T.R. says, College Football not Bully

New Year's Day has become synonymous with the college bowl season. Did you know the sport was almost outlawed before it every took off?

18 college players died in 1905. The game was simply too rough and the quintessential Rough Rider was going to fix it. Teddy Roosevelt saw a lot of potential in the game of football. It built comradery, team work, and was pretty fun to watch. It just needed to be more safe.

In 1905, T.R. invited representatives from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton (yes, college football started in the Ivy League) to the White House to discuss setting up some new rules. As a result of this meeting, the American Football Rules Committee was formed the next year. This committee made the game more safe and enjoyable by instituting a few simple rules.

• the introduction of the forward pass
• first downs of 10 yards as opposed to 5
• outlawing mass formations and gang tackling

Later introductions such as pads, helmets, and facemasks didn't hurt either.