike a dream, this place is so very clear, Your hope of love is in my mind, High and low - can I find you anywhere? Your sweet hands of love have reached out to me.
Heaven's on my mind, I've left it all behind, And I'll wait for you, 'cause Heaven's on my mind, Heaven's on my mind, Nothing more to find, And I'll wait for you 'cause Heaven's on my mind.
I know you're close to here, You're just something I could feel, Many times I'm so close to tears, but hopes of love are in my mind, High and low - can I find you anywhere? Your sweet hands of love have reached out to me, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Heaven's on my mind, I've left it all behind, And I'll wait for you, 'cause Heaven's on my mind, Heaven's on my mind, Nothing more to find, And I'll wait for you 'cause Heaven's on my mind.
Heaven's on my mind, I've left this world behind, And I'll wait for you, 'cause Heaven's on my mind, Heaven's on my mind, Nothing more to find, And I'll wait for you 'cause Heaven's on my mind.
I fight the war in a dark hole
Lonely place dying souls
The war is hate anger is king
Watch me win hear freedom ring
So many ways to reach into a love
That in so many ways I fought
to stay above
OOOh It won't ever fade away
OOOh will I live to see the day
when you
Give me love Give me love
Give me love Give me love
I've known the truth and the way
The sky is white this world is gray
One thing's clear there's no mistake
Love is free It's yours to take
So many ways to reach into a love
That in so many ways I fought
to stay above
OOOh It won't ever fade away
OOOh will I live to see the day
when you
Give me love Give me love
Give me love Give me love
I met this lonely stranger
Asked him where are you going?
He said I'm looking for some danger
Well you can find it anywhere
But who will come and
save you from yourself
When you've had all
that you can take
I know someone who paid
the price
He said lay it on me
Lay it on me
Lay it on me
When your heart is
hanging low
Lay it on me
Come in and let me
share this thing
This thing I call happiness
It only happens from within
And once you've had it all
make sense
Cause who will come and save
us from ourselves
When we've had all
that you can take
I know someone who paid
the price
He said lay it on me
Can you see the reign
Kings of the king in another age
Can you hear the voice
Voice of the spirit call
Will you hear the noise
As thousands in a praise fall
See the wide road calling
out for me Oh no
Walk the narrow road
I can hear you when you try,
hear you cry
I need you Oh God
you're everything to me
I need you deep inside
give me hope take my pride
I need you love from above
God I need you
I need you deep inside
give me hope always my guide
If you speak the word of truth
Power and glory like you never knew
Clean you'll be free inside
Peace no need to run and hide
Per chorus
chorus repeat
[Novel singing (Skillz) {Novel}]
They don't flow, (uh) {laughing} they don't flow (yeh)
{yo, uh} like they used to do yo
No they don't, they don't flow
{yo} quite the same {they don't flow} (yeh yeh)
No the game, ain't the same, as it used to be
(it ain't the same no more)
No they don't, {yo} they don't flow
{yo} quite the same {check it}
(listen, Novel talk to 'em)
[Novel (Novel signing)]
DJ's run this exclusive, new shit, acoustic, who's this?
Novel, niggaz I get in 'em like some loose lips
Rappers wanna bang me like blue chips confuse it
A r'n'b nigga from a nigga that makes music
Amuse it, any competition with their two cents
And i've really only ever had about two cents way from i'm too bent
Sick of y'all rapping bout your two clips
Bragging bout your few chips
I've had it upto here with your nuisance
N it's funny how time flies (funny how time flies)
All of these players and (all of these wise guys)
None of y'all spitting it, and (none of y'all got nice)
What silly y'all spiffin (but the rest of y'all bye bye)
I shift y'all withdrawals, rip you with my quick jaw
Nuttin baby just shit start pitfall for rappers that are pissed off
None o' y'all should get pissed on, that's in my bitch song
When I come through it's like a million niggaz from Islam
[Chorus]
They don't flow, they don't flow like they used to do
No they don't, they don't flow, quite the same
No the game, ain't the same, as it used to be
No they don't, they don't flow, quite the same
They don't flow, they don't flow like they used to do
No they don't, they don't flow, quite the same
[Skillz]
Yeh, yeh, uh, Skillz!
