1.
September 11 attacks
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The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
2.
AFC Championship Game
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The AFC Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American Football Conference, the winner then advances to face the winner of the National Football Conference Championship Game in the Super Bowl. The game was established as part of the 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League, with the merged league realigning into two conferences. Since 1984, each winner of the AFC Championship Game has also received the Lamar Hunt Trophy, named after the founder of the AFL and longtime leader of the Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Hunt. The first AFC Championship Game was played following the 1970 regular season after the merger between the NFL and the American Football League. The game is considered the successor to the former AFL Championship, every AFC team except the Houston Texans has played in an AFC Championship Game at least once. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most appearances in the AFC Championship Game at 16, with 11 of those games being in Pittsburgh, at the end of each regular season, a series of playoff games involving the top six teams in the AFC are conducted. In the current NFL playoff structure, this consists of the four division champions, the two teams remaining following the Wild Card round and the divisional round play in the AFC Championship game. Initially, the site of the game was determined on a rotating basis, since the 1975–76 season, the site of the AFC Championship has been based on playoff seeding based on the regular season won-loss record, with the highest surviving seed hosting the game. A wild card team can only host the game if both participants are wild cards, in case the fifth seed would host the sixth seed. Such an instance has never occurred in the NFL, beginning with 1984–85 season, the winner of the AFC Championship Game has received the Lamar Hunt Trophy, named after the founder of the AFL. The original design consisted of a base with a sculpted AFC logo in the front. Numbers in parentheses in the table are AFC Championships, bold indicates team won Super Bowl that year. ^ b, The Seahawks were members of the NFC in 1976 and then members of the AFC from 1977 to 2001, including their appearances in the NFC Championship Game, they hold a combined 3–1 record between both Conference Championship Games. ^ c, The Buccaneers were members of the AFC in 1976 before moving to the NFC in 1977, ^ e, Includes appearances as the Baltimore Colts, where they went 1–1 in AFC Championship Games. Since moving to Indianapolis in 1984, the Colts are 2–3 in AFC Championship Games ^ f, Includes appearances as the Houston Oilers, since moving to Tennessee in 1997, they are 1–1 in AFC Championship Games. Los Angeles Raiders Largest margin of victory –48 points**, January 20,1991 – Buffalo Bills vs
3.
2001 New England Patriots season
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The 2001 New England Patriots season was the 32nd season for the team in the National Football League and 42nd season overall. They finished with an 11–5 record and a title before advancing to. Coming off a finish in head coach Bill Belichicks first season in 2000. As a result, the Patriots became only the 2nd team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl after starting the season 2–3, behind the 1980 Oakland Raiders. After defeating the top-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, as it would turn out the 2001 season served as a launching pad for the team. In the next 16 seasons, they would win their division 14 times, win the AFC Championship 6 more times, win 4 additional Super Bowl titles, and achieve an undefeated regular season in 2007. At the time of the first public training camp practice at Bryant College on July 26, the Patriots received seven roster exemptions for the NFL Europe allocations of Michael Bishop, Brad Costello, Tony George, Sean Morey, Josh Rawlings, Kato Serwanga, and Tony Simmons. Finally, injured draft pick Brock Williams had not yet signed a contract at the start of camp, Drew Bledsoe failed to complete a pass in the games final two minutes, he also failed earlier in the game on a quarterback sneak on fourth down. This was the first game played by any team since the September 11 attacks, during the fourth quarter of a 10–3 loss to the Jets, Drew Bledsoe was hit hard while running to the sidelines by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. The injury to his chest, which filled with blood, left Bledsoe hospitalized, Tom Brady finished the game, completing five of ten passes for 46 yards, and was elevated to starter for the following week. The 2–0 Colts were crushed 44–13 following a hit on receiver Jerome Pathon by Patriots linebacker Bryan Cox in the first quarter. Tom Brady threw for 168 yards in his first start and this was the first matchup of the storied Tom Brady–Peyton Manning rivalry. The game that turned the 1–3 Patriots season around came against former. Unruly receiver Terry Glenn, making his first start of the season after being benched for the four games. But despite being down 26–16, Brady took over, directing a field goal drive, a last-second Wade Richey field goal try fell short, and in overtime Brady picked up a Chargers blitz and led a drive that ended in Vinatieris 44-yard field goal and a 29–26 Patriots final. The Patriots squandered an opportunity when they fumbled to the Rams late in the second quarter. The Patriots defense was unable to stop Kurt Warner and get the ball late in the game. The win proved costly, as five Rams starters were knocked out of the game, oddly enough this was the last loss for the Patriots during the 2001 season
4.
NFC Championship Game
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The National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the National Football Conference, the winner then advances to face the winner of the American Football Conference Championship Game in the Super Bowl. The game was established as part of the 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League, with the merged league realigning into two conferences. Since 1984, each winner of the NFC Championship Game has also received the George Halas Trophy, named after the founder and longtime owner of the NFLs Chicago Bears, George Halas. The first NFC Championship Game was played following the 1970 regular season after the merger between the NFL and the American Football League. The game is considered the successor to the original NFL Championship, every NFC team has played in an NFC Championship at least once. The Seattle Seahawks, who have members in both the AFC and the NFC, hold the distinction of appearing in both conference title games. Only the Detroit Lions have yet to win an NFC Championship Game, at the end of each regular season, a series of playoff games involving the top six teams in the NFC are conducted. In the current NFL playoff structure, this consists of the four division champions, the two teams remaining following the Wild Card round and the divisional round play in the NFC Championship game. Initially, the site of the game was determined on a rotating basis, since the 1975–76 season, the site of the NFC Championship has been based on playoff seeding based on the regular season won-loss record, with the highest surviving seed hosting the game. A wild card team can only host the game if both participants are wild cards, in case the fifth seed would host the sixth seed. Such an instance has never occurred in the NFL, the original design consisted of a wooden base with a sculpted NFC logo in the front and a sculpture of various football players in the back. The trophies are now a new, silver design with the outline of a hollow football positioned on a base to more closely resemble the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Numbers in parentheses in the winning team column are NFC Championships won by that team, bold indicates team won Super Bowl that year. Numbers in parentheses in the city and stadium column is the amount of times that area and stadium has hosted a NFC Championship. ^ a, Overtime ^ b, The Seahawks were members of the NFC in 1976 and then members of the AFC from 1977–2001, including their only appearance in the AFC Championship Game, they hold a combined 3–1 record between both Conference Championship Games
5.
2001 St. Louis Rams season
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The 2001 St. Louis Rams season was the 64th season for the team in the National Football League and seventh season in St. Louis. The Rams set a record for wins in a season. Quarterback Kurt Warner would go on to win his second league MVP award, along with Warners 1999 MVP award and Marshall Faulks 2000 award, the Rams had amassed the last three NFL MVP awards. The Rams also became the first team in NFL history to three consecutive seasons with six straight wins and the first to score 500 or more points in three consecutive seasons. The Rams returned to the Super Bowl for a time, this time against the 11-5 New England Patriots, led by Bill Belicheck. This was the season with the Rams as The Greatest Show on Turf as Kurt Warner struggled the following two seasons with the team. He was then replaced by Marc Bulger, with one of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2000, the Rams knew an overhaul was needed in this area. First, Lovie Smith was hired away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to serve as defensive coordinator, the Rams had three first-round draft picks, and all were used on defense. The most important acquisition, however, was the trade for veteran cornerback Aeneas Williams, Williams leadership was the key element in a much-improved Rams defense in 2001. Although Favre threw for 281 yards, he tied a record by tossing six interceptions. The Packers generated most of their offense early in the contest, the Rams then returned two interceptions in the second half to put the game away. Rams defensive back Aeneas Williams opened up the scoring by returning an interception from Favre 29 yards for a touchdown, the next time Green Bay had the ball, they turned it over again when safety Kim Herring stripped the ball from Ahman Green and rookie Adam Archuleta recovered it. However, the Rams were unable to take advantage of this turnover, a few plays later, Warners pass was intercepted by Darren Sharper on the Packers 35-yard line. Favre then completed a pair of passes to Corey Bradford and Donald Driver for gains of 27 and 16 yards, but the Rams stormed right back with a 15-yard completion to Az-Zahir Hakim and a 38-yard burst from running back Marshall Faulk advancing the ball to the Packers 11-yard line. Two plays later, Warner completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt to put the Rams back in the lead, allen Rossum returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, but a holding penalty on Torrance Marshall eliminated the score. Green Bay still managed to score with a Ryan Longwell field goal, in the second half, the Rams scored two touchdowns in a span of 92 seconds. On Green Bays opening drive, Greens 49-yard run moved the ball into Rams territory, but on the three plays later, Williams stripped the ball from Freeman, dove on it, then got up and returned it for a touchdown. A replay challenge overruled the score, showing Williams was down by contact when he recovered the fumble, but three plays later, Holts 50-yard reception set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Faulk
6.
Super Bowl XXXVI
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The Patriots defeated the Rams 20–17. It was New Englands first Super Bowl championship, and the franchises first league championship of any kind, the game was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, on February 3,2002. Following the September 11 attacks earlier in the season, the NFL postponed a week of season games. As a result, Super Bowl XXXVI was rescheduled from the date of January 27 to February 3. Due to heightened security measures following the terrorist attacks, this was the first Super Bowl designated as a National Special Security Event by the Office of Homeland Security, the OHS would later name each subsequent Super Bowl an NSSE. This game marked the Rams third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, St. Louis posted an NFL-best 14–2 regular season record, led by quarterback Kurt Warner and The Greatest Show on Turf offense. Although the Rams out-gained the Patriots 427–267 in total yards, New England built a 17–3 third-quarter lead off of three St. Louis turnovers, without any timeouts, Brady led his team down the field to set up kicker Adam Vinatieris game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired. Brady, who completed 16 of 27 passes for 145 yards, after their Super Bowl-winning 1999 season, the Rams offense again dominated the league in 2000, leading the NFL in passing, scoring, and total yards. However, the Rams had one of the worst defenses in the league, ranking last in points allowed. This, along with problems and a coaching change from Super Bowl winning coach Dick Vermeil. The season ended with a loss to the New Orleans Saints in the wild card round of the playoffs. After signing several new players in the off-season, and hiring new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith. They led the league in total offensive yards and scoring. This was the Rams third consecutive season with over 500 points, on defense, they only allowed 271 points, improving their 31st ranking in 2000 to 7th in 2001. The Rams 1999–2001 offense, nicknamed The Greatest Show on Turf, is considered one of the best in NFL history. The team possessed an incredible amount of talent at nearly every position. Wide receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce each amassed over 1,100 receiving yards, combining for 142 receptions,2,469 yards, wide receiver Ricky Proehl caught 40 passes for 563 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tight end Ernie Conwell caught 38 passes for 431 yards and 4 touchdowns, wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim caught 39 passes for 374 yards, and added another 333 yards returning punts
7.
