INTRO In the United States, football or football has not yet caught on. Although the American people have enjoyed recent successes such as the 2002 World Cup and the 2009 Confederations Cup. Although extremely popular in European countries, football has been slow to gain momentum in the United States. -United, as Americans devoted more money and attention to other sports like baseball, football, and basketball. Football finally became popular in the 1970s, but then lost popularity when the National League went bankrupt. American football began when English settlers came to America. Originally the game was played in an entire town with two nets at each end. Players competed to get the ball to one end of town and into a net. It was a bit like modern-day rugby. Native Americans also played a game similar to football. It was called pasuckquakkohowag. In the 1820s, more and more universities, such as Harvard and the University of Maryland, began having football teams. (confirm these facts) Although football may have been the first organized sport in the British colonies and early United States, it soon had to compete with baseball, soccer, and basketball. The first baseball game was played on June 9, 1846. People liked it because younger people could play there. He was very popular among immigrants from England, Germany and Ireland. In 1857, the National Baseball Players Association was formed. Then, on December 5, 1856, a newspaper called baseball a "national pastime." Then, in the late 1800s, American football, which combined rugby and Boston football, became increasingly popular. Three presidents have played or coached football: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Basketball was only invented in the middle of paper......the ball has a long and interesting history. For example, the Oneida Club of Boston was founded in 1862, making it the oldest outside of England. Football Encyclopedia, page 71Works CitedDower, John and Mark Monroe. “Once in a Lifetime” (video). Accessed April 22, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBR8jN_SyE0. July 7, 2006 Lineker, Gary. Football The definitive illustrated guide to world football. London, Great Britain: Carlton Books Ltd, 1994 Litterer, David. The year of American football. Sover.Net, Web. Accessed April 22, 2014. March 7, 2014 Kornheiser, Tony. “Americans have adopted football, which is no longer an immigrant sport.” The New York Times. July 5, 1977. Sellin, Eric. The inner game of football. Mountain View, California: World Publications 1977. Sullivan, George. This is professional football. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1979.