Scoreboards

In a football scoreboards feature, I have taken a look at the principal differences between the two great games of American and Canadian football.

Origin: The origins of both of these sports lie in the British sport of Rugby. British soldiers brought the game over to North America, and the humble beginnings of football lie in the games that they played in the University of Harvard in the U.S. and McGill University in Canada. The first football scoreboards to be produced were then utilized as McGill University went on to play Harvard in a series of games, and a tradition was born.

In a football scoreboards feature, I have taken a look at the principal differences between the two great games of American and Canadian football.

Origin: The origins of both of these sports lie in the British sport of Rugby. British soldiers brought the game over to North America, and the humble beginnings of football lie in the games that they played in the University of Harvard in the U.S. and McGill University in Canada. The first football scoreboards to be produced were then utilized as McGill University went on to play Harvard in a series of games, and a tradition was born.

Unfortunately, the kickers don't always seem to get the credit that I think they deserve. Sure, they only play a few seconds a game, and their bodies are not subject to the rigors of the game that players in other positions have to deal with, but the physiological side of the kicking game is massive, and the best kickers have learned to master their minds, and their fear of failure as millions of eyes watch them.

In a football scoreboards feature, we take a look at some of the glamour players of the game: the ones who leave everyone else in a trail of dust.

Speed has always been one of the most prized skills in the NFL. It doesn't matter how solid a catcher a player is or how good a tackler he may be, for many positions the player has to have great speed if he is going to succeed at the highest level. The fastest players in the game are not only some of the most adored, but also the most coveted. Along with the quarterbacks, they generate the most highlight reels, and many of the most memorable moments in the game as a whole.

No game of football is complete without the kind of rivalry we see in the NFL today. A long history of great match ups, two of the best players in their respective positions coming together, two teams from the same corner of the country: their are a number of factors that bring about the most passionate rivalries in the NFL. In a football scoreboards feature, we look at the five best rivalries of them all:

The coaches are the people behind a team’s success or failure. Whenever a team win a big slice of the credit is given to the coach, and the same happends when the team loses. Good coaches accept their responsibility when their team loses but there are some coaches who put the blame on the players for not performing up to standard. In a football scoreboards feature, we bring you the 4 coaches who will certainly not be remembered for their coaching skills:

The FIFA Ballon D’or is a European award and was previously given to European footballers only, however, in 1995 the rules changed and non-European players were also declared eligible for this award. In 2007, the soccer scoreboards showed that the rules changed again and now any player of any nationality and playing for any club is eligible for this award. This has also led to an increase in the number of journalists who vote and choose their top five players. This award is given to the player who was the best in the previous calendar year and who has delivered consistently outstanding performances.

The NFL season is far from over yet but the predictions for this year’s MVP are already being made, and as ever there are many players who could win the award. They have been performing very well in the early stages of the season and could truly be a strong contender if they maintain their performance. In a football scoreboards feature, we will take a look at the main contenders for this years MVP award. Who would you vote for?!

There have been a number of players who have played in the NFL at or above the age of 40 and have performed like they were still young sprightly players in the twenties. Their passion for the game did not die with time, and their bodies somehow managed to withstand the rigours of the NFL year after year. The oldest player to ever have played in the history of the NFL was 48 years old when he retired. Here is a football scoreboards list of the players who played in the NFL at or above the age of 40:

In a football scoreboards feature, we take a look back at the NFL's most mean defenses ever. It might not be pretty, but its effective!

Every fan of the game has heard it so many times that it probably just ticks them off: the best defense wins the game. This principle is true for every sport, but even more so when it comes to American football. The offence is, no doubt, important too, but it has been observed that more often than not it is the team’s defense that is the number factor in bringing it postseason glory. A good example of this can be seen in this year’s Pittsburgh Steelers team. The Steelers have a strong offense, but it is obvious that most of the credit for their successful season so far rests at the helm of their defense.

Ranking players in a particular sport is never easy, and ranking a quarterback, is perhaps even harder. Sometimes the statistics of a quarterback cannot be taken as the sole factor in the ranking. Sure, the current statistics of a quarterback are a good pointer towards their greatness, but no more than that! A quarterback can be great even though his statistics may not be the best. What makes a quarterback great? Different experts assign different values to the qualities of a quarterback, because no two quarterbacks are the same in their ability and talent. A quarterback’s greatness lies not in his stats because there are many quarterbacks whose greatness lies more in their ability to lead their team and to get out of difficult situations. This is why the list of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL is very subjective. We'll give it a go though!

In a football scoreboards feature, we compare the great games of football and rugby and ponder the quesion: which is the toughest?

The first obvious difference is that football players play in small bursts often of just a few seconds, and the football scoreboards show that they generally play no more than 40% of each game as each football team essentially consists of three teams, and subs are unlimited. Rugby players can be substituted, but often they play for the whole game and they spend much more time running as they game is stopped much less than football. This means that rugby players have to have much more stamina, but it also means that football is open to stronger and bigger players with less natural endurance. Football players can be considerably bigger; in fact the heaviest football players are around 380 pounds, whilst rubgy players max out at around 280 pounds.