The National Football League is an American football located in Virginia. The league's inaugural season was in 1920, and the Wisconsin Packers were the first World Championship Game Champions. The league has 15 teams, primarily in the eastern part of the country with a some teams in Texas.
- Wisconsin Packers
- Grand Rapids Trojans
- Springfield Bears
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- New York Locomotives
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Tennessee Titans
- Carolina Panthers
- Virginia Americans
- Washington Redskins
- Birmingham Broncos
The Texas Conference was created out the Texas Football League (TFL). Texas had the greatest population of Virginians in a Spanish colony, and once is occupied by Virginia after World War II, the TFL was created. The original league had eight teams, and competed with the NFL. In 1970, the TFL merged with the NFL. Out of the original eight teams, five remain.
- Dallas Cowboys
- Houston Texans
- Austin Mavericks
- San Antonio Outlaws
- Oklahoma Cyclones
- El Paso Vultures
Each of the 15 teams plays a seventeen-week, sixteen-game schedule, with a bye in the middle of the season to allow the teams rest. The season begins with a game on the first Thursday evening in September. Each team would play the other teams once and two teams that finished in the same place in their division as themselves.
Following the regular season, the playoffs begin. Six teams go to the playoffs: the three division winners and the three division runner-ups. The two division winners get a bye for the first week, while the division winner with the worst record has to play a wild-card team. The winners of the games in the first week play the teams with byes in the second week. The winners of these games get a two-week break before the playing in the championship game, known as the World Championship Game.
World Championship Game
The World Championship game is held two weeks after the end of the playoffs. The game is held at a neutral venue that is usually indoors or in a warm-weather locale. Thus, more World Championship Games are held in the South and Texas Divisions. The next World Championship fame will be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
List of Seasons
Here is a list of NFL seasons since the beginning of the World Championship Game.
In the Eastern Conference, much of the season was a race between the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both teams opened up the season undefeated. The Steelers would lose their first game in Week Six against the New York Locomotives. The Redskins would remain undefeated until the Steelers beat them in the second to last week, so they became tied for first place in the conference. However, the Americans would upset the Steelers 27-24. The Redskins would win that week, and secured the Eastern Conference.
In the Western Conference, Green Bay would be in or tied for first place for the entire season. The Packers first real test would come in Week Four, when they played against the Springfield Bears. Green Bay would narrowly win the game with a touchdown at the last second. Green Bay would later tie the Grand Rapids Trojans, and they became tied with the Bears for the conference lead. Springfield and Green Bay would play each other in the last week, and the Packers came back from behind to win 31-21.
In the championship game, it was star Packers quarterback Elliot See against the Redskins tough defense. The game was tied 10-10 until a late Packers drive resulted in a score. The Redskins would then march down the field to tie the game at 17 with 2:42 remaining in the game. Elliot See would then lead the Packers down the field to score and win the game. Elliot See, in his final game, would later defeat the Oklahoma Cyclones in the World Championship Game.
In the Western Conference, Pete Bearthard, Elliot See's former backup, would become starting quarterback. After losing his first game to the Grand Rapids Trojans, Bearthard would have a great season. The Packers became in first place of its conference. It would hold that position for the rest of the season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Washington Redskins were once again in the race for first place. The Redskins defense was one of the best in the league, and helped in its victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Locomotives, which secured them first place in the conference.
The championship game was a rematch of last year, and it was Pete Bearthard's first postseason game. The Redskins defense shut down the Packers offense, and the Redskins offense scored several times at the end of the first half 28-3. However, the second half was a different story. Bearthard rallied the Packers and scored on three consecutive drives to make the score 28-24 by the end of the third quarter. The Redskins would score again in the second half to make the score 30-24. Bearthard would drive down the field and score with only a few seconds left to tie. The Packers would then make the extra point to launch them into the World Championship Game, where they would defeat the San Antonio Outlaws.
