Football is a fast-paced sport that is filled with incredible runs, passes and catches, as well as violent hits and dangerous tackles. Every play in a football game ends with a tackle and, in some cases, it takes a group of players to bring down a runner or a receiver.

Football at the collegiate level produces the greatest amount of catastrophic injuries compared with any other sport, according to the Annual Survey of Catastrophic Football Injuries. The majority of catastrophic football injuries are associated with defensive players blocking and tackling.

The game of football gives players and fans the chance to experience exciting plays, thrilling wins and heartbreaking losses. Football has become the most popular sport in the U.S., with a fan base in countries all around the world.

While Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League have extensive minor-league systems, and even the National Basketball Association has adopted a developmental league, the National Football League has no such system to support its product.

To minimize the risk of injury, nearly all organized football leagues require players to wear specialized pads and equipment. The exact weight of football pads varies based on the age level and position of the player, but for the average player, the combined weight is around 20 pounds.

Football is a game that is often played in extreme weather. At the start of the year, players practice in intense heat and humidity that can be draining and dangerous. However, as the season progresses and the weather turns cold, players are at risk to skin exposure during frigid weather.

The National Football League – the NFL – is a league composed of the best football players in the world. Similar to other levels of football, the NFL uses an egg-shaped football, but the NFL has specific rules to the size, shape and materials used for the football.

At the beginning of each football season, players eagerly rush out onto the field while their parents worry that they may sustain a serious injury from the sport. The good news is that when injuries do occur, they are rarely severe and usually do not require a doctor's care.

Some NCAA Division I schools specialize in football. Others are best known for basketball. Maintaining success in both sports is a challenge, but a few schools have been up to the task.

Baseball may be as American as apple pie, but it's football that Americans list as their favorite sport. A 2010 poll by Harris Interactive showed that 35 percent of people who follow sports choose football as their favorite. Baseball is a distant second, with 16 percent listing it as their favorite sport.

In its early years, athletes dreaded playing games on artificial turf. In many cases, the turf was nothing but plastic carpeting made to look like grass. In many cases, players suffered serious turf burns on their arms and other exposed areas of their body.

Meeting your nutritional needs is an essential factor for successful performance in football. Due to the physical demands of the sport, in which a football player must play with short bursts of energy, you should eat a variety of carbohydrates and proteins to fuel your body.