It's plain to see, this shit ain't what it used to be (uh-uh)
I'm the same emcee so y'all better get used to me
I breathe hip hop dawg, i'm the root in the tree
And when the game's on the line i'ma shoot the three (c'mon)
Cos if you missed it first time, then soon you'll see
A separate breed, but i'm what you'd call a true emcee
N' I don't wanna hear them lies about who you be
You be cryin' n lyin' about what you gon' do to me (yeh whatever man)
N it's a lotta y'all eatin, n it's thanks to that (what)
You rappin gangsta, but I was told gangsta's don't rap (no)
All I ever hear, is the heat y'all spark
What happened to the days when we did it free in the park (yo)
[Chorus]
[Novel]
Yo, yo
I seen these cats up on their interviews
No you ain't spit it dude, get a clue
They talk it live, but when I rhyme then I get ridiculed
Don't be so critical, you quite the fool, you pittyful
It's more than gin n juice when I bust it like an inner-tool
[Skillz]
We used to hark it out, talk about straight up flows
No cars, no shoes just rip up shows
And we seem to forget about who we be
No S-K-I's no double L-Z's
Novel
[Novel]
N I don't wanna harm you (I don't wanna harm you)
The next time you come around somebody better warn you
The cowards better beware (Cowards better beware)
See you at a cipher rhyme (You really shouldn't be here)
So beautiful you are
I would never take for granted
Much more than a star
See you're like a planet
And thats where I would be
It brings me pleasure
Im all in your world
And it dont get no better (no)
Never knew love like this
I used to be so cold
To everyone woman I met
But girl you broke the mold
Yea I get so weak
Whenever she speaks
She's all that I need
So much more, more, more
Chorus:
I could spend all of my time trying to get know ya
Wanna Love you the rest of my life
F**k it just get to hold ya
And baby no I dont mind I do anything to show ya
If it makes you happy (If it makes you happy)
Would that make you happy? (Would that make you happy?
no no yeah)
See your so shakespearian
Like a text book low
Its like the whole experience
Everytime that we touch
Time and time again
I try not to pretend
How sick that I get
Butterflies in my stomach
Girl don't let go
What you do to me is
Watching my soul
Like a point from Cupid's arrow
I get so upset
When were not together
Girl a storm could set
We will make it through the weather
Chorus:
I could spend all of my time trying to get know ya
Wanna love you the rest of my life
F**k it just get to hold ya
And baby no I dont mind I do anything to show ya
If it makes you happy (If it makes you happy)
Would that make you happy? (Would that make you happy?
yeah yeah)
Your my lady, I give all my love to you
Your my baby, Theres nothing that I wont do
Girl you make me, Crazy when I'm without you
I'm lost, I'm lost
Your my lady, I give all my love to you
Your my baby, Theres nothing that I wont do
Girl you make me, Crazy when I'm without you
Im lost, Im lost, I'm lost, I'm looost
Chorus x2:
I could spend all of my time trying to get know ya
Wanna love you the rest of my life
F**k it just get to hold ya
And baby no I dont mind I do anything to show ya
If it makes you happy (If it makes you happy x2)
Would that make you happy? (Girl that makes you happy
all around me are familiar faces
worn out places
worn out faces
bright and early for the daily races
going nowhere, going nowhere
their tears are filling up their glasses
no expression, no expression
hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
no tomorrow, no tomorrow...
feels like all we know is money
find it kind of sad
conditions we are living in
the poverty is bad
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
when people wanna hurt you
it's a very, very
mad world
mad world (Oh Yeah Yeah)
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)
mad world (Yeah Yeah Ya Ya Ya Uh Huh)...
children waitin' for the day they feel good
happy birthday, happy birthday
and to feel the way that every child should
speak and listen
speak and listen...
went to school and I was very nervous
no one knew me, no one knew me
hello teacher, tell me, what's my lesson?
look right through me, look right through me
but all this talk of money
i find it kind of sad (I Find It Kind of Sad)
conditions we are living in
the poverty is bad
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
when people wanna kill you
it's a very, very
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)...
yo, one straight level's all we got
but there's nothin' left
police be takin' shot
everybody that
children on the block
papa working at ?
mama doing a lot
but economy's in a tangle
put the peace and equality
all we goin' the same
now we started brutality
people lookin' for change
haters lookin' for blame
ten of these lookin' the same
here's the hope for humanity
'less the plan is humane...
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)
mad world (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh)...
Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo
it's crazy right now
it's a really really really bad world
Uh uh uh uh uh
you're gonna die out there
i said it's a mad world Oh
oh oh
[Verse 1: Novel]
I am, reverends' future black president.
I'm what you see rollin' every day through your resident
Windows tinted, young and relentless
To the cops, I'm a suspect that fits the description
But I am, not a hoodlum, I'm not an abuser
I'm sort of a connoisseur slash entrepreneur.
I've seen a lot of people grow, some went, some came
Rappers are next-generation shit but I am change.
At the age of 21 they said I'd be non-existent,
It's that, or pleading the trial or being convicted.
I guess since I'm alive then I beat the statistics
Y'all can all kiss my ass when I am rich.
I'm the sun, I'm light,
I'm much more than your bling or the shine off your ice
I'm as, free as a spirit, I'm as fly as a bird
I'm whatever I wanna be as long as I am heard
Cause I am...