The 1968 season would be described as Washington's season. They went 13-1, only losing in Week Two against the Virginia Americans. Led by veteran quarterback Earl Morrall, the Redskins blew out most of their opponents. The defense was also spectacular, and shut out four opponents. The Redskins would make their third championship game in a row, and routed the Springfield Bears 48-3. Coming into the World Championship Game, they were twenty point favorites over the San Antonio Outlaws. However, the Outlaws up the Redskins 17-7. The '68 team was arguably the best team in the NFL to not have won the championship game.
List of World Championship Game Champions
1967: Wisconsin Packers defeat Oklahoma Cyclones, 42-41
1968: Wisconsin Packers defeat San Antonio Outlaws, 40-21
1969: San Antonio Outlaws defeat Washington Redskins, 17-7
1970: Wisconsin Packers defeat Oklahoma Cyclones, 23-6
1971: Dallas Cowboys defeat Washington Redskins, 23-20
1972: Washington Redskins defeat Austin Mavericks, 24-3
1973: Virginia Americans defeat Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-14
1974: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Oklahoma Cyclones, 26-6
1975: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Austin Mavericks, 21-17
1976: Oklahoma Cyclones defeat Pittsburgh Steelers 28-20
1977: Oklahoma Cyclones defeat Virginia Americans, 27-13
1978: Dallas Cowboys defeat Birmingham Broncos, 35-7
1979: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Dallas Cowboys, 35-32
1980: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Austin Mavericks, 30-20
1981: Oklahoma Cyclones defeat Virginia Americans, 35-28
1982: Cincinnati Bengals defeat Wisconsin Packers, 26-21
1983: Washington Redskins defeat Cincinnati Bengals, 14-10
1984: Oklahoma Cyclones defeat Washington Redskins, 45-7
1985: El Paso Vultures defeat Grand Rapids Trojans, 17-10
1986: El Paso Vultures defeat Springfield Bears, 24-14
1987: New York Giants defeat El Paso Vultures, 42-21
1988: El Paso Vultures defeat Birmingham Broncos, 31-17
1989: Dallas Cowboys defeat Birmingham Broncos, 28-24
1990: El Paso Vultures defeat Cincinnati Bengals, 24-23
1991: El Paso Vultures defeat Birmingham Broncos, 59-14
1992: Washington Redskins defeat Dallas Cowboys, 21-17
1993: Dallas Cowboys defeat Washington Redskins, 30-28
1994: Dallas Cowboys defeat Washington Redskins, 34-33
1995: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat San Antonio Outlaws, 34-24
1996: Wisconsin Packers defeat Virginia Americans, 35-20
1997: Birgmingham Broncos defeat Wisconsin Packers, 31-24
1998: Birgmingham Broncos defeat Atlanta Falcons, 34-19
1999: Atlanta Falcons defeat Tennessee Titans, 35-24
2000: Tennessee Titans defeat New York Giants, 42-10
2001: Springfield Bears defeat Atlanta Falcons, 24-7
2002: Springfield Bears defeat Carolina Panthers, 23-14
2003: Austin Mavericks defeat Virginia Americans, 48-14
2004: Springfield Bears defeat Austin Mavericks, 36-35
2005: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat New York Locomotives, 31-21
2006: Springfield Bears defeat Pittsburgh Steelers, 13-7
2007: New York Locomotives defeat Springfield Bears, 28-14
2008: Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Houston Texans, 35-3
2009: Grand Rapids Trojans defeat Springfield Bears, 19-7
2010: Grand Rapids Trojans defeat Wisconsin Packers, 31-6
Virginia Americans-Washington Redskins
The rivalry between the Virginia Americans and the Washington Redskins is because of Washington is the capital of Virginia and the state of Virginia has the same name as the nation. The teams first met played each other in 1940, in the American's inaugural season. The Redskins defeated the Americans 14-0. The most famous game occurred at a playoff game in 1973. The Redskins were the top seeded team and were playing the wild card team Americans. The winner of the game would go to the Super Bowl. The Americans upset the Redskins 24-21 with a field goal at the last second. The Americans would then defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.