Touchdown Travel: Football 101

Article by: Robert Reid, September 2007

FOOTBALL 101

Some Rules

American football, which evolved from rugby in the late 19th century, is made up of 60-minute games that are split into four 15-minute quarters and two halves. Games are staged on 100-yard (91.4m) playing fields, not including the 10-yard 'end zones' at either end.

Two 11-man squads take the field and the game begins with a 'kickoff', with either team trying to take the ball to the opponent's end zone for a 'touchdown' (TD) worth six points, plus the chance to kick a single 'extra point' afterward.

The offense puts the ball into play by 'hiking' the ball through a lineman's legs to the quarterback (see the video for how absurd this looks). The quarterback (QB) directs the play - either a 'run' or 'pass'. The offense gets four attempts (called 'downs') to advance the ball 10 yards - if they do, they get another four downs for the next 10 yards, and so on. If a ball thrown forward - a pass - isn't caught, but drops to the ground, it's 'incomplete' and the play's over. If a ball is thrown backwards - usually pitched underhand or handed off - and falls to the ground, it's a 'fumble' and you better pounce on it quick: it's a live ball.

The name 'football' is a bit misleading as kicks are usually a concession, coming mostly when the offense fails. Because possession changes if a team can't muster 10 yards on four downs, most teams kick the ball on fourth down. If they're far from the opponent's end zone, they punt the ball to the other team; if they're close (say, 35 yards or less), they usually line up for a three-point 'field goal' attempt, which must be kicked through the elevated gold bars.

All the while the defense tries to stop this offensive nonsense by batting down or