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
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The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, often referred to simply as the Superdome, is a domed sports and exhibition venue located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It primarily serves as the venue for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Plans were drawn up in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis and the building opened as the Louisiana Superdome in 1975. Its steel frame covers a 13-acre expanse and the 273-foot dome is made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet and it is adjacent to the Smoothie King Center. The Superdome gained international attention of a different type in 2005 when it housed thousands of people seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina, the building suffered extensive damage as a result of the storm, and was closed for many months afterward. It was eventually decided the building would be refurbished and reopened in time for the Saints 2006 home opener on September 25. On October 3,2011, it was announced that German automaker Mercedes-Benz purchased naming rights to the stadium, the new name took effect on October 23,2011. Atlantas Mercedes-Benz Stadium, set to open in 2017, will become the fifth stadium to bear the name of the German automaker, the Superdome is located on 70 acres of land, including the former Girod Street Cemetery. The dome has a space of 125,000,000 cubic feet, a height of 253 feet, a dome diameter of 680 feet. The Superdome has a listed seating capacity of 76,468 or 73,208. However, published figures from events such as the Sugar Bowl football game have exceeded 79,000. The basketball capacity does not reflect the NCAAs new policy on arranging the basketball court on the 50-yard line on the football field, in 2011,3,500 seats were added, increasing the Superdomes capacity to 76,468. The Superdomes capacity was 75,167 for WWE WrestleMania XXX, the actual capacity is 73,208 people. The team regularly draws capacity crowds, the NFL has hosted seven Super Bowls at the Superdome, most recently Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. The 1976 Pro Bowl was held at the Superdome on Monday and it was the NFLs 26th annual all-star game. Tulane University played their games at the stadium from 1975 to 2013 before moving to on-campus Yulman Stadium. The BCS National Championship Game was played at the Superdome four times, the College Football Playoff semifinal game is played every three years in the stadium. Two other bowl games are played there annually, the Sugar Bowl
8.
New Orleans
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New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
9.
Aloha Stadium
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Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in Halawa, Hawaii, a western suburb of Honolulu. It is the largest stadium in the state of Hawaii, Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors football team. It hosts the NCAAs Hawaii Bowl, and has also been home to the National Football Leagues Pro Bowl since 1980 and it also hosts numerous high school football games during the season, and serves as a venue for large concerts and events. A swap meet in the parking lot every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday draws large crowds. Aloha Stadium once served as field for the AAA Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League from 1975 to 1987 before the team moved to Colorado Springs. Before 1975, Honolulus main outdoor stadium had been Honolulu Stadium, however, it had reached the end of its useful life by the 1960s, and was well below the standards for Triple-A baseball. The need for a new stadium was hastened by the Rainbows move to NCAA Division I, located west of downtown Honolulu and two miles north of Honolulu International Airport, Aloha Stadium was constructed in 1975 at a cost of $37 million. The first sporting event ever held at Aloha Stadium was a game played between the University of Hawaii and Texas A&I on September 13,1975. The stadium was somewhat problematic for its primary tenant, the Islanders. It was located in west-central Oahu, far from the Islanders fan base, additionally, while TheBus stopped right at the main gate of Honolulu Stadium, the Aloha Stadium stop was located some distance from the gate. As a result, attendance plummeted and never really recovered—a major factor in the ultimate move to the mainland. Additionally, stadium management initially refused to allow the use of metal spikes, when the Tacoma Twins complied with a parent-club directive to wear the spikes, stadium management turned off the center field lights. After 35 minutes, the umpires forfeited the game to the Twins, the Islanders protested, claiming they had no control over the lights. However, the PCL sided with the Twins, citing a rule that the home team is responsible for providing acceptable playing facilities. As originally built, Aloha Stadium could be reconfigured into various configurations for different sport venues and other purposes. Four movable 7, 000-seat sections, each 3.5 million pounds could move using air casters into a configuration for baseball. In January 2007, the stadium was locked into its football configuration due to cost. There have been numerous discussions with Hawaii lawmakers who are concerned with the condition of the stadium
10.
2002 NFL season
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The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League. The league went back to a number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each, also, the Chicago Bears played the 2002 season in Champaign, Illinois at Memorial Stadium because of the reconstruction of their home stadium Soldier Field. The NFL title was won by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they defeated the Oakland Raiders 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. With the Houston Texans joining the NFL, the teams were realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each division. In creating the new divisions, the tried to maintain the historical rivalries from the old alignment. The major changes were, The Seattle Seahawks became the team to switch conferences twice. The Arizona Cardinals moved from the NFC East to the NFC West and they had originally played in Chicago and then St. Louis before moving to Phoenix in 1988. The Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans, the Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers, the New Orleans Saints, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were placed into the newly formed NFC South. Both the AFC Central and the NFC Central were renamed AFC North and NFC North and they retained their team placement, minus the Titans, Jaguars and Buccaneers of their respective conferences. From 1999 to 2001, at least one team sat out each week because of an odd number of teams in the league. Under the new scheduling formula, only two of a teams games each season are based on the previous record, down from four under the previous system. All teams play four interconference games, an analysis of win percentages in 2008 showed a statistical trend upwards for top teams since this change, the top team each year then averaged 14.2 wins, versus 13.4 previously. The playoff format was modified, four division winners and two wild cards from each conference now advance to the playoffs, instead of three division winners and three wild cards. In each conference, the winners are now seeded 1 through 4. In the current system, the way a wild card team can host a playoff game is if both teams in the conferences championship game are wild cards. Since 1990, the number of teams is still 12. A player who touches a pylon remains in-bounds until any part of his body touches the ground out-of-bounds, continuing-action fouls now become dead-ball fouls and will result in the loss of down and distance
11.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
12.
New England Patriots
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The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region. The Patriots compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium, an original member of the American Football League, the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of the two leagues. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971, the Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001, then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season. The Patriots rivalry with the New York Jets is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL. The Patriots have appeared in the Super Bowl nine times in franchise history, the Patriots have since become one of the most successful teams in NFL history, winning 14 AFC East titles in 16 seasons since 2001, without a losing season in that period. The team owns the record for most Super Bowls reached and won by a head coach–quarterback tandem, the Patriots are tied with the 49ers and Cowboys for the second most Super Bowl wins with five. The Steelers are in front with six, however, the Patriots are the only team to win five Super Bowls with the same coach and quarterback. On November 16,1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth, the following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football teams official name. The most popular choice – and the one that Sullivan selected – was the Boston Patriots, immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell of The Boston Globe developed the Pat Patriot logo. The Patriots struggled for most of their years in the AFL, nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. They played in only one AFL championship game, following the 1963 season and they did not appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years. When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference East division, the following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which would serve as their home for the next 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would change their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots, the name was rejected by the NFL and on March 22,1971, the team officially announced they would change its geographic name to New England. During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success, earning a berth to the playoffs in 1976—as a wild card team—and in 1978—as AFC East champions and they lost in the first round both times. In 1985, they returned to the playoffs, and made it all the way to Super Bowl XX, following their Super Bowl loss, they returned to the playoffs in 1986, but lost in the first round. The team would not make the playoffs again for eight more years, during the 1990 season, the Patriots went 1–15. They changed ownership three times in the ensuing 14 years, being purchased from the Sullivan family first by Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to James Orthwein in 1992
13.
History of the St. Louis Rams
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The professional American football franchise now known as the Los Angeles Rams played in St. Louis, Missouri, as the St. Louis Rams from the 1995 through the 2015 seasons. The Rams franchise relocated from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995 and their last game played at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 17,2015, which they won, 31–23. The Rams last game as a St. Louis-based club was on January 3,2016, against the San Francisco 49ers at Levis Stadium, but the overall mediocrity of the Cardinals, combined with stadium issues, caused game attendance to dwindle. And once again the Bidwills, the family owned the Cardinals. The cities they looked at included Baltimore, Phoenix, New York City, nonetheless, Cardinals fans were unhappy at losing their team, and Bill Bidipll, fearing for his safety, stayed away from several of the 1987 home games. Their last home game was on December 13,1987, in which the Cardinals won 27–24 over the New York Giants in front of 29,623 fans on a late Sunday afternoon. Not long after the 1987 season, Bidipll agreed to move to the Phoenix area on a deal with state and local officials. They planned to play at Arizona State Universitys Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe on a basis while a new stadium was being built. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the savings and loan crisis derailed financing for the stadium, prior to the Rams 1979 Super Bowl season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom drowned in an accident. His widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70% ownership of the team, Frontiere fired her step-son, Steve Rosenbloom, and assumed total control of the franchise. As had been planned prior to Carroll Rosenblooms death, the Rams moved from their home at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in nearby Orange County in 1980. Also, Southern Californias population patterns were changing, there was growth in L. A. s affluent suburbs. Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1966 as the home of the California Angels Major League Baseball franchise, to accommodate the Rams move, the ballpark was reconfigured with luxury suites and enclosed to accommodate crowds of about 65,000 for football. In 1982 the Coliseum was occupied by the Los Angeles Raiders, the combined effect of these two factors was to force the Rams traditional fan base to be split between two teams. Making matters even worse, at time the Rams were unsuccessful on the field. Although it was not apparent at the time, the Rams loss in the 1989 NFC Championship Game marked the end of an era, the Rams would not have another winning season in Los Angeles for the remainder of the century, and beyond. The first half of the 1990s featured four straight 10-loss seasons, no playoff appearances, the return of Chuck Knox as head coach would not boost the Rams fortunes. Knoxs run-oriented offense brought about the end of offensive coordinator Ernie Zampeses tenure in 1993, general manager John Shaw was perceived by some to continually squander NFL Draft picks on sub-standard talent
14.
