The potential of a move to London by an NFL team has not gone without its doubters. Since the National Football League first brought the NFL International Series to the U.K. in 2007, many claimed that the league had some fairly unrealistic expectations about the growth of American football abroad. Yet since that initial […]
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Studying Abroad: Irish Coach Shadows U.S. College Football Program
Taking it upon himself to increase his coaching knowledge and understanding of the game of American football, Eoin O’Sullivan recently shadowed the coaching staff of the Alfred State football program in New York. O’Sullivan, an assistant coach for the Irish national U-20’s team, opted to learn from some of premier coaches at the NCAA Division […]
Some Thoughts on Coaching
Coaching is, most importantly, putting your players in the best position for them to succeed. The most obvious ways to do this are to train your players well in practice and to call plays that take advantage of your opponents’ weaknesses. However, it also means putting the right players on the field in the […]
Why Isn’t American Football an Olympic Sport?
The game of American football has been around since 1869, just four years after the American Civil War ended. For some perspective on how long ago that was, the telephone wasn’t invented by Alexander Graham Bell until 1876, a full seven years later. That makes American football really, really old. For a sport that […]
10 Ways to Build a Profitable Football Team
With approximately 1,600 American football teams in Europe and new clubs popping up every week, there is significant interest in maximizing profitability for these organizations. Many teams understand the basics of building a budget, but most have yet to tap into the full extent of profit models available to them. We’ve spoken with teams […]
Fiona Quimbre: The First Lady of the Gridiron
When Fiona Quimbre first tried out for Cardiff University’s American football team, not many who were present thought she would return. Five months later she became the first female to play for the Cobras. The 18-year-old cornerback ran onto the field for her first taste of full-contact football in a live game for Cardiff’s end-of-season […]
The Value of Offering Translated Articles
The Growth of a Game is officially announcing the addition of translated articles to its list of resources. These translations can be accessed through links at the top of each original article or in the “Categories” section on the right-hand side (bottom for mobile devices) of the page. Ever since The Growth of a […]
The Complete List of European NFL Players
For the past 5 years, we’ve been compiling a list of European NFL players through extensive research and with the assistance of The Growth of a Game community. One of our stated goals is to increase the public awareness of American football in Europe, and one of the ways in which we aim to do […]
Where to Buy American Football Uniforms
The quality of a team’s uniform is a direct indication of how a team perceives itself. A high-quality uniform with complimentary colors suggests that the team is professional and committed to success, whereas an outdated uniform with poorly contrasting colors is a obvious example of a team that sees itself as an amateur organization. […]
The Tromsø Trailblazers: Europe’s Northernmost American Football Team
For much of its 29-year existence, the Oulu Northern Lights from Finland were able to boast that they were the northernmost American football team in Europe. That all changed in a big way in 2011. 586 km north of Oulu and 350 km north of the Arctic Circle, the Tromsø Trailblazers are getting ready […]