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If the pass was thrown for 98 yards and received in the end zone but no one saw it, would it be a touchdown? If you had a stadium with highly trained players, referees, equipment and played all 4 quarters, but no one was in the stands, would it be a real game? Although fans are not required by any sort of rule it is an unwritten understanding that the game, its players and its paradigm exist for one and only one person: the fan. Understanding football as a fan based sport, the National Football League has done a series of innovative decision-making to help attract more fans and sustain the game.

Rule changes

In 1974 when Monday night football became all the rage, one thing was certain – more fans than ever were watching football. After the initial craze started by Monday night games began to show lackluster ratings, the head office began to ask what was wrong. The games seemed slow to fans and sometimes unintelligible. Too many games were built on defense, running games and complicated plays on the field that netted a steady flow of small yardage, but no big plays. In order to combat the slow-moving side of football, The NFL rushing ushered in innovative rule changes which favored passing, limited timeouts and time between plays and sped up the game. This use of structure to influence speed kept fans watching TV and filling the seats.

Exhibition games

The NFL is one of the few sports franchises that has no Canadian or international teams. The reason for that is the Canadian Football League is already a productive entity of its own and requires no American counterpart in their country. However, the NFL is also one of the first franchises branching out into the global economy by playing exhibition games and other cities in the world. From 1986 foreword, exhibition games called the “American Bowls” have been played in London, Berlin, Tokyo and Barcelona. These games help gain an international reputation for football, while satellite television can broadcast American games all over the world. This endears football to an entirely new population of people.

International seasonal games

While the exhibition games have wrought the ability to enjoy American football around the world, one of the points people complain about is the games aren’t very hard fought. Professional football players are rarely willing to go the extra mile or put a lot of effort into an exhibition game. Who wants to lose a lucrative career simply because you pull a hamstring of pop your knee out of place for a game that doesn’t even count for the regular-season? In order to show football as it really is meant to be played, the NFL has sanctioned the first game for regular season play to occur internationally at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2007. The game has already sold out, and appears to be a bright prospect for future regular-season NFL games abroad.

The National Football League should be commended for its innovative ideas that help make the fan and their expectations the center of the game.

When it comes to developments in sports entertainment, without a doubt, fantasy football has been one of the biggest trends over the past few years. With its invention occurring over forty years ago, fantasy football never really found a strong fan base until the explosion of the internet. Now, fans across the world are united, watching their games with their laptops ready, making trades and shouting as if they were Wall Street stockbrokers.

Its origin is credited to Bill Winkenbach, an Oakland Raiders partner who discussed his idea for the game with reporters in New York. They created the rules, and fantasy football was born. Years later, the internet is abuzz with thousands of sites dedicating themselves to the latest stats and news regarding players, allowing fans to get an edge at beating their friends. Fantasy football consists of individually governed leagues consisting of around 10 to 12 players. Drafts are chosen from the NFL roster and from week to week, you face off one on one versus other players to see who’s dream team performs the best that week. Points are tabulated, and a winner of the league is crowned based on their win-loss record versus the other players. Many sites offer the opportunity to set up a league free of charge with extra stats and updates sometimes being offered for an extra charge.

You don’t need to perform your fantasy football league online, either; you can simply download a rule book for the game and do it pen-and-paper style with your friends. The online connectivity offers an option to compete with the best of the best throughout the nation, with some sites even having cash prize championships on who can draft the best league. Fantasy football offers some much needed interactivity when it comes to watching a football game; when you’ve got your pride on the line, you’re definitely going to get more into games. Plus, you don’t need to draft a team; you can pick and choose from players across the league, making games that would normally seem uninteresting a matter of fantasy league life and death. All in all, it’s highly recommended if you’re a football fan that’s looking to add a little excitement to watching the sport.

Mexican soccer was always known for producing quality players and it’s actually quite surprising that their best national team record is reaching the quarter-finals of a World Cup (on two occasions, 1970 and 1986, both of these World Cups being organized by Mexico). However, the Mexican national side has always been a constant presence in final tournaments and it’s regarded as a tough nut to crack, despite their lack of silverware.

Let’s take a short look at some of the players that made Mexico the strong soccer power that it is today.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Antonio Carbajal

Nicknamed “El Cinco Copas”, or “Five Cups”, Antonio Carbajal was the first player to ever participate in 5 World Cups with his national team and has only been equaled in 1998, by German legend Lothar Matthaus. Carbajal played for Mexico in all the 5 World Cups that took place between 1950 and 1966.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Hugo Sanchez

Hugo Sanchez was one of the first Mexico soccer players to play in Europe at the highest level. He was an iconic player for Real Madrid between 1985 and 1992; 7 years in which he scored no less than 253 goals in 283 matches, a goal/match ratio that can hardly be rivaled.

He also played for the Mexico national team on 60 occasions, scoring 29 goals and being an important player in the 1986 World Cup held by Mexico, in which his team managed to equal the quarter-final performance obtained initially in 1970. Hugo Sanchez is currently the manager and coach of the Mexican national squad.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Jared Borgetti

Borgetti was of Italian and Mexican descent and as a striker, he combined the flair and power of Italian soccer with the passion and inventively of Mexican soccer. Although he is still an active soccer player at age 34, he spent most of his time playing in the Mexican league, with 7 years for Santos Laguna, a period of time in which he managed to score close to 200 goals in 300 matches.

But Borgetti’s goalscoring run doesn’t stop here, as he has also managed to come on top of the Mexican national side’s all time score sheet, with 43 goals in 87 matches. Currently, Borgetti is playing for Cruz Azul and although he decided to retire from the Mexican national side for the upcoming World Cup, he stated that he would love to play for his country one last time, during the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Claudio Suarez

Unlike many other Mexican soccer players that get to celebrate New Years with a completely new club on their payroll, Claudio Suarez has only gone through 4 teams throughout his entire career: UNAM Pumas (1989-1996), Chivas de Guadalajara (1996-1999), UANL Tigres (1999-2005) and Chivas USA (2006). He made a strong impression for all of these clubs and many consider him one of the best Mexican defenders to have played for his country.

Although an extraordinary defender is currently contesting this title away from Claudio Suarez, namely Rafael Marquez of Barcelona, there’s one title that will hardly be touched by anyone for a long time: Claudio Suarez currently holds the record for international caps with the Mexican national team, with an amazing 178 appearances.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Rafael Marquez

Rafael Marquez is probably the best-known Mexican soccer player of today, being one of the most important members of Spanish side FC Barcelona. Marquez’ ability to play as a central or right defender as well as a defensive midfielder earned him the aura of a “handyman”, being able to play wherever his coach would need him the most.

However, Marquez has recently steadied down as a central defender, playing on this position for the Mexican national side as well as for FC Barcelona in the last years. Age 28, Rafael Marquez is the captain of the Mexican national squad and is already being considered one of the best players in the country’s history, next to legendary names such as Hugo Sanchez or Claudio Suarez.