[Chorus:]
I am I am I am
Eternal to the light I am I am
I'm a product of the ghetto, my father's boy,
A brother to my sister, my mother's pride and joy, I am
I am I am I am
The king of all knights I am I am
I'm the blade of the knife, that slaughtered the lamb
The greatest sacrifice, the son of Abraham
[Verse 2: Talib Kweli]
I am C-E-O, H-N-I-C
B-K-M-C, Talib Kweli
My name roll off the tongue like L-M-N-O-P
See I am at touch, you can I'm me.
I'm not nobody's toy, I'm not nobody's boy
I am someone's man, I am someone's joy
I am the voice, I am the truth
I am the choice, I am the proof.
Like my man from the D
Gon' stand on my feet
I am the branch, from the family tree
A baby to the leaves, carriers of the seeds
To carry on the name, to make a man complete.
De La Soul said I am a beat
I'm not a dream, I'm not a fantasy
Right here in the flesh,
I am out of this world, I am something else
I am something lived, I am something felt.
Your just so beautiful it makes me cry
You always get your way girl every time
It breaks my heart we had to say goodbye
I just can't let you fuck with my mind
My tears are bullets and my eyes a loaded gun
I never thought I'd be the one to run from love
Just can't lose it when it all comes push to shove
I just can't let you fuck with my mind
The things you say how was I to know babe yea
The things you did were unforgivable yea yea
And all this time I was here for ya late yea
Your just so beautiful it makes me cry
You always get your way girl every time
It breaks my heart we had to say goodbye
I just can't let you fuck with my mind
My tears are bullets and my eyes a loaded gun
I never thought I'd be the one to run from love.
You just can't lose it when it all comes push to shove
I just can't let you fuck with my mind.
The things you say how was I to know babe yea.
The things you did were unforgivable yea yea.
And all this time I was here for you late yea
Your just so beautiful it make me wanna cry
You always get your way girl every time.
It breaks my heart we had to say goodbye.
I just can't let you fuck with my mind
My tears are bullets and my eyes are loaded guns
I never thought I'd be the one to run from love.
You just can't lose it when it all comes push to shove.
I just can't let you fuck with my mind.
Baby girl I gave you my love
And after all the things we've been through
You say it wasn't enough
Girl I gave you my trust
Say there's nothing left no regrets
I just gotta let it be yea.
Your just so beautiful it makes me wanna
You always get your way girl every single time
It breaks my heart we had to say goodbye
I just can't let you fuck with my mind.
My tears are bullets and my eyes are loaded guns
I never thought I'd be the one to run from love
You just can't lose it when it all comes push to shove
Please excuse me but I got to ask
Are you only being nice
Because you want something
My fairy tale arrow pierces
Be careful how you respond
'Cause you'd not end up in this song
I never gave you an encouragement
And it's doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in
The more you try to erase me
The more, the more
The more that I appear
Oh the more, the more
The more you try the eraser
The more, the more
The more that you appear
You know the answer so why do you ask
I am only being nice
Because I want someone, something
You're like a kitten with a ball of yarn
And it's doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in
The more you try to erase me
The more, the more
The more that I appear
Oh the more, the more
The more I try to erase you
The more, the more
The more that you appear
No, you're wrong, you're wrong
You're wrong, you're wrong
You're wrong, you're wrong
[Lloyd Banks:]
Ya'll know who this is
Lloyd Banks
Novel
G Unit
Lloyd Banks
Novel
GGGG G Unit
[Verse 1: Novel]
Watermelons, Coconuts
Red squeezed juice drippin' nigga what what?
What I got to for a nigga like me to touch ya?
Body bangin' from head to toe she ain't blush much
Got me so small got her toes done
Cherry Red, Cinnamon she like no one
I ever met before
Didn't sweat me no
[Chorus: Novel]
I need peach fuzz
Especially sweet not sour
You see her on the streets doin' something to me
I need peach fuzz
I need peach fuzz
Especially sweet not sour
You see her on the streets doin' something to me
[Verse 2: Novel]
Yeah peach fuzz no steel rubbin' on the hairs of my chinny chin chin
Its such a taste make me smile
While I could crush grapes turn it into fine wine
You the greatest my one and only
I done some shit you got to understand my story
Rub on ya navel
Then freak off on the table
Then I could go past your navel
[Chorus: Novel]
I need peach fuzz
Especially sweet not sour
You see her on the streets doin' something to me
I need peach fuzz
I need peach fuzz
Especially sweet not sour
You see her on the streets doin' something to me
[Bridge: Novel]
Yo its down down down
Down down down down
I'm going down down down
Down down down
[Verse 3: Lloyd Banks]
Any special attention that god gave
But I ain't kissin' no lips that open up side ways
I ain't tryin' to knock ya strategy
You will not be mad at me
Ya old ass cell couldn't top my battery
You know we keep them dutchs stuffed up fast
But if you deep sea diving you can't puff puff pass
I know the tongue song got women fooled
I only jump head first in the swimming pool
Lloyd Banks
[Verse 4:]
You gotta know that this is a pacifical thing
Its critical man
Cause if she goin' down then she givin' me brain
And we push the seat back in the Caddy
Shes packin' the fatty
We practically at it
We at it cause Kat's a fanatic
In fact its sporadic
And don't get it twisted I eat 'till its numb
I eat 'till ya cum
My tongue'll have you speakin' in tongues
I eat it at the bay or the beach
And they all weak
See I could give it
[Chorus: Novel]
I need peach fuzz
Especially sweet not sour
You see her on the streets doin' something to me
I need peach fuzz
I need peach fuzz
Especially sweet not sour
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why.
