All About
Rivalries in Pro
Football
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Pro Football’s NFL – The Largest American Pro
Football League Has Significant Rivalries
Larry Woods
The National Football League or the NFL is the biggest
professional football league in the United States. The NFL has
thirty-two teams that are based in a variety of cities across
the country. Originally known as the American Professional
Football Association when it was formed in 1920, the
Association assumed the name “National Football League” in
1922.
At first, the most popular way people enjoyed their football
was by watching their favorite college team play but the focus
of the country changed in 1958. That NFL game went into
overtime and captured a number of new fans who found that they
enjoyed the professional football league just as much as if not
more than their college football teams. Due to the rising
popularity of professional football, the NFL merged with the
American Football League in the 1960’s to form what is now the
National Football League.
Over the years, some friendly and some not-so-friendly
rivalries have come about due to a number of circumstances.
These rivalries can be categorized into three separate groups.
The first is the ‘intradivisional’, which is a rivalry between
teams in the same NFL division. The second is interdivisional,
which is a rivalry between teams in the different divisions but
in the same conference. The third is the ‘interconference’,
which is a rivalry between teams in different conferences. Many
times fans will hear sportscasters refer to team rivalries as
“divisional rivals”, “division rival” or “conference rival”
instead of including the appropriate prefix.
For example, in the AFC North, there is a rivalry between the
Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns based on the when the
team’s owner, Art Modell, moved the Cleveland Browns franchise
to Baltimore. Fortunately for Cleveland Browns fans, the “Dawg
Pound” and its colors remained in Cleveland. The Cleveland
Browns were reactivated as a NFL team in 1999. The “Dawg Pound”
fans waited for their revenge and got a taste in 2001 when the
Browns won against the Ravens after only four games.
Another famous rivalry began in the AFC East when the Buffalo
Bills owner, Ralph Wilson, wasn’t allowed to base an AFL team
in Miami and went on to establish the Buffalo Bills as a
charter member of the AFL. The Buffalo Bills and the Miami
Dolphins have maintained a rivalry based on this history since
1967. This particular rivalry has had a number of key moments
that continued to fuel their contention over the years
including playing against each other in the ultimate game of
the football season- the Super Bowl.
About The Author: Larry Woods is a sports writer for
http://www.pro-college-football-jerseys.com
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