The National Football League, also known as the NFL is considered America’s favorite pastime. Originally founded in 1920, http://answers.ask.com/Sports/Football_and_Rugby/when_did_the_nfl_start The league has created such athletic stars as Joe Montana, Deion Sanders, and Troy Aikman.

The National Football League is comprised of 32 professional teams playing American football. Each team competes in 16 regular season games over 17 weeks during the regular season. At the end of the season, the top six teams from each conference qualify for the NFL Playoffs. The final game of the season, the Super Bowl, determines the NFL champion. The Pro Bowl also takes place the week before the Super Bowl. This game features the best players in the NFL, and pits the AFC against the NFC.

Formed in 1920 with 11 teams in Canton, Ohio, the National Football League has grown to the largest professional football league in the world. In 1960, the American Football League was started as an alternative to the NFL. The two leagues were rivals until June 8, 1966, when they merged.

The league was shaped to clear out some of the chaos that a few players were causing. Some of the teammates were requesting higher salaries and jumping from team to team while coaches were bringing on college players who weren’t enrolled in school. The league organizers came together and decided it was best that the two leagues all followed the same set of rules.http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1911-1920 Thus, the National Football League was formed.

Shortly after the merger, the first Super Bowl was played, in 1967, as the championship game. The Super Bowl has since become the most watched television program of the year, complete with elaborate parties to celebrate this 'holiday' and popular musical acts performing during the half time show.

The NFL introduced Monday Night Football on ABC in 1970, which became a staple of households across the U.S.

Even in today’s rough economic climate, NFL is showing great numbers in fan attendance. In 2010, 17,282,225 seats were sold at 256 games. http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2010/01/04/nfl-maintains-massive-lead-in-attendance-040105/ These high numbers means that the NFL maintains its number one spot as the world’s favorite sport in terms of attendance. The numbers take a slight dip from 2009 where the total numbers of seats sold are 17,469,636. However, the numbers illustrate that despite the economic downturn, Americans are still spending money to watch their favorite football teams.

Each of the 32 NFL teams plays 16 regular season games each season. Games are played on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays and are broadcast by various television networks, including ESPN, CBS, and FOX. Each game consists of four 15 minute quarters, and additional time following, if the two teams are tied following regulation time.

At the end of the regular season, the top teams in each of the eight divisions, plus four wild card teams play in a single elimination bracket style playoff. The winning teams from each conference then play in the Super Bowl to decide the championship.

During the March 2009 league meetings, Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke of extending the NFL season to 17 or 18 weeks, possibly starting in the 2011 season.http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/11540650] The NFL also announced that they would not change overtime rules. Critics have stated that overtime rules are unfair because it doesn't allow both teams to have an offensive possession.http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3993657

The NFL and NFL Players' Association are facing the possibility of a work stoppage in 2011 if they cannot come to a consensus on a new collective bargaining agreement for the league. The NFL owners feel as though they are not making the profit that they could under the current agreement, despite that fact that the average franchise value rose 16% in the last four years.

During some week one games, the players, in show of their solidarity, shook hands at midfield before the game. The league, which is playing without a salary cap in the 2010 season, would see its first work stoppage since 1987 if the two sides can't come to an agreement by March 1, 2011.