1999 NFL season
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The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season, also, the Tennessee Oilers changed its name to Tennessee Titans, and the league retired the name Oilers – a first in league history. The return of the Browns increased the number of teams to 31, under a new system, for ten weeks of the season, one team was scheduled a bye, for seven weeks of the season, three teams sat out. This format would continue for the two seasons until the Houston Texans joined the NFL in 2002 and returned the league to an even number of teams. The start of the 1999 NFL Season was pushed back one week and started the weekend after Labor Day, a change from the previous seasons. Due to the Y2K concerns, the NFL did not want to hold the round of the playoffs on Saturday January 1,2000. Week 17 games were held on January 2,2000, the bye week before the Super Bowl was removed to accommodate the one-week adjustment. The start of the season after Labor Day would become a fixture for future seasons. The final spot in the NFC playoffs came down to a final day of the season. Both the Packers and Panthers were playing at 1,00 PM Eastern on January 2, the Packers beat the Arizona Cardinals 49–24, and the Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints 45–13. The Packers finished ahead of the Panthers by 11 points, the St. Louis Rams, who had a losing record for each of the past nine seasons, surprised the entire league by defeating the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome. Clipping is now illegal around the line of scrimmage just as it is on the rest of the field, a new instant replay system is adopted to aid officiating. The system mirrors a method used by the defunct USFL in 1985, In each game, each challenge will require the use of a teams timeout. If the challenge is successful, the timeout is restored, inside of two minutes of each half, and during all overtime periods, all reviews will be initiated by a Replay Assistant. The Replay Assistant has an number of reviews, regardless of how many timeouts each team has left. And no timeout will be charged for any review by the Replay Assistant, all replay reviews will be conducted by the referee on a field-level monitor. A decision will be reversed only when there is visual evidence to overturn the call. The referee has 90 seconds to review the play, the officials will be notified of a replay request or challenge via a specialized electronic pager with a vibrating alert
15.
Labor Day
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Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and it is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend and it is considered the unofficial end of summer. The holiday is also a federal holiday, beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor. Labor Day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, in 1887, Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday. By the time it became a federal holiday in 1894. Canadas Labour Day is also celebrated on the first Monday of September, more than 80 countries celebrate International Workers Day on May 1 – the ancient European holiday of May Day – and several countries have chosen their own dates for Labour Day. Beginning in the late 19th century, as the union and labor movements grew. In the United States a September holiday called Labor Day was first proposed in the 1880s, an early history of the holiday dates the events origins to a General Assembly of the Knights of Labor convened in New York City in September 1882. In conjunction with this clandestine Knights assembly a public parade of various organizations was held on September 5 under the auspices of the Central Labor Union of New York. In 1887 Oregon became the first state of the United States to make Labor Day an official public holiday, by the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty U. S. states officially celebrated Labor Day. Thus by 1887 in North America, Labor Day was an established, cleveland supported the creation of the national holiday in an attempt to shore up support among trade unions following the Pullman Strike. All U. S. states, the District of Columbia, and this became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as emphasis was placed upon the civil significance of the holiday. Labor Day is called the end of summer because it marks the end of the cultural summer season. Many take their two-week vacations during the two weeks ending Labor Day weekend, many fall activities, such as school and sports begin about this time. In the United States, many school districts resume classes around the Labor Day holiday weekend, many districts across the Midwest are opting to begin school after Labor Day. The relevant statute has been nicknamed the Kings Dominion law after one such park, in U. S. sports, Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of many fall sports. National Collegiate Athletic Association teams usually play their first games that weekend, the Southern 500 NASCAR auto race has been held on Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina from 1950 to 2003 and since 2015
16.
Super Bowl XXXVII
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The Buccaneers defeated the Raiders by the score of 48–21, tied with Super Bowl XXXV for the seventh largest Super Bowl margin of victory, and winning their first ever Super Bowl. The game, played on January 26,2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and it was also the last Super Bowl played in the month of January. Super Bowl XXXVI was the first to be played in February, starting with Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, the Super Bowl has been permanently played in February. This was the last Super Bowl until Super Bowl 50 to take place in California and it was the first and only time until Super Bowl XLVIII in Super Bowl history that the leagues number one-ranked offense was pitted against the leagues number one-ranked defense. Super Bowl XXXVII is also referred to as the Pirate Bowl, the game is sometimes referred to as the Gruden Bowl, because the primary storyline surrounding the game revolved around Jon Gruden. Gruden was the Raiders head coach from 1998 to 2001, Tampa Bay, Grudens new team, made their first Super Bowl appearance in team history after posting a 12–4 regular season record. Oakland, Grudens old team, advanced to their fifth Super Bowl after an 11–5 regular season and this was also the first Super Bowl to feature two former division rivals, as the Buccaneers and Raiders both played in the AFC West in 1976. The Raiders came into the game as four-point favorites, however, the Tampa Bay defense dominated the contest. Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon threw a Super Bowl record five interceptions, the Buccaneers also sacked Gannon five times, and scored 34 consecutive points to build a 34–3 lead late in the third quarter. Tampa Bay safety Dexter Jackson, who had two of interceptions and returned them for 34 yards, was named Super Bowl MVP. Jackson became only the safety and third defensive back named Super Bowl MVP. Super Bowl XXXVII was originally awarded to San Francisco on October 15,1997 by the NFL owners at a meeting in Washington. The 49ers had recently announced plans for a new stadium, and were awarded the Super Bowl contingent on its completion, however, the stadium plans had stalled by the fall of 1998 and the NFL reopened the bidding for the game. San Diego, which had lost out on XXXVI, announced its interest, the city was awarded the game during the May 26,1999 meeting at Atlanta. Miami was the other city in consideration. It was the last Super Bowl played in California until Super Bowl 50 at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara and it was the also the final Super Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium before the Chargers relocated to Los Angeles in 2017. It was then succeeded by itself again in 2016 when Super Bowl 50 took place in San Francisco, after moving back to Oakland, California in 1995, the Raiders suffered sub-par seasons, including a 4–12 record in 1997. Under Grudens leadership, the Raiders improved to 8–8 in both 1998 and 1999, the team was further boosted in 1999 with the signing of veteran quarterback Rich Gannon
17.
Pro Bowl
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The Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League. Between 2014 and 2016, the NFL experimented with an unconferenced format, the players were picked in a televised schoolyard pick prior to the game. Unlike most major leagues, which hold their all-star games roughly midway through their respective regular seasons. Between 1970 and 2009, it was held the weekend after the Super Bowl. Since 2010, the Pro Bowl has been played the weekend before the Super Bowl, Players from the two teams competing in the Super Bowl do not participate. Observers and commentators expressed their disfavor with the Pro Bowl in its current state and it draws lower TV ratings than its regular-season games, although the game draws similar ratings to other major all-star games, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the star players, the Associated Press wrote that players in the 2012 game were hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight. Between 1980 and 2016, the game was played at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, on June 1,2016, the NFL announced that they reached a multi-year deal to move the game to Orlando, Florida as part of the leagues ongoing efforts to make the game more relevant. For years, the game has suffered from lack of interest due to perceived low quality, the 2017 Pro Bowl will also mark a return to the AFC–NFC format. The first Pro All-Star Game, featuring the all-stars of the 1938 season, was played on January 15,1939 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The NFL All-Star Game was played again in Los Angeles in 1940 and then in New York, although originally planned as an annual contest, the all-star game was discontinued after 1942 because of travel restrictions put in place during World War II. During the first five games, an all-star team would face that years league champion. The league champion won the first four games before the all-stars were victorious in the game of this early series. The concept of a game was not revived until June 1950. The game was sponsored by the Los Angeles Publishers Association and it was decided that the game would feature all-star teams from each of the leagues two conferences rather than the league champion versus all-star format which had been used previously. This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicago College All-Star Game, the teams would be led by the coach of each of the conference champions. The first 21 games of the series were played in Los Angeles, the site of the game was changed annually for each of the next seven years before the game was moved to Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii for 30 straight seasons from 1980 through 2009. With the new rule being that the teams do not include players from the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl
18.
History of the San Diego Chargers
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The Los Angeles Chargers franchise was founded in 1959 as a charter member of the American Football League. The team played the 1960 season in Los Angeles, moving to San Diego in 1961, the Chargers played in San Diego for 56 years. In 2017, the Chargers owner announced a move to Los Angeles, effective with the 2017 season, the Chargers original owner was hotel heir Barron Hilton, son of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton. Frank Leahy, a former Notre Dame University football coach, was named the teams first general manager, the Chargers initially considered playing at the Rose Bowl, but instead signed a lease to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum. There is also a theory about a man named Gerald Courtney of Hollywood who won an all-expenses-paid trip to Mexico City. They played ten years in the AFL before the merging of the league into the older NFL and their only coach for the ten-year life of the AFL was Sid Gillman, former coach of the NFLs Los Angeles Rams, who originally signed a three-year contract as head coach. Gillman, who was voted to the Hall of Fame, was widely recognized as a great offensive innovator. He also took on the role of coach and general manager after Frank Leahy resigned because of poor health. The early AFL years of the San Diego Chargers were highlighted by the play of wide receiver Lance Alworth with 543 receptions for 10,266 yards in his 11-AFL/NFL-season career. In addition, he set the pro football record of games with a reception during his career. With players such as Alworth, Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln and John Hadl, the high-scoring Chargers reached the AFL Championship Game five times winning once during that ten-year span. The Chargers spent only one season in L. A. before moving in 1961, on that season, the defense recorded 49 pass interceptions as the AFL played an exciting brand of football featuring strong passing attacks. The Chargers were the originators of the term Fearsome Foursome to describe their all-star defensive line, anchored by Earl Faison, the phrase was later appropriated by various NFL teams. Houston defeated the Chargers 10–3 before 29,556 persons in Balboa Stadium to win the second AFL championship. The next year, the Chargers stumbled to a 4-10 record, as of 2016, this was the last professional sports championship for the city of San Diego. In 1964, the AFL teams signed a television contract with National Broadcasting Company for a record $36 million. The Chargers and New York Jets tied 17-17 before a record AFL crowd of 50,222 fans,46,828 paid in New Yorks Shea Stadium, a Balboa Stadium attendance record of 34,865 was set as Buffalo defeated San Diego 27-24 on Thanksgiving Day. The Chargers defeated the Jets 38-3 before 25,753 persons in Balboa Stadium to clinch their fourth AFL West title in five years, in 1965, San Diego won their fifth AFL West title in six years by defeating Houston on December 12 by the score of 37-26
19.
