8/4/2019 Pro Football s NFL the Largest American Pro Football
League Has Significant Rivalries
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ProFootballsNFLTheLargestAmericanProFootballLeagueHasSignificantRivalries
TheNationalFootballLeagueortheNFListhebiggestprofessionalfootballleagueintheUnitedStates.TheNFLhasthirty-twoteamsthatarebasedinavarietyofcitiesacrossthecountry.OriginallyknownastheAmericanProfessionalFootballAssociationwhenitwasformedin1920,theAssociationassumedthename
NationalFootballLeaguein1922.Atfirst,themostpopularwaypeopleenjoyedtheirfootballwasbywatchingtheirfavoritecollegeteamplaybutthefocusofthecountrychangedin1958.ThatNFLgamewentintoovertimeandcapturedanumberofnewfanswhofoundthattheyenjoyedtheprofessionalfootballleaguejustasmuchasifnotmorethantheircollegefootballteams.Duetotherisingpopularityofprofessionalfootball,theNFLmergedwiththeAmericanFootballLeagueinthe1960stoformwhatisnowtheNationalFootballLeague.Overtheyears,somefriendlyandsomenot-so-friendlyrivalrieshavecomeaboutduetoanumberofcircumstances.Theserivalriescanbecategorizedintothreeseparategroups.Thefirstistheintradivisional,whichisarivalrybetweenteamsinthesameNFLdivision.Thesecondisinterdivisional,whichisarivalryb
etweenteamsinthedifferentdivisionsbutinthesameconference.Thethirdistheinterconference,whichisarivalrybetweenteamsindifferentconferences.Manytimesfanswillhearsportscastersrefertoteamrivalriesasdivisionalrivals,divisionrivalorconferencerivalinsteadofincludingtheappropriateprefix.Forexample,intheAFCNorth,thereisarivalrybetweentheBaltimoreRavensandtheClevelandBrownsbasedonthewhentheteamsowner,ArtModell,movedtheClevelandBrownsfranchisetoBaltimore.FortunatelyforClevelandBrownsfans,theDawgPoundanditscolorsremainedinCleveland.TheClevelandBrownswerereactivatedasaNFLteamin1999.TheDawgPoundfanswaitedfortheirrevengeandgotatastein2001whentheBrownswonagainsttheRavensafteronlyfourgames.AnotherfamousrivalrybeganintheAFCEastwhentheBuffaloBillsowner,RalphWilson,wasntallowedtobaseanAFLteaminMiamiandwentontoestablishtheBuffaloBillsasachartermemberoftheAFL.TheBuffaloBillsandtheMiamiDo
lphinshavemaintainedarivalrybasedonthishistorysince1967.Thisparticularrivalryhashadanumberofkeymomentsthatcontinuedtofueltheircontentionovertheyearsincludingplayingagainsteachotherintheultimategameofthefootballseason-theSuperBowl.ZZZZZZ
