Video: Roger Goodell Wishes NFL a Happy 100th Birthday, Praises Players and Fans

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wished the National Football League a happy 100th birthday Thursday in a video released via Twitter.

The NFL officially came into existence on Sept. 17, 1920. The league was initially named the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before the name was changed to the National Football League in 1922.

Although the NFL celebrated its 100th season in 2019, Thursday marked 100 years since the most popular sports league in America was officially formed.

In the video, Goodell thanked the more than 25,000 players who have played in the NFL over the past century, as well as the fans, declaring that the NFL would be "nothing without" the "most loyal and passionate fans anywhere."

ESPN's Adam Schefter also joined in on the celebrations:

It can be argued that playing this season is one of the biggest obstacles in the 100-year history of the NFL because of the coronavirus pandemic. For quite some time, it was uncertain whether the 2020 campaign would start on time or if it would occur at all. But the league rose to the challenge, as all 16 scheduled Week 1 games essentially went off without a hitch.

Only two of those games had fans in attendance, but the league's 32 teams played high-level football nonetheless and gave the millions of fans watching at home something to be invested in and entertained by.

Few could have predicted how successful the NFL would become when the league was formed in 1920, but there is little doubt that football is the most popular sport in the United States and that the NFL is arguably the strongest league in the world.