What Really is NFL All About?

The biggest sport in the United States of America, NFL gives people different reasons to enjoy the sport and love it. Some people love it for its thrilling action, which includes vicious hits. Some love it because it is more than just hitting, as an NFL game can be very strategic. Some love it because of a team that plays in the league represents the city they live in. Oh and some love it because it introduced fantasy football to them. These are some of the reasons why people in general love National Football League. But, these can't be the reasons why the football players love to compete in the NFL.

    If you look closely, the sport of football is the ultimate team sport and extremely competitive. There are only sixteen games to be played in a season by each of the thirty-two teams and a possible of total four games for the two teams who go all the way to Super Bowl. Fifty-three players from one team get to contribute in the sixteen games of a season and in each game they have to play real hard with their bodies on the line. Only twelve of the thirty-two teams get to make it to the playoffs every year. Since there are only sixteen games a year and only twelve teams that get to make it to the playoffs, each game matters. A team needs to win at least ten to eleven games to secure a playoff spot. Sometimes ten isn't even enough to make it, but that's very rare. For those of you who say that a team doesn't really need to win ten to eleven games in a season to make it to the playoffs, I agree with you. A team can make it to the playoffs with about seven to nine wins in a season if their division is very weak over the course of a season. However, that is also very rare. A team can't always depend on winning eight games a year to make it to the playoffs. A team should look to win ten games a year to be considered a solid team and make it to the playoffs.


  Once you make it to the playoffs, it gets even more difficult from there. Each player, coach, and team knows, that if they make one big mistake in a game, it could lead to the end of their season. Playoffs are one and done, meaning a team can't think about the games ahead without winning the one they are actually playing. During the regular season, when the game is in progress but almost over, teams that are on the losing end think about what they could and should do in the current game and the game next week to be better and make sure they reach the playoffs. So in simple words, not even a single second of football playoff game should be taken for granted by any team.

  National Football League is fun to watch and fun to play, but that's not all what it is about. It is about commitment, competing really hard, eager to win it all, and proving the world what you as a player can do for your team to win games. You do not need to be ultra-talented to be in the league but you need to have some talent to get into it. Almost every player in the league has talent, from Jay Cutler to Aaron Rodgers. The reason why I mentioned these two names was because both of them are supremely talented yet, only one of them is considered great. Also these two guys are perfect examples to explain what NFL is all about. So Cutler and Rodgers are two veteran quarterbacks in the NFL by now, but it is Rodgers who is praised and loved by everybody. Everyone wants to watch and be like Rodgers. Other than his spouse and family, I have yet to find someone who badly wants to watch Jay Cutler and be like him. Jay Cutler can make all the throws in the world and is very mobile, but he doesn't have the fire, desire, will, commitment, and leadership attributes which Aaron Rodgers has. That's what separates the two. Aaron Rodgers is a Super Bowl champion, a Super Bowl MVP, and a two-time league MVP. Jay Cutler doesn't have any of that. If Cutler had the mindset of Rodgers, Brady, Manning, or Montana, he could have been a fan-favorite and a great player in this league. Green Bay Packers' players would die trying to win for Rodgers because of how hard he plays. Players who played with Jay Cutler praised his talents, but they would not play until the very end for him like they would for Rodgers and other great players.

  If the example of different mindsets of Rodgers and Cutler isn't good enough to explain what NFL is about, I have another good one for you all. Terrell Owens' mindset versus Jerry Rice's mindset. No I am not using championships to differentiate the two. The reason why I am not using rings to separate the two is because of the position they played. Wide receivers can make life easy for a quarterback with their incredible player, but they can't win the games consistently just because of their greatness. Also their numbers do at times depend on the play of their quarterbacks. An average wide receiver might make big plays to win big games because of great passes thrown by his quarterback. Tom Brady has won five Super Bowls in which his passing attack featured Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Brandon Lafell, Aaron Dobson, Malcom Mitchell, and all those wide receivers who were never considered to be true number one wide receivers.

  So how can Jerry Rice be considered a better player than Terrell Owens if we take out the rings and numbers? Jerry Rice is better than T.O because he had a longer career than Owens did and Jerry also played at a higher level longer than Owens did. Both players got to play for multiple teams and played for over a decade. However, it is Rice who is looked up by younger players. Owens played fifteen years in the league which is great, but Rice had over 1,200 receiving yards in his 18th year in the league, which is far more greater than what Owens ever did in the NFL. I know I brought some numbers here, but try to understand what I am saying. Teams and coaches never gave Owens a chance to play in the league after his fifteenth year, but Rice was still running and getting open in his 18th year in the league. It isn't as easy for a receiver to get open in his tenth year in the league as it is for him to get open in his first three or four years in the league, yet, Rice was getting open and running for almost twenty years in the national football league. Besides having a longer career than Owens, Rice was always a much better leader and a motivator than T.O ever was for any of his teams. The reason why Owens never got to become as good as Rice was due to his attitude. He wasn't patient and as committed as Rice was. Rice played with a heart and took football very seriously. He didn't party and celebrate as much as Owens did during his career. Owens wasn't just about football and Rice was all about football. That's why he is the greatest receiver and a top two or top three player in NFL history.


  So what really is NFL all about again? NFL is about commitment, giving it all, competing till the bitter end, have a desire and eager to win it all, and proving the world what you as a player can do for your team.