American football in the United States

American football in the United States is the most popular sport in the country. The National Football League has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world. In the United States the game is most often referred to as simply "football".

Organization in the United States

There is no single national governing body for American football in the United States or a continental governing body for North America. There is an international governing body, the International Federation of American Football, or IFAF. Befitting its status as a popular sport, football is played in leagues of different size, age and quality, in all regions of the country. Organized football is played almost exclusively by men and boys, although a few amateur and semi-professional women's leagues have begun play in recent years. A team / academy may be referred to as a 'football program' - not to be confused with football program.

Professional

The governing body for American football in the United States is USA Football. The 32-team National Football League (NFL) is currently the only major or borderline-major professional American football league in the United States. There have been numerous attempts over the past several decades to create a second major or high-level professional league, most of which failed within a few years or, in the cases of the All-America Football Conference and 1960s American Football League, merged with the NFL.

National Football League

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world. The NFL's 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing sixteen games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, six teams from each conference (four division winners and two wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1923 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League (AFL) in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season; the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl is among the biggest club sporting events in the world and individual Super Bowl games account for many of the most watched television programs in American history, all occupying the Nielsen's Top 5 tally of the all-time most watched U.S. television broadcasts by 2015. The NFL's executive officer is the commissioner, who has broad authority in governing the league.

Cam Newton

Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. Newton is the only player in the modern era to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, win a national championship, and become the first overall pick in an NFL draft within a one-year span. He was the 2011 NFL Rookie of the Year, is a 3-time Pro Bowler, and was named to the NFL All Pro First Team in 2015.

In his rookie year, Newton broke numerous rookie and all-time NFL records for passing and rushing yards. He became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 400 yards in his first game, shattering Peyton Manning's first-game record by 120 yards. He also broke Otto Graham's 61-year-old record for passing yards by any quarterback in an NFL debut. Newton would go on to become the first rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season, as well as the first rookie quarterback to rush for 700 yards. He also ran for 14 touchdowns, more in a single season than any quarterback in NFL history, breaking Steve Grogan's 35-year-old record.

Dave Dameshek

William David "Dr. Funny Dave" Dameshek (born June 11, 1970 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American television writer and radio personality. Dameshek is currently a football analyst and writer for NFL.com, appearing on NFL Fantasy Live and hosting the Dave Dameshek Football Program.

Early life

Dameshek grew up on the banks of the three rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he became an avid Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins fan. In high school and during his youth, he was a decorated swimmer – a skill that he attributes to webbing that developed on his feet as part of a birth defect. He received numerous offers from universities to swim collegiately, but decided to forgo his swimming career to pursue broadcasting and robotics full-time.

Education

Dameshek received his undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from Indiana University and moved to Chicago shortly after college.

In 2010, the National Mustard Museum awarded Dameshek an honorary doctoral degree in the field of mustard. As a result, he prefers the style of "Dr."

Colin Cowherd

Colin Murray Cowherd (born January 6, 1964) is an American sports media personality. Born in Bay Center, Washington, Cowherd began his broadcasting career as sports director of Las Vegas television station KVBC, and as a sports anchor on several other stations before joining ESPN in 2003, where he hosted a radio show on the ESPN Radio network, and also became one of the original hosts of ESPN's television program SportsNation, as well as Colin's New Football Show. Colin is currently the host of The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1.

In July 2015, it was announced that Cowherd would leave ESPN following the conclusion of his contract with the company, and in turn announced in August 2015 that he would join Fox Sports beginning in September—a deal which includes his radio show moving to Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1, and other appearances as a contributor; while he was to leave at the end of the month, Cowherd was suspended from ESPN on July 24, 2015 following controversial remarks he made on The Herd the previous day.