Carolina Panthers
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The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The team president is Danny Morrison, and the coach is Ron Rivera. The Panthers were announced as the leagues 29th franchise in 1993 and they did not have another winning season until 2003, when they won the NFC Championship Game and reached Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing 32–29 to the New England Patriots. After recording playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008, the failed to record another playoff appearance until 2013. After losing in the round to the San Francisco 49ers in 2013 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, the Panthers finally returned to the Super Bowl in 2016. The Panthers have reached the playoffs seven times, advancing to four NFC Championship Games and they have won six division titles, one in the NFC West and five in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers are legally registered as Panther Football, LLC, the team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte, also the teams home field. They are one of the few NFL teams to own the stadium they play in, the team hosts its annual training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. On December 15,1987, entrepreneur Jerry Richardson announced his bid for an NFL expansion franchise in the Carolinas. Richardson drew his inspiration to pursue an NFL franchise from George Shinn, who had made a bid for an expansion National Basketball Association team in Charlotte. Richardson founded Richardson Sports, a partnership consisting of himself, his family, Richardson looked at four potential locations for a stadium, ultimately choosing uptown Charlotte. In choosing the name, the Richardsons did not run focus groups with potential fans. Their intention had always been the Panthers, Jerry Richardson began driving a car with the license plate PNTHRS near the end of 1989, to highlight the demand for professional football in the Carolinas, Richardson Sports held preseason games around the area from 1989 to 1991. The matchups were between existing NFL teams, in 1991, the group formally filed an application for the open expansion spot, and on October 26,1993, the 28 NFL owners unanimously named the Carolina Panthers as the 29th member of the NFL. The Panthers first competed in the 1995 NFL season, they were one of two teams to begin play that year, the other being the Jacksonville Jaguars. Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was named the first head coach, the team finished its inaugural season 7–9, the best performance ever from a first-year expansion team. They performed even better in their season, finishing with a 12–4 record and winning the NFC West division
20.
Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues American Football Conference North division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC, Pittsburgh has won more Super Bowl titles and hosted more conference championship games than any other NFL team. The Steelers have won 8 AFC championships, tied with the Denver Broncos and they share the record for most conference championship games played in with the San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers share the record for second most Super Bowl appearances with the Broncos, and Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers lost their most recent championship appearance, Super Bowl XLV, on February 6,2011. The Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8,1933, by Art Rooney, taking its name from the baseball team of the same name. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding, the current owner is Arts son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II. The Steelers enjoy a large, widespread fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation, the Steelers currently play their home games at Heinz Field on Pittsburghs North Side in the North Shore neighborhood, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons, prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL first took to the field as the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 20,1933, through the 1930s, the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than.500. Prior to the 1940 season, the Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers, during World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises to field a team, during the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the Phil-Pitt Eagles and were known as the Steagles. In 1944, they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as Card-Pitt and this team finished 0–10, marking the only winless team in franchise history. The Steelers made the playoffs for the first time in 1947 and this forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Forbes Field, which the Steelers lost 21–0. The Steelers also received a $3 million relocation fee, which was a windfall for them, the Steelers history of bad luck changed with the hiring of coach Chuck Noll for the 1969 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers 1974 draft was their best ever, no team has ever drafted four future Hall of Famers in one year. They also enjoyed a regular season streak of 49 consecutive wins against teams that would finish with a record that year. The Steelers suffered a rash of injuries in the 1980 season, the 1981 season was no better, with an 8–8 showing
21.
Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference North division. The Browns play their games at FirstEnergy Stadium, which opened in 1999, with administrative offices and training facilities in Berea. The Browns official colors are brown, orange and white and they are unique among the 32 member franchises of the NFL in that they do not have a logo on their helmets and are the only team named after a specific person, original coach Paul Brown. The franchise was founded in 1945 by businessman Arthur B, McBride and coach Paul Brown as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference. The Browns dominated the AAFC, compiling a 47–4–3 record in the four active seasons. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns joined the National Football League along with the San Francisco 49ers, from 1965 to 1995, they made the playoffs 14 times, but did not win another championship or appear in the Super Bowl in that period. In 1995, owner Art Modell, who had purchased the Browns in 1961, announced plans to move the team to Baltimore, Maryland. The Browns intellectual property, including name, logos, training facility, and history, were kept in trust. A new team would be established by 1999 either by expansion or relocation, the Browns were announced as an expansion team in 1998 and resumed play in 1999. Since resuming operations in 1999, the Browns have struggled to find success and they have had only two winning seasons, one playoff appearance, and no playoff wins. The franchise has also noted for a lack of stability with quarterbacks. To date, the Browns overall win-loss record since 1999 is 88–200, the Browns origins date to 1944, when taxicab magnate Arthur B. Mickey McBride secured the rights to a Cleveland franchise in the newly formed All-America Football Conference. S, early in 1945, McBride named 36-year-old Ohio State Buckeyes coach Paul Brown as the teams head coach and general manager and gave him a share in its profits. The move surprised and upset Buckeye fans, who had hoped he would resume his successful run at the school after the war, the name of the team was at first left up to Paul Brown, who rejected calls for it to be christened the Browns. The franchise and the Cleveland Plain Dealer then held a naming contest to publicize the team, in June 1945, a committee selected Panthers as the new teams name, named after a failed American Football League franchise in Cleveland which only lasted a single season in 1926. It is unclear whether Panthers was the highest vote-getter, or if it was second-highest behind Browns, however, the owner of the failed AFL Panthers franchise, General C. X. Zimmerman, indicated that he owned the name Cleveland Panthers, at this point, Paul Brown bowed to popular sentiment and agreed to the Browns name
22.
Philadelphia Eagles
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The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football franchise based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The franchise was established in 1933 as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets, when a group led by Bert Bell secured the rights to an NFL franchise in Philadelphia. Bell, Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, Greasy Neale, Pete Pihos, Sonny Jurgensen, the team has an intense rivalry with the New York Giants. This rivalry is the oldest in the NFC East and is among the oldest in the NFL and they also have a historic rivalry with the Washington Redskins, as well as their bitter rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, which has become more high-profile in the last three decades. The team consistently ranks in the top three in attendance and has sold out every game since the 1999 season, in a Sports Illustrated poll of 321 NFL players, Eagles fans were selected the most intimidating fans in the NFL. Midway through the 1931 season, the Frankford Yellow Jackets went bankrupt, the Bell-Wray group had to pay an entry fee of $3,500 and assumed a total debt of $11,000 that was owed to three other NFL franchises. Neither the Eagles nor the NFL officially regard the two franchises as the same, citing the period of dormancy. Furthermore, almost no Yellow Jackets players were on the Eagles first roster, the Eagles, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the now-defunct Cincinnati Reds, joined the NFL as expansion teams. To accommodate football at Shibe Park during the winter, management set up stands in right field, some 20 feet high, these east stands had 22 rows of seats. The goalposts stood along the first base line and in left field, the uncovered east stands enlarged capacity of Shibe Park to over 39,000, but the Eagles rarely drew more than 25 to 30,000. The Eagles struggled over the course of their first decade, enduring repeated losing seasons, soon after, Bell and Rooney traded the Eagles franchise to Thompson and moved it to Pittsburgh, while Thompson moved the Steelers franchise to Philadelphia. By the late 1940s, head coach Earle Greasy Neale and running back Steve Van Buren led the team to three consecutive NFL Championship Games, winning two of them in 1948 and 1949. After the 1957 season, the Eagles moved from Connie Mack Stadium to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin Field would seat over 60,000 for the Eagles, whereas Connie Mack had a capacity of 39,000. The stadium switched from grass to AstroTurf in 1969 and it was the first NFL stadium to use artificial turf. In 1960, the Eagles won their third NFL championship, under the leadership of future Pro Football Hall of Famers Norm Van Brocklin and Chuck Bednarik, the head coach was Buck Shaw. The 1960 Eagles, by a score of 17–13, became the team to defeat Vince Lombardi. The Eagles had a good 1961 season and then fell on hard times in 1962
23.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers currently compete in the National Football League as a team of the National Football Conference South division. Along with the Seattle Seahawks, the joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team. After the season, the club switched conferences with the Seahawks, during the 2002 league realignment, the Bucs joined three former NFC West teams to form the NFC South. The club is owned by the Glazer family, and plays its games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. They are also the first team since the merger to complete a season when starting 10 or more rookies. In 1976 and 1977, the Buccaneers lost their first 26 games, after a brief winning era in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team suffered through 14 consecutive losing seasons. Over the course of 41 seasons, the Buccaneers have compiled an record of 256–402–1, with a regular-season record of 250–393–1. Unlike in the case of Green Bay, Wisconsin, there is no municipality known as Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay in the names of local professional sports franchises, such as the Buccaneers, Rowdies, Rays, Lightning and Storm, denotes that they represent the entire region, the Tampa Bay expansion franchise was originally awarded to Tom McCloskey, a construction company owner from Philadelphia. McCloskey soon entered a dispute with the NFL, so the league found a replacement in Hugh Culverhouse. A name-the-team contest resulted in the nickname Buccaneers, a reference to the legends of Southwest Florida. They were one of the few teams to wear white home uniforms, the teams first home was Tampa Stadium, which had recently been expanded to seat just over 72,500 fans. Steve Spurrier was the quarterback for Tampa Bay during their expansion season, the Buccaneers joined the NFL as members of the AFC West in 1976. The following year, they were moved to the NFC Central, while the other 1976 expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, switched conferences with Tampa Bay and joined the AFC West. This realignment was dictated by the league as part of the 1976 expansion plan, instead of a traditional schedule of playing each division opponent twice, the Buccaneers played every conference team once, plus the Seahawks. Tampa Bay did not win their first game until the 13th week of their second season, until the Detroit Lions in 2008, the 1976 Bucs held the dubious title as the worst team in NFL history. Their losing streak caused them to become the butt of late-night television comedians jokes and their first win came in December 1977, on the road against the New Orleans Saints
24.
