American Football International’s Top Stories of 2017
This past year was record breaking for American Football International and now with almost 4 million readers worldwide since our inception, we are proud to have grown into the premiere site for international American football.
Our list of the Top Stories for 2017 is based strictly on readership and has some surprising entries.
The year started off well and as we moved into April, May and June it really picked up pace. The game of American football is gaining popularity throughout the world and it showed in our numbers. We are grateful to all of our readers who have helped us become the key news outlet for American football throughout the world.
The most read story of the year was the Future of the Football Helmet. The article was posted on February 20 and has remained popular throughout the entire year. While partly speculative, it examines the potential development of the football helmet and obviously created some discussion.
The next most widely read article that appeared in 2017 is the ESPN Survey of CFL salaries that was originally posted in 2015 but continues to garner interest.
Next and perhaps the most surprising was from the Belgian championship game, Belgian Bowl XXX. The story described the Brussels Black Angels win over the Brussels Tigers in the most hard-fought Belgian Bowl in recent years. The Black Angels won the game 27-20 capping an undefeated season.
Another story which seems to have grabbed our readers’ enduring interest is the 5 Reasons Why American Football Hasn’t Caught on Abroad. Originally published in November 2015 it is still widely read.
Seeing speed from a big man obviously grabs everyone’s attention so the story of the 330 pound lineman Kardell Thomas running the anchor leg in a high school relay race was high on our list of popular stories in 2017.
The game of football has definitely evolved over the past 80 years and a look at our number six most read story in 2017 proves it. The amazing footage of the game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Detroit Lions from 1939 is definitely an eye-opener.
The World Games in Poland attracted worldwide football interest and the opening game between France and Poland, won by Team France was high on the list of most popular stories of 2017.
International football lost a true friend with the passing of coach Mark Garza. Garza was a popular member of the American football coaching fraternity, especially in Europe and will be missed.
The imprisonment of former CFL and Austrian football star Wendell Brown triggered an outpouring of support from throughout the world. The release of three UCLA basketball thanks to the intervention of President Trump sparked a new wave of interest in Brown’s case late in the year.
The World Games was a popular event for our readers in 2017 and the opening game between Team Germany and the United States team was widely viewed.
The International Federation of American Football conflict continued to create havoc throughout the year starting with the issues of club team football. AFI wrote several stories about the issue including the CAS ruling related against Tommy Wiking and the suspension of IFAF by the Global Association of International Sports Federations.
We know we have left many other popular stories off the list. Let us know which ones you think should have been on this list and that we could include in our upcoming Year in Review.