Why can't we live together?
Tell me why, tell me why.
Why can't we live together?
Everybody wants to live together.
Why can't we be together?
No more war, no more war, no more war...
Just a little peace.
No more war, no more war.
All we want is some peace in this world.
Everybody wants to live together.
Why can't we be together?
No matter, no matter what colour.
You are still my brother.
I said no matter, no matter what colour.
You are still my brother.
Everybody wants to live together
Why can't we be together?
Everybody wants to live.
Everybody's got to be together.
Everybody wants to live.
Everybody's going to be together.
Everybody's got to be together.
Everybody wants to be together.
I said no matter, no matter what colour.
You're still my brother.
I said no matter, no matter what colour.
You're still my brother.
Everybody wants to live together.
Why can't we be together?
Gotta live together...
(Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Beat is gettin' stronger
Beat is gettin' longer too-oo-oo
Music's soundin' good to me
But I wanna, said I wanna
I wanna take you higher
Yeah, let me take you higher
Baby, baby, let me light your fire
Ooo yeah, little bit higher
Boom-shaka-laka-laka
Boom-shaka-la-boonka-boo
(Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Beat is nitty-gritty
Music's in your city too-oo-oo
Music's gettin' good to me
But now don't ya, I said don't ya
Don't ya wanna get higher
Yeah, don't ya wanna get higher
Baby, baby, let me light your fire
Ooo ha, little bit higher
Boom-shaka-laka-laka
Boom-shaka-la-boonka-boo
(Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Come on baby (higher!)
Don't ya wanna get high (higher!)
Ooo yeah! (higher!)
Light your fire (fire!)
Come on daddy (higher!)
A little bit higher (higher!)
I wanna (higher!)
Said I wanna light your fire (fire!)
Boom-shaka-laka-laka
Boom-shaka-la-boonka-boo
(Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Beat is here to make you mo-ove
Music's here to help ya groo-oo-oove
Music's soundin' good to me
But take your places
I'm gonna take you higher (higher!)
Yeah, baby (higher!)
Gonna take ya higher (higher!)
Ooo yeah (higher!)
Little bit higher (higher!)
C'mon daddy (higher!)
A little bit (higher!)
(higher!)
(higher!)
(higher!)
(higher!)
(higher!)
Sittin` here together, baby we`re all alone
Now I can tell ya, girl, you turn me on
I get lifted up hi-high - hi-high
I get lifted up hi-high - hi-high
Bring out the lovin`, lovin` desire, baby
You got the match, oh that lights the fire
I get lifted up hi-high - hi-high
I get lifted up hi-high - hi-high
Mama-mama, mama-mama
Mama-mama, mama-mama
I get lifted up hi-high - hi-high
I get lifted up hi-high - hi-high
Mama-mama, mama-mama
Mama-mama, mama-mama
I get lifted, I get lifted up hi-high - hi-high
Think I'll go back home
Think I'll go back home
Think I'll go back home
Back where I belong
Think I'll go back home
Nothin' for me here
Nothin' for me here, child, no there ain't
Nothin' for me here
People trapped by fear
And you can't get near
Lived with you I felt
Lived with you I felt, child
Lived with you I felt
I was by myself
I was someone else
Babe, come home with me
Babe, come home with me now
Babe, come home with me
And I'll make you see
Yes, I'm gonna set you free
When I woke up this morning
I found that I was alone, yeah
Till I called your number
They told me there's no one home again
Baby, what does it mean?
Waterfall, nothing can harm me at all,
my worries seem so very small
with my waterfall.
I can see my rainbow calling me
through the mystery
of my waterfall.
Some people say day-dreaming's
for the lazy minded fools
with nothing else to do.
So let them laugh, laugh at me,
so just as long as I have you
to see me through,
I have nothing to lose 'long as I have you.
Waterfall, don't ever choose your ways.
Come with me for a million days,