NBC
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The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is the flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is part of the Big Three television networks, founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. Following the acquisition by GE, Bob Wright served as executive officer of NBC, remaining in that position until his retirement in 2007. In 2003, French media company Vivendi merged its entertainment assets with GE, Comcast purchased a controlling interest in the company in 2011, and acquired General Electrics remaining stake in 2013. Following the Comcast merger, Zucker left NBC Universal and was replaced as CEO by Comcast executive Steve Burke, during a period of early broadcast business consolidation, radio manufacturer Radio Corporation of America acquired New York City radio station WEAF from American Telephone & Telegraph. Westinghouse, a shareholder in RCA, had an outlet in Newark, New Jersey pioneer station WJZ. This station was transferred from Westinghouse to RCA in 1923, WEAF acted as a laboratory for AT&Ts manufacturing and supply outlet Western Electric, whose products included transmitters and antennas. The Bell System, AT&Ts telephone utility, was developing technologies to transmit voice- and music-grade audio over short and long distances, the 1922 creation of WEAF offered a research-and-development center for those activities. WEAF maintained a schedule of radio programs, including some of the first commercially sponsored programs. In an early example of chain or networking broadcasting, the station linked with Outlet Company-owned WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, AT&T refused outside companies access to its high-quality phone lines. The early effort fared poorly, since the telegraph lines were susceptible to atmospheric. In 1925, AT&T decided that WEAF and its network were incompatible with the companys primary goal of providing a telephone service. AT&T offered to sell the station to RCA in a deal that included the right to lease AT&Ts phone lines for network transmission, the divisions ownership was split among RCA, its founding corporate parent General Electric and Westinghouse. NBC officially started broadcasting on November 15,1926, WEAF and WJZ, the flagships of the two earlier networks, were operated side-by-side for about a year as part of the new NBC. On April 5,1927, NBC expanded to the West Coast with the launch of the NBC Orange Network and this was followed by the debut of the NBC Gold Network, also known as the Pacific Gold Network, on October 18,1931. The Orange Network carried Red Network programming, and the Gold Network carried programming from the Blue Network, initially, the Orange Network recreated Eastern Red Network programming for West Coast stations at KPO in San Francisco. The Orange Network name was removed from use in 1936, at the same time, the Gold Network became part of the Blue Network. In the 1930s, NBC also developed a network for shortwave radio stations, in 1927, NBC moved its operations to 711 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, occupying the upper floors of a building designed by architect Floyd Brown
25.
NBC Sunday Night Football
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NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of National Football League games on NBC in the United States. It began airing on August 6,2006 with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, NBC took over the rights to the Sunday prime time game telecasts from ESPN, which carried the broadcasts from 1987 to 2005. Previously, NBC had aired American Football League, and later American Football Conference, games from 1960 until 1998, during the 2011–12 season, Sunday Night Football became the first live sports competition to hold the position as Nielsens most-watched program on U. S. As of 2016, Al Michaels serves as the announcer for the broadcasts, with Cris Collinsworth as the color commentator. John Madden, the commentator for the first three years of the program, retired prior to the 2009 season, he was succeeded in that role by Collinsworth. NBCs broadcast begins at 7,00 p. m. Eastern Time with its pre-game show Football Night in America, the show serves the same purpose as NFL Primetime did for ESPN, offering recaps of the early action as well as a preview of the game to come. The show emanates from the NBC Sports studios in Connecticut as well as at the game site, Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Peter King and Mike Florio broadcast from the studio while Mike Tirico reports from the game. Michaels, Collinsworth, and Tafoya will also appear, NBC is the current home of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, which begins the NFLs preseason each August. Normally, there are two other preseason telecasts on NBC, however, because of the Beijing Olympics, only two were shown in 2008, two preseason games, and the Thursday night season opener were retained as part of the new contract beginning in 2014. From 2006 until 2013, NBCs contract included the rights to both Saturday wild card games that had been previously aired by ABC as part of its Monday Night Football contract. Tom Hammond provided play-by-play for the game until 2012, with Dan Hicks taking the position in 2013. Joe Gibbs was the color commentator for these broadcasts, doing so until 2008 when he replaced John Madden as lead analyst. Mike Mayock, NBCs Notre Dame color commentator until 2012, John Madden taking as color commentator in 2013, the actual first game of the run – the 2006 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game between the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles – was televised on August 6,2006. NBC Sunday Night Football is the beneficiary of the leagues new flexible-scheduling system, in its first four seasons of Sunday night coverage, NBC took one week off in late October or early November, so as not to conflict with Foxs coverage of baseballs World Series. In 2006 NBC did not air a game on October 22, which was the date for Game 2 of the World Series. In 2007, there was no game on October 28, in 2008, there was no game on October 26, although no games aired on these nights, Football Night in America still aired as scheduled at 7,00 p. m. Eastern. NBC televised a game on October 31,2010 and again on October 23,2011, both games featured the New Orleans Saints at home, first in 2010 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, then in 2011 against the Indianapolis Colts. Ratings have been mixed for these results, with the NFL winning the night in 2010 while MLB won in 2011, louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers was a more closely contested game, caused the ratings to slip in 2011
26.
2006 NFL season
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The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31,2006, the NFL title was eventually won by the Indianapolis Colts, when they defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium at Miami Gardens, Florida on February 4. Under the flexible-scheduling system, all Sunday games in the affected weeks tentatively had the start times of 1 p. m. ET/10 a. m. PT, except played in the Pacific or Mountain time zones. On the Tuesday 12 days before the games, the league moved one game to the primetime slot and this was the first season that NBC held the rights to televise Sunday Night Football, becoming the beneficiaries by negotiating the new flexible-scheduling system. ESPN became the new home of Monday Night Football, replacing sister network American Broadcasting Company, meanwhile, CBS and Fox renewed their television contracts to the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference packages, respectively. Louis Rams – Scott Linehan, replaced interim head coach Joe Vitt who replaced Mike Martz who was not allowed to coach due to problems during the 2005 season. W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses, no tie games occurred this year. Tiebreakers Source,2007 NFL Record and Fact Book a Cincinnati finished ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC North based on division record, B Tennessee finished ahead of Jacksonville in the AFC South based on division record. C Kansas City finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on division record, D Indianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed based on their head-to-head victory over New England. E New Orleans clinched the NFC #2 seed based on their victory over Philadelphia. Giants clinched the NFC #6 seed based on strength of victory than Green Bay, while Carolina. Giants and Green Bay had better conference records, within each conference, the four division winners and the two wild card teams qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, the NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference then receive a bye in the first round, in the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst surviving seed from the first round, while the number 2 seed will play the other team. The two surviving teams from each divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games. Although the Super Bowl, the fourth and final round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, * Indicates overtime victory 2007 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii, AFC31, NFC28 End zone celebrations became more restricted
27.
2007 NFL season
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The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League. Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30, the New England Patriots became the first team to complete the regular season undefeated since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. However, with all efforts being put into the London regular season game, plans for the game were postponed, on March 26,2007, the league announced the aforementioned opening Saints-Colts Kickoff Game on September 6 that would be telecast on NBC. Pre-game activities featured Indiana native John Mellencamp, Faith Hill, the entertainment portion of events started 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled start time of the game, leading up to the unveiling of the Colts Super Bowl XLI championship banner. The opening events were simulcast on NFL Network, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the New York Giants in the first Sunday night game September 9 at 8,15 p. m. Monday Night Football on ESPN kicked off with a doubleheader on September 10 with the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Baltimore Ravens at 7,00 p. m, US EDT, and the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Arizona Cardinals at 10,15 p. m. The 49ers paid tribute to three-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Walsh, in October 2006, NFL club owners approved a plan to stage up to two international regular season games per season beginning in 2007 and continuing through at least 2011. In Week 9, the New England Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts in a battle of undefeated teams, many people dubbed the game Super Bowl 41 1⁄2. The Patriots prevailed 24–20, and would finish the regular season as the leagues first 16–0 team. For the second year in a row, three games were held on the United States Thanksgiving Day. In addition to the traditional games hosted by the Detroit Lions and Cowboys, based on the NFLs scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2007 were, The NFL entered its second year of flexible scheduling in the final weeks of the season. In each of the Sunday night contests from Weeks 11 through 17, NBC had the option of switching its Sunday night game for a more favorable contest, in addition to an extra week of flexible scheduling, the NFL slightly changed its flex-schedule procedure. In 2006, the league did not reveal its predetermined Sunday night game, in 2007, the league announced all predetermined matchups, with a footnote on the games subject to flex scheduling. The first flex game was the New England Patriots visiting the Buffalo Bills on November 18, additionally, the Dallas Cowboys–Washington Redskins game was switched on Fox from 1 PM kickoff to 4,15 PM. B Detroit finished in place in the NFC North over Chicago based on a head-to-head sweep over Chicago. C Carolina finished in place in the NFC South over New Orleans based on a better conference record. D Kansas City finished in place in the AFC West over Oakland based on a better record against common opponents. E Tennessee clinched the AFC No.6 seed over Cleveland based on a record against common opponents
28.
2008 NFL season
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The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan Believe in Now. Conversely, the Detroit Lions became the first NFL team with a season since the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season. For the first time since the NFL expanded to the sixteen game season in 1978, previously two teams won two or fewer games in 1979,1981,1985,1992 and 2001. In preseason games, the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game was played August 3 between the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins, which aired on NBC. Other preseason highlights included the first game of the Toronto Series, the Bills won that game, 24–21. The games kickoff was ninety minutes earlier than years, at 7 p. m. EDT. Other featured games during the week included the NBC Sunday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, in which the Kyle Orton-led Bears upset the Colts 29–13. Also, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a season ending injury against the Kansas City Chiefs, the 2008 season also was the third season of the use of the flexible scheduling for Sunday games starting with Week 11. This was the second season that the league played at least one regular season game outside the United States as part of its International Series. The contest between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints was played at Wembley Stadium in London on October 26, the Chargers played at Buffalo the week beforehand on October 19 so they could immediately travel to London afterward in order to get used to the time difference. The league has also approved the Bills’ request to play at least one regular season game at Torontos Rogers Centre over each of the next five seasons. Team owner Ralph Wilson petitioned the league to play at least one game in Canada to strengthen his clubs fan base in Ontario, the game in Toronto was on December 7, after the end of the 2008 CFL season, against the Miami Dolphins, Miami won 16–3. CBS televised both games regionally, the Toronto game was carried across Canada on Rogers Sportsnet and City TV, a third game on NFL Network, featuring the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles followed at 8,15 PM EST. The NFLs Pro Bowl all-star game at the end of the season was played at Aloha Stadium in the Honolulu, the league had the option under their current contract to hold the game elsewhere, including the possibility of moving it to the host site of the Super Bowl. W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against Playoff seeds are marked in parentheses, Giants clinched the NFC #1 seed over Carolina based on a head-to-head victory. B Miami finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on conference record. C San Diego finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on a division record. D Baltimore clinched the AFC #6 seed over New England based on a conference record
29.
