Quote:
Originally Posted by Oswald
I have seen some NFL - but I'm a bit confused. How many players from each team are on the field at any one time?
Why is the ball so small (it's much smaller than a rugby ball) and brown in colour?
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It's 11 players per side ... free substitution (any number of players going in or out between plays).
The size of the ball has actually evolved over the years. It used to be fatter in the middle and rounder at the ends. It's become more streamlined over the years to aid in forward passing. I think the main changes in those respects came in the late 1940s or the 1950s.
As far as the color, I think that just came from being made of leather. Although I have seen pictures of the early night games (again, back in the 1940s-1950s) when the ball was white, to make it more visible.