American football is a team-based sport that involves rigorous physical play. The objective of the game is to score by advancing the ball using two modes of play (running and passing) into the opponents’ end zone, a region between the goal line and end line that is bordered by the sidelines. Points can be attained in various ways. These include catching a throw from beyond the goal line, carrying the football over the goal line, and tackling a ball carrier from the opposing team right in his end zone, and propelling the ball between the goal posts of the opposing teams by means of a kick. At the end of the last play, the team with the most points wins.

 

Ironically though, American football, despite its wide popularity in its home country and persistent efforts of the National Football League to globalize the sport, has only a meager following outside the United States.

 

Three of the most well-known American football teams are:

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

 

The Pittsburgh Steelers — formerly known as the Pittsburgh Pirates — is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based professional American football team. It is one of the teams that comprise the North Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Pittsburgh Steelers is one of the first teams to have been formed and it is the most championed in the AFC’s list of franchises. The team has competed in no less than six Super Bowls and is one of the three teams to have reaped five Super Bowls, a record the Steelers share with the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. Compared to other NFL franchises, they have hosted the most number of conference championship games. They also hold the record of being the only team to have won a Super Bowl after being seeded sixth in the playoffs, defeating the Seattle Seahawks in February 5, 2006 in a Super Bowl XL victory after having won three consecutive games on the road.  

 

According to a 2007 survey, the team has the largest female fan base in National Football League. It has also sold out all its home games since 1972, trailing second after the Green Bay Packers, which has the longest running streak in the history of NFL.

 

 

New England Patriots

 

The New England Patriots — who are also known as the “Pats” by fans and sports writers alike — are a professional American Football team. They are based in the Greater Boston area. The town of Foxborough, Massachusetts serves as their host during home games. The team is one of many that comprise the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

 

The team was previously known as the Boston Patriots but soon changed their name to the current one after relocating to Foxborough in 1971. Presently, they are the American Football Conference Champions, having won the 2007 AFC Championship Game.

 

The New England Patriots were originally a member of the American Football League (AFL), but got absorbed in the NFL when the AFL-NFL merger transpired in 1970. 

 

A short list of highlights in the team’s history:

 

·         1986 – The Patriots appeared in the Super Bowl XX but lost to the Chicago Bears.

·         1997 - The Patriots appeared in the Super Bowl XXXI but lost to the Green Bay Packers.

·         2001-2005 – The team, after the Dallas Cowboys, became the second group in the history of NFL to win in a four-year interim, three Super Bowls. The also became the eighth to win Super Bowls successively.

 

New Orleans Saints

 

The New Orleans Saints are a Louisiana-based professional American football team, which was founded in 1967.

 

They played for two decades before winning a season but garnered the 2007 ESPY award for the “Best Moment in Sports” when it defeated its NFC South rival, the Atlanta Falcons in its home opener in September 25, 2006.

 

The team’s initial victories transpired in the 1987-1992 interim when the team advanced to the playoffs four times and garnered winning records in non-playoff seasons.