Physics of Sport - Football

The first football game was playe in 1867 between Rutgers University and Princeton University. American Football also known as gridiron is one of the four main sports in North America and is played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with control of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with or passing the ball, while the team without control of the ball, the defense, aims to stop their advance and take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team; if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdownor kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.  Throughout this website we will be analyzing the Physics behind football. The concepts we will be looking at is Kinematics, Forces, and Energy/Society. Football consists of some of the best athletes in the world when it comes to speed, quickness, agility, strength, and power. These athletes have the skills and the knowledge to perform at a high level. Now let takes a deeper look into the physics involved in football, and see how the game really works.