Imagine you are the top wide receiver for the home team in in the conference playoffs.  If you win this one you are going to the Super Bowl.  As you run onto the field, the crowd immediately starts to scream your name.  This shows that the crowd is in love with you and cannot wait for you to do well, just like Peyton Manning's several experiences in his quest for conference titiles.  As the game progresses through the first and second halves, the stakes become even higher as your team starts to lose!  Suddenly, in the fourth quarter the opposing is leading 35-30, it's your ball, with only 10 seconds remaining on the clock.  Your quarterback decides on a Hail Mary, the most impossible play in all of football history.  The center snaps the ball, the quarterback drops back as you run deep into the end zone.  You look back to see the ball soaring through the air right at you.  You stretch out your fingers and jump......TOUCHDOWN!! You are going to the Super Bow!  To make this intense sport the way it brings us to this intensity within, there are rules that have had to be made, positions that had to be played, and remarkable players that have put their name in the Hall of Fame.

This sport is full of rules that are needed to keep this game in order.  These rules keep the game safe, fun and fair.  The "safety" rules, for example, are based on a series of movements or moves that have a high risk of hurting someone.  These are important because some movements have been put on someone's back or neck that ended their career.  Like Joe Theismann, who suffered a right leg injury from a sack by Lawrence Taylor.  An example of one of these moves is the chop block, which is where an offensive player blocks at the thigh or lower of a defensive lineman while he is already in contact with another offensive player, usually causing pain, if not injury.  The "possession" rules state the several different ways the offense can give up the ball to the defense, like an interception, fumble, or punt.  The "overtime" rules are nearly like the rules in regular time, but the scoring is a bit different.  If a field goal is scored, the game continues, but if a touchdown is scored, the team that scored the touchdown wins.  If the clock runs out with no one ahead, the game ends as a tie.  Finally, the "sportsmanship" rules help keep everyone a fair player.

Each football player must have the perfect body features for whatever position they play.  The "quarterback", the position player that throws the ball, is usually tall for seeing where to throw the ball, fast for quick releases, and agile if they are needed to run from the defense if necessary.  The "wide receiver", the player that catches the ball, can either be short or tall, but they need to be quick on their feet.  This is also needed to outrun their defender.  An example of this is Jerry Rice.  He is considered the best wide receiver to ever play the game.  The "offensive linemen", the people that prevent the quarterback from getting sacked (when the quarterback is tackled) by the defense, can be either very buffed up or very "buoyant", usually in between.  They are credited for being the hardest working in the weight room.  Finally, the "defense", the position that is opposing the offense, is made up of several different positions.  The "defensive line" tries to sack the quarterback.  The "defensive ends" either try to sack the quarterback or guard wide receivers.  Those are the basic positions that are played on the field.

There have been thousands of people that have played in the National Football League (NFL), but only a few have made their mark in the minds of others when they say, "the greatest of all time".  This looks like someone who spends extra time in the weight room and works hardest in practice.  They have also usually broken several records, and has won a Super Bowl or two.  Peyton Manning, for example, was a terrific quarterback for the Colts before a neck injury sent him to the Broncos.  This is important because with the Brocos he was even better.  He holds the record for passing yards and touchdown throws ans has won two Super Bowls.  Jerry Rice was a WR for the 49ers, Raiders, and the Seahawks but is largely known for being a 49er.  He holds the record for receptions, touchdown receptions, and yards.  He won 3 Super Bowls and holds over 100 NFL records.  Lawrence Taylor was a linebacker for the NY Giants for 12 years.  He was a 2 time Super Bowl champion and won several awads though admitted to drugs and suspended several times.  Finally, Anothony Munoz was probably the greatest offensive lineman that ever played the game.  He played 13 seasons for the Bengals but never won a Super Bowl.  He was still on 11 time Pro Bowler, a 3 time Offensive Lineman of the year, and was elected into the Hall of Fame for being as sturdy as a rock and keeping the Quarterback as safe as he could.

Without a doubt, many different aspects make football entertaining for many people on and off the field.  First of all, as described, the small amount of the rules that were presented are truly not all that hard.  Second, let's not forget to recognize that the positions that are played in this ecstatic sport are easy to follow, but hard to do?  Third and finally, the historic players that are known by all the faithful fanatics that love this sport so much are undoubtedly few, but legendary.  Can't you just hear the crowds, maybe even you with them, and fans all over the U.S., maybe even in different countries, screaming with delight as the kickoff starts Super Bowl 51?