Dallas Cowboys
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The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and plays its games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, the Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The teams national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs, the Cowboys streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games began in 2002. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC, the Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons, in which they only missed the playoffs twice, an NFL record that remains unchallenged. In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable team in the world. The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U. S. sports team. Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D. C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas, Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins from Marshall in 1958. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized and this infuriated Murchison and he called off the deal. Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas, since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshalls position would prevent Murchison from joining the league. Marshall had an out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin. Breeskin had written the music to the Redskins fight song Hail to the Redskins, Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchisons plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchisons attorney to him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959. Murchison purchased Hail to the Redskins for $2,500, before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he owned the song and Marshall could not play it during games. After a few Marshall expletives, Murchison gave the rights to Hail to the Redskins to Marshall for his vote, the one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time. From 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, in addition, they appeared in 5 and won two Super Bowls, at the end of the 1971 and 1977 regular seasons
30.
Oakland Raiders
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The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football franchise based in Oakland, California. The Raiders currently compete in the NFL as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. At the end of the NFLs 2015 season, the Raiders boasted a lifetime record of 444 wins,397 losses. The Raiders plan to remain in Oakland through 2018 – and possibly 2019 –, the Raiders off-field fortunes have varied considerably over the years. The teams first three years of operation were marred by poor performance, financial difficulties, and spotty attendance. In 1963, however, the Raiders fortunes improved dramatically with the introduction of head coach Al Davis, in 1967, after several years of improvement, the Raiders reached the postseason for the first time. The team would go on to win its first AFL Championship that year, in doing so, the Raiders advanced to Super Bowl II, the Raiders run of success intensified during the 1970s. From 1970 to 1977, the team won six division titles, in 1976, the team captured its first NFL Championship with a convincing victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. In 1982, amidst much controversy, the Raiders relocated to Los Angeles, the team finished with the NFLs best regular season record that year, one year later, the Raiders beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII to capture their third Super Bowl championship. The Raiders fortunes declined following the 1985 season, they would win just one division title. In 1995, the Raiders returned to Oakland, after several years of continued mediocrity, the team entered a brief period of pronounced success in the early 2000s. From 2000 to 2002, the Raiders won three division titles and four playoff games, their renaissance culminated with a lopsided 2002 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. The Super Bowl loss marked the beginning of a period of futility for the Raiders, from 2003 through 2015. In 2016, the Raiders finally ended their postseason drought with a victory over the division rival San Diego Chargers. At the end of the 2016 NFL season, the finished with a 12–4 record. The Raiders are known for their fan base and distinctive team culture. Since 1963, the team has won 15 division titles, four AFC Championships, one AFL Championship, fourteen former members of the team have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Having enjoyed a successful coaching career at Navy during the 1950s
31.
Oakland Athletics
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The Oakland Athletics are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League West division. The club plays its games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The club has won nine World Series championships, the third most of all current Major League Baseball teams, the Athletics 2017 season will be the teams 50th season in Oakland. One of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Philadelphia and they won three World Series championships from 1910 to 1913 and two in a row in 1929 and 1930. The teams owner and manager for its first 50 years was Connie Mack and Hall of Fame players included Chief Bender, Frank Home Run Baker, Jimmie Foxx, the team left Philadelphia for Kansas City in 1955 and became the Kansas City Athletics before moving to Oakland in 1968. They won three World Championships in a row from 1972 to 1974, led by players including Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, ace reliever Rollie Fingers, after being sold by Finley to Walter A. Haas, Jr. The film Moneyball, and the book on which it is based, the As made their Bay Area debut on Wednesday, April 17,1968, with a 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at the Coliseum, in front of an opening-night crowd of 50,164. The Athletics name originated in the term Athletic Club for local gentlemens clubs—dates to 1860 when an amateur team, the team later turned professional through 1875, becoming a charter member of the National League in 1876, but were expelled from the N. L. after one season. A later version of the Athletics played in the American Association from 1882–1891, McGraw and Mack had known each other for years, and McGraw accepted it graciously. By 1909, the As were wearing an elephant logo on their sweaters, over the years the elephant has appeared in several different colors. In 1963, when the As were located in Kansas City and this is rumored to have been done by Finley in order to appeal to fans from the region who were predominantly Democrats at the time. Since 1988, the Athletics 21st season in Oakland, an illustration of an elephant has adorned the sleeve of the As home. Beginning in the mid 1980s, the on-field costumed incarnation of the As elephant mascot went by the name Harry Elephante, in 1997, he took his current form, Stomper. Through the seasons, the Athletics uniforms have usually paid homage to their forebears to some extent. Until 1954, when the uniforms had Athletics spelled out in script across the front, furthermore, neither Philadelphia nor the letter P ever appeared on the uniform or cap. The typical Philadelphia uniform had only a script A on the left front, in the early days of the American League, the standings listed the club as Athletic rather than Philadelphia, in keeping with the old tradition. Eventually, the city came to be used for the team
32.
Major League Baseball
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Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams now play in the National League and American League, the NL and AL operated as separate legal entities from 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities since 1903, the merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament. Baseballs first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869,30 years after Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game of baseball, the first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 in baseball was known as the dead-ball era, Baseball survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s, and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression, shortly after the war, baseballs color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of expansion for the AL and NL, then new stadiums, Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among Major League players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, today, MLB is composed of thirty teams, twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. Baseball broadcasts are aired on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America, MLB has the highest season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 73 million spectators in 2015. MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution and this document has undergone several incarnations since 1875, with the most recent revisions being made in 2012. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, MLB hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, MLB maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of Minor League Baseball. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years, the weakened ruling granted more stability to the owners of teams and has resulted in values increasing at double-digit rates. There were several challenges to MLBs primacy in the sport between the 1870s and the Federal League in 1916, the last attempt at a new league was the aborted Continental League in 1960. The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner, Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer is Tony Petitti. There are five other executives, president, chief officer, chief legal officer, chief financial officer. The multimedia branch of MLB, which is based in Manhattan, is MLB Advanced Media and this branch oversees MLB. com and each of the 30 teams websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the league, MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media
33.
Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, the AFL instead granted a franchise to Miami. The Falcons are tied with the Dolphins for being the second-oldest NFL franchise in the Deep South, the Falcons played their home games at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta from the 1992 to 2016 NFL seasons. Construction began on Mercedes-Benz Stadium in May 2014, with play projected to begin there during the 2017 season and their headquarters and practice facilities are located at a 50-acre site in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Two years later, the AFL held another exhibition, this time with the New York Jets taking on the San Diego Chargers, in 1965, after the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium was built, the city of Atlanta felt the time was right to start pursuing professional football. Another group reported it had deposited earnest money for a team in the AFL and he forced the city to make a choice between the two leagues. By June 30, the city picked Rankin Smith and the NFL, former commissioner Pete Rozelle and Smith made the deal in about five minutes and the Atlanta Falcons brought the largest and most popular sport to the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta expansion franchise became the 15th NFL franchise, and they were awarded the first pick in the 1966 NFL draft as well as the pick in each of the first five rounds. The Falcons drafted All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the draft, the league also held the 1966 NFL Expansion Draft six weeks later in which the Falcons selected unprotected players from existing franchises. Although the Falcons selected many players in those drafts, they still were not able to win right away. The Atlanta Falcons Football Club received its nickname on August 29,1965, miss Julia Elliott, a school teacher from Griffin, Georgia, was singled out from many people who suggested Falcons as the nickname for the new franchise. Elliott wrote, the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and it is deadly and has a great sporting tradition. The Falcons had their first season in 1966, and their first preseason game on August 1,1966, under Head Coach Norb Hecker they lost their first nine regular-season games in 1966 and secured their first victory on the road against the New York Giants. The team finished the 1960s with only 12 wins, the Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season. The only two winning seasons in this period were 1971 and 1973. In the 1978 season, the Falcons qualified for the playoffs for the first time, the following week, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27–20 in the Divisional Playoffs. In the 1980 season, after a winning streak, the Falcons posted a franchise then-best record of 12–4
34.
Seattle Seahawks
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The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football franchise based in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference West division. The Seahawks joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, the Seahawks are owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and are currently coached by Pete Carroll. Since 2002, the Seahawks have played their games at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks previously played games in the Kingdome and Husky Stadium. Seahawks fans have referred to collectively as the 12th Man, 12th Fan. Largent, Kennedy, Jones, and Easley have been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame primarily or wholly for their accomplishments as Seahawks. Brown, Easley, Green, Jones, Kennedy, Krieg, Largent, Warner, the Seahawks have won ten division titles and three conference championships. They are the team to have played in both the AFC and NFC Championship Games. They are also the first, and to date only, post-merger expansion team in NFL history to play in consecutive Super Bowls, as per one of the agreed parts of the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the NFL began planning to expand from 26 to 28 teams. In June 1972, Seattle Professional Football Inc. a group of Seattle business and community leaders, in June 1974, the NFL gave the city an expansion franchise. That December, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced the signing of the franchise agreement by Lloyd W. Nordstrom. In March 1975, John Thompson, former Executive Director of the NFL Management Council, the name Seattle Seahawks was selected on June 17,1975 after a public naming contest which drew more than 20,000 entries and over 1,700 different names. Thompson recruited and hired Jack Patera, a Minnesota Vikings assistant coach, to be the first head coach of the Seahawks, the hiring was announced on January 3,1976. The expansion draft was held March 30–31,1976, with Seattle, the Seahawks were awarded the 2nd overall pick in the 1976 draft, a pick they used on defensive tackle Steve Niehaus. The team took the field for the first time on August 1,1976 in a game against the San Francisco 49ers in the then newly constructed Kingdome. The Seahawks are, to date, the only NFL team to switch conferences twice in the post-merger era, the franchise began play in 1976 in the aforementioned NFC West but switched conferences with the Buccaneers after one season and joined the AFC West. The Seahawks won both matchups against the Buccaneers in their first two seasons, the former of which was the Seahawks first regular season victory, in 1983, the Seahawks hired Chuck Knox as head coach
35.
New Orleans Saints
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The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints currently compete in the National Football League as a member of the leagues National Football Conference South division, the team was founded by John W. Mecom Jr. David Dixon and the city of New Orleans. The Saints began play in Tulane Stadium in 1967, the franchise was founded on November 1,1966. The teams primary colors are old gold and black, their logo is a simplified fleur-de-lis and they played their home games in Tulane Stadium through the 1974 NFL season. The following year, they moved to the new Louisiana Superdome, for most of their first 20 years, the Saints were barely competitive, only getting to.500 twice. In 1987, they finished 12–3—their first-ever winning season—and qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the next season of 1988 ended with a 10–6 record. In the year 2000, the Saints defeated the St. Louis Rams 31–28 to notch their first-ever playoff win, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast region. The Superdome was used as a temporary shelter for displaced residents. The stadium suffered damage from the hurricane, and from lack of available facilities, ultimately, however, the Superdome was repaired and renovated in time for the 2006 season at an estimated cost of US$185 million. The New Orleans Saints first post-Katrina home game was an emotionally charged Monday Night Football game versus their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints, under head coach Sean Payton and new quarterback Drew Brees, defeated the Falcons 23–3. The 2009 season was a one for the Saints. Winning a franchise-record 13 games, they qualified for Super Bowl XLIV, over the course of 49 seasons, the Saints have compiled an overall record of 331–418–5, with a regular-season record of 324–409–5 and a playoff record of 7–9. First the brainchild of local sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, who founded the Louisiana Superdome and the USFL. Senator Russell Long, and then–NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, the NFL needed congressional approval of the proposed AFL–NFL merger. Dixon and a civic group had been seeking an NFL franchise for over five years and had hosted record crowds for NFL exhibition games. To seal the merger, Rozelle arrived in New Orleans within a week, and announced on November 1,1966, when the deal was reached a week earlier, Dixon strongly suggested to Rozelle that the announcement be delayed until then. Dixon told an interviewer that he cleared the name with New Orleans Archbishop Philip M. Hannan
36.
Heinz Field
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Heinz Field is a stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League, the stadium opened in 2001, after the controlled implosion of the teams previous stadium, Three Rivers Stadium. The stadium is named for the locally based H. J. Heinz Company and it hosted the 2011 NHL Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals on January 1,2011. On September 10,2016 it hosted the Keystone Classic, which featured a renewal of the Penn State-Pitt football rivalry, setting a new attendance record at 69,983 people. Funded in conjunction with PNC Park and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the stadium was designed with the city of Pittsburghs history of steel production in mind, which led to the inclusion of 12,000 tons of steel into the design. Ground for the stadium was broken in June 1999 and the first football game was hosted in September 2001, the stadiums natural grass surface has been criticized throughout its history, but Steelers ownership has kept the grass after lobbying from players and coaches. Attendance for the 68,400 seat stadium has sold out for every Steelers home game, a collection of memorabilia from the Steelers and Panthers of the past can be found in the Great Hall. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pittsburgh Pirates shared Three Rivers Stadium from 1970 to 2000, after discussions over the Pittsburgh Pirates building a full-time baseball park, a proposal was made to renovate Three Rivers Stadium into a full-time football facility. Though met with negative reaction from Steelers ownership, the proposal was used as a position that would be used if discussions for a new stadium failed. In June 2001, the H. J. Heinz Company purchased the rights to the stadium. As per the deal, Heinz will pay the Steelers a total of $57 million through 2021, despite Heinz later announcing its acquisition of Kraft Foods Group to form Kraft Heinz Company in 2015, the stadiums name will remain known as Heinz Field. Originally, a tax increase was proposed to fund three projects, Heinz Field, PNC Park, and an expansion of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. After the rejection of this proposal in a referendum, the city developed Plan B, similarly controversial, the alternative proposal was labeled Scam B by opponents. The Steelers pledge toward the new stadium was criticized for being too little, other local government members criticized the $281 million of public money allocated for Plan B. One member of the Allegheny Regional Asset District board called the use of tax dollars corporate welfare, the plan, totaling $809 million, was approved by the Allegheny Regional Asset District board on July 9,1998, with $233 million allotted for Heinz Field. Shortly after Plan B was approved, the Steelers made a deal with Pittsburgh city officials to stay in the city until at least 2031, the total cost of Heinz Field was $281 million. In order to accomplish this, HOK Sport used steel structurally and externally, the stone used in Heinz Fields design is artificial, in order to decrease cost. The Steelers and Panthers have their own rooms, which differ in size based on the amount of players each team is permitted to dress for each game
37.
Denver Broncos
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The Denver Broncos are an American football team based in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. The team began play in 1960 as a member of the American Football League. The Broncos are owned by the Pat Bowlen trust, the Broncos have played at Sports Authority Field at Mile High since 2001, after previously playing at Mile High Stadium from 1960 to 2000. The Broncos were barely competitive during their 10-year run in the AFL and they did not complete a winning season until 1973. In 1977, four years later, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, since 1975, the Broncos have become one of the NFLs more successful teams, having suffered only six losing seasons. However, the Broncos have the NFL record for most Super Bowl losses and they have five players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, John Elway, Floyd Little, Gary Zimmerman, Shannon Sharpe, and the most recently elected member, Terrell Davis. The Denver Broncos were founded on August 14,1959, when Minor League Baseball owner Bob Howsam was awarded an American Football League charter franchise, the Broncos won the first-ever AFL game over the Boston Patriots 13–10, on September 9,1960. On August 5,1967, they became the first-ever AFL team to defeat an NFL team, however, the Broncos were not successful in the 1960s, compiling a record of 39–97–4 in the league. Denver came close to losing its franchise in 1965, until an ownership group took control. The teams first superstar, Franchise Floyd Little, was instrumental in keeping the team in Denver, due to his signing in 1967 as well as his Pro Bowl efforts on, in 1972, the Broncos hired former Stanford University coach John Ralston as their head coach. In 1973, he was the UPIs AFC Coach of the Year, in five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston guided the team to winning seasons three times. Though Ralston finished the 1976 season with a 9–5 record, the team, as was the case in Ralstons previous winning seasons, following the season, several prominent players publicly voiced their discontent with Ralston, which soon led to his resignation. Dan Reeves became the youngest head coach in the NFL when he joined the Broncos in 1981 as vice president, quarterback John Elway, who played college football at Stanford, arrived in 1983 via a trade. Prior to Elway, the Broncos had over 24 different starting quarterbacks in its 23 seasons to that point, Reeves and Elway guided the Broncos to six post-season appearances, five AFC West divisional titles, three AFC championships and three Super Bowl appearances during their 12-year span together. Reeves was fired after the 1992 season and replaced by his protégé and friend Wade Phillips, Phillips was fired after a mediocre 1994 season, in which management felt he lost control of the team. In 1995, Mike Shanahan, who had served under Reeves as the Broncos offensive coordinator. Shanahan drafted rookie running back Terrell Davis, in 1996, the Broncos were the top seed in the AFC with a 13–3 record, dominating most of the teams that year
38.
Sports Authority Field at Mile High
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Sports Authority Field at Mile High, previously known as Invesco Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High or Mile High Stadium, is an American football stadium in Denver, Colorado. The field is named after a sponsor and the stadium is named Mile High, the stadiums primary tenant is the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. The stadium opened in 2001 to replace Mile High Stadium, the stadium was largely paid for by taxpayers in the Denver metropolitan area and the property is owned by a special taxing district. More controversially, Invesco paid $120 million for the naming rights. Despite its sponsors liquidation and closure, the Sports Authority name is still being used on the stadium for the time being due to contract reasons, many fans opposed a corporate name and wished to retain the previous venues name, Mile High Stadium. The Denver Post initially refused to use the Invesco label and referred to it as Mile High Stadium for several years before changing its policy and it is used primarily for American football games. It is the field for Denvers National Football League team. The stadium also hosts the citys Major League Lacrosse team, the Denver Outlaws, in college football it has hosted the rivalry game between the Colorado State University Rams and the University of Colorado Boulder Buffaloes. It is also used for the CHSAA class 4A and 5A Colorado high school state championship games. In addition, it has used for the DCI Championships in 2004. The construction of the stadium marked the completion of a sporting venue upgrade program in Denver, including the construction of Coors Field. As with the venues, the stadium was constructed to be easily accessible. It sits along Interstate 25 near the Colfax Avenue and 17th Avenue exits and it is also bordered by Federal Boulevard, a major Denver thoroughfare, on the west side. A dedicated light rail station serves the stadium. The stadium is located in the Sun Valley neighborhood, a home game tradition is the Incomplete Chant. At Bronco home games, when the team throws an incomplete pass. At which time the complete the sentence by shouting IN-COM-PLETE. This is followed by the sad trombone sound effect and that tradition has since died out
39.
Baltimore Ravens
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The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference North division. The team plays its games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills. The Ravens were established in 1996, when Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, in return, he was allowed to take his own personnel and team to Baltimore, where such personnel would then form an expansion team. The Ravens organization has been led by general manager Ozzie Newsome since 1996, the team is owned by Steve Bisciotti and valued at $1.5 billion, making the Ravens the 24th-most valuable sports franchise in the world. The name Ravens was inspired by Edgar Allan Poes poem The Raven, chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters, the allusion honors Poe, who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore and is buried there. As the Baltimore Sun reported at the time, fans also liked the tie-in with the birds in town, the Orioles. After the controversial relocation of the Colts to Indianapolis, several attempts were made to bring an NFL team back to Baltimore. In 1993, ahead of the 1995 league expansion, the city was considered a favorite, behind only St. Louis and this led to public outrage and the Baltimore Sun describing Taglibue as having an Anybody But Baltimore policy. Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer said afterward that Taglibue had led him on, praising Baltimore, by May 1994, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos had gathered a new group of investors, including author Tom Clancy, to bid on teams whose owners had expressed interest in relocating. Angelos found a partner in Georgia Frontiere, who was open to moving the Los Angeles Rams to Baltimore. Jack Kent Cooke opposed the move, intending to build the Redskins new stadium in Laurel, Maryland and this led to heated arguments between Cooke and Angelos, who accused Cooke of being a carpetbagger. Following this, Angelos made an unsuccessful $200 million bid to bring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Baltimore, enticed by Baltimores available funds for a first-class stadium, Modell announced on November 6,1995 his intention to relocate the team from Cleveland to Baltimore the following year. The resulting controversy ended when representatives of Cleveland and the NFL reached a settlement on February 8,1996, tagliabue promised the city of Cleveland that an NFL team would be located in Cleveland, either through relocation or expansion, no later than 1999. Additionally, the agreement stipulated that the Browns name, colors, uniform design, the franchise history includes Browns club records and connections with Pro Football Hall of Fame players. Modells Baltimore team, while retaining all current player contracts, would, for purposes of history, appear as an expansion team. Not all players, staff or front office would make the move to Baltimore, after relocation, Modell hired Ted Marchibroda as the head coach for his new team in Baltimore. Marchibroda was already well known because of his work as coach of the Baltimore Colts during the 1970s
40.
Brian Billick
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Brian Harold Billick is a former National Football League coach and commentator. He was also the coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings when they broke the scoring record in the 1998 season. Billick, who played football and basketball at Redlands High School in Redlands and he played both quarterback and cornerback and holds the state record with 21 career interceptions. After spending his freshman season as a linebacker at the United States Air Force Academy, Billick transferred to Brigham Young University and became a tight end. He later told friends that he left the Air Force Academy because he learned, after hed already enrolled and he received All-Western Athletic Conference and honorable mention All-America honors in 1976. Billick was selected in the 11th round of the 1977 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and that season, he also split time as an assistant coach at Redlands High School. Billick said he coached the school teams practice from 2 to 4 p. m. then headed over to the university for the college practice. Billick worked as an assistant at Brigham Young for one season before joining the 49ers as the assistant director of public relations for two years. He returned to coaching with San Diego State University, serving as the ends coach. After being named the offensive coordinator of Utah State University, Billick improved the second-worst offense in Division I-A into an offense in three seasons. Billick was then hired as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach at Stanford by Dennis Green, the Vikings made the playoffs during six of the seven seasons that Billick spent with the team, and set several offensive records in the process. In 1998, Minnesota set an NFL record for most points scored in a season and his work under Minnesota head coach Dennis Green put Billick in the Bill Walsh coaching tree. Billick became the coach in Baltimore Ravens history on January 19,1999. He had an 85–67 record in nine seasons with the team and he won a Super Bowl title. Although Billick had the opportunity to interview for the coaching job of the reactivated Cleveland Browns and was rumored to be their top candidate. He signed with Baltimore in under 24 hours after his initial interview, in his first season with the Ravens, Billick led the team to its first non-losing record in the franchises four-year history. The next season, the Ravens finished with a 12–4 record, Billick felt this approach would help them reach that goal, and went so far as to fine Tony Siragusa for violating the rule. In response, the players borrowed the term Festivus from the television series Seinfeld for the playoffs, when they reached the playoffs, Billick lifted this ban
41.
Buffalo Bills
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The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The team plays their games at New Era Field in Orchard Park. The Bills are the only NFL team that plays its games in the state of New York. The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, the Bills began play as an original franchise of the American Football League in 1960. The club joined the NFL as a result of the AFL–NFL merger for the 1970 season, the 1964 and 1965 Bills were the only teams representing Buffalo that won major league professional sports championships. The Bills are the team to win four consecutive conference championships and are the only NFL team to lose four consecutive Super Bowl games. The team was owned by Ralph Wilson from the founding in 1960. After his death, Wilsons estate reached an agreement to sell the team to Terry and Kim Pegula, which was approved by the other NFL team owners on October 8,2014. The Bills began competitive play in 1960 as a member of the American Football League led by head coach Buster Ramsey. The Bills won two consecutive American Football League titles in 1964 and 1965, but the club has yet to win a championship since. Once the AFL–NFL merger took effect, the Bills became the second NFL team to represent the city, they followed the Buffalo All-Americans, Buffalos team in the All-America Football Conference in 1946 was the Bisons. In 1947 a contest was held to rename the team, which was owned by James Breuil of the Frontier Oil Company, the winning entry suggested Bills, reflecting on the famous western frontiersman, Buffalo Bill Cody. Carrying the frontier theme further, the contestant offered the team was being supported by Frontier Oil and was opening a new frontier in sports in Western New York. When Buffalo joined the new American Football League in 1960, the name of the citys earlier pro football entry was adopted, on October 8,2014, Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula received unanimous approval to acquire the Bills during the NFL owners meetings. The Bills uniforms in its first two seasons were based on those of the Detroit Lions at the time, the teams original colors were Honolulu blue, silver and white, and the helmets were silver with no striping. There was no logo on the helmet, which displayed the players numbers on each side, in 1962, the standing red bison was designated as the logo and took its place on a white helmet. In 1962, the colors also changed to red, white
42.
Gregg Williams
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Gregg Williams is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. Previously, he was coach of the Buffalo Bills. Williams is known for running aggressive, attacking 4–3 schemes that put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Williams suspension was lifted a year later, and he returned to the NFL, gregg Williams was a head coach for the Class 5 Belton High School Pirate football team in Belton, Missouri. He attended Northeast Missouri State University in Kirksville, Missouri, Williams was an assistant coach for the University of Houston under former Redskins head coach, Jack Pardee. In 1990 Williams became the Special Teams coach of the Houston Oilers under then defensive coordinator, from 1994–1996, Williams was the linebackers coach for the Oilers. From 1997–2000, Williams was promoted to coordinator of the now Tennessee Titans after the Oilers moved out of Houston. As the defensive coordinator, the Titans led the league in defense and only gave up 191 points. The defense also helped lead the Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV where they lost to the St. Louis Rams, Williams joined the Buffalo Bills as head coach in 2001 along with new team President and general manager Tom Donahoe. After three seasons in which the team compiled records of 3–13, 8–8, and 6–10 under his leadership and it is the only head coaching position Williams has held in the NFL. After his release from Buffalo, Williams was at the top of several NFL teams list for the position of defensive coordinator, in Washington, with Williams aggressive defensive scheme, the Redskins defense ranked third in the NFL in 2004 and ninth in 2005. On January 3,2006, Williams signed an extension to remain with the Redskins. His defense struggled in 2006, at point ranked 30th in the League, however, the 2007 season was a vast improvement for Williams. The defense ranked within the top ten in the NFC, Williams had established a particularly close relationship with 24-year-old free safety Sean Taylor, calling him the best player ever coached. When Taylor was murdered mid-season on November 27,2007, Williams was deeply affected. In tribute to Taylor, Williams called a play with only ten men for the first play of the Redskins first game after the tragedy. After Joe Gibbs retired, Williams was considered to be the most popular candidate to take over as Head Coach of the Washington Redskins and he interviewed four times with team owner Daniel Snyder. However, on January 26,2008, Williams was fired, along with offensive coordinator Al Saunders, on February 6,2008, Williams became the defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars
43.
Wade Phillips
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Harold Wade Phillips is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. He is the head coach and Defensive Coordinator of the NFLs Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills. He was also a head coach for the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons. His career winning percentage as a coach is.562. He also served as the coordinator for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was a part of their Super Bowl 50 championship team over the Carolina Panthers, Wade is the son of former NFL coach Bum Phillips and Helen Wilson Phillips. He adored his father, both personally and professionally, stating, I was blessed to have him as a father, I got to coach with him for 11 years. He taught me everything I know about coaching and he taught me right and wrong. He taught me to enjoy life, Phillips attended Port Neches–Groves High School in Port Neches, Texas, and went on to the University of Houston, where he was a three-year starter at linebacker from 1966 to 1968. He held the record for career assisted tackles until 2011 when the record was broken by Marcus McGraw. Phillips began his career as a ball smacking graduate assistant to Bill Yeoman at the University of Houston in 1969. From 1970 to 1972 he served as coordinator at the former Lutcher Stark High School in Orange. He then coached the linebackers at Oklahoma State University from 1973 to 1974, under his father, in 1975, Phillips coached the defensive line at the University of Kansas under head coach Bud Moore. Phillips began his coaching career in Houston as the linebackers coach for the Oilers in 1976 for the team coached by his father. Wade remained on his fathers staff as the pair headed for New Orleans, Bum stepped down as head coach of a struggling Saints team in late 1985, and Wade stepped in as interim head coach. Wade spent the three years as the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. Wade then spent four seasons as the coordinator for the Denver Broncos. The Broncos reached Super Bowl XXIV, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers 55-10, Phillips replaced Dan Reeves as head coach for the Broncos in 1993, but was fired after a mediocre 1994 season in which management felt he lost control of the team
44.
Butch Davis
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Paul Hilton Butch Davis, Jr. is an American football coach. He is the football coach at Florida International University. He was head coach of the University of Miamis Hurricanes football team from 1995 to 2000 and he was hired by the NFLs Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an adviser in February 2012. Davis was born on November 17,1951 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to Paul and he attended high school at Bixby High School in Bixby, Oklahoma where he was an all-state fullback and defensive end for the Spartans football team and graduated in 1970. After graduation, he attended the University of Arkansas and played end for the Razorbacks. Due to an injury, Davis was sidelined after his freshman year. He held his first head coaching job at Will Rogers High School in 1978, during that time, the 1987 Miami Hurricanes football team won the NCAA Division I-A national football championship. Davis followed Jimmy Johnson to Dallas, where Davis was promoted to coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys in 1993 after the departure of Dave Wannstedt. After Johnson left, Davis continued at Dallas for one year as assistant coach under Barry Switzer. Davis was hired as the football coach at the University of Miami in January 1995. Not long after Davis arrival, the Hurricanes were found to have committed violations of NCAA rules during the tenure of his predecessor. As a result, the Hurricanes were barred from play in his first year. Davis earned a 51–20 record during his tenure as head coach, during Davis final year as head coach, the Hurricanes finished 11–1, their best season since coming up one win short of the 1992 national championship. Despite finishing second in both polls, a quirk in the Bowl Championship Series formula resulted in the Hurricanes being shut out of that years national championship game. The Hurricanes were passed over in favor of the Florida State Seminoles, the Seminoles ultimately lost the Orange Bowl to the Oklahoma Sooners 13-2. The snub ultimately led the BCS to add a quality win bonus to its formula, the Hurricanes earned recognition from the American Football Coaches Association for outstanding graduation rates in each of his six seasons at Miami. Davis became head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2001 and led the team to a 7–9 record in his first year, missing the playoffs by a game. The Browns posted a 9–7 record and got a berth in Davis second year
