There’s no question that the NFL is America’s most popular sport. The league has a very long history and tens of thousands of fans keep showing up to watch their favorite teams play.
While a lot of rules and even teams have changed across the years, there are 10 interesting facts about the NFL that you probably don’t know about.
9 Interesting Facts About The NFL
#1: While you may be a fan of the New England Patriots, you may not know that the name wasn’t supposed to be this one. The truth is that while they started as the Boston Patriots, when the team moved to Foxborough, the owner was looking to change the team’s name to a more local one. So, he suggested changing the name to BS Patriots or Bay State Patriots. However, the NFL didn’t approve.
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#2: There is only one team that won 3 NFL championships in a row. And this didn’t even occur during the Super Bowl era. We are talking about the Green Bay Packers that were coached by Vince Lombardi. They won between 1966 and 1968.
#3: The truth is that there are many different ways to measure the popularity of an NFL team. If you want to take a look at the lengthy wait time to buy a ticket, then the Green Bay Packers are the champions. They even have a waiting list for their season tickets.
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#4: While we keep hearing and reading that the Patriots and the Dolphins are known for their undefeated regular seasons, then you need to include the Chicago Bears on that list as well. After all, they managed to do it twice in 1934 and 1942.
#5: As an NFL fan, you probably know that punters and kickers are the ones that tend to play a long time in the NFL. But there are two players who played in more than 300 games in different positions: the quarterback Brett Favre and the wide receiver Jerry Rice.
#6: Many people wonder why the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio. Well, the reason is pretty simple. The Canton Bulldogs didn’t lose for 25 straight games between 1921 and 1923.
#7: A lot of Buffalo Bills fans are “attacked” by others because they were able to reach the Super Bowl 2 straight times back in the 1990s but they lost each one of the games. However, the team isn’t the only one. In fact, the Minnesota Vikings also reached the Super Bowl 4 times and didn’t win any. The only difference is that this occurred within 8 years and not in 4 straight years.
#8: The oldest Hall of Fame inductee is Ed Sabol at 94 and the youngest is Gale Sayers at 34
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#9: The Chicago Bears are the team with the most retired jersey numbers in the NFL – 13 in total. However, and while the Oakland Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys have a huge history, they don’t believe in retired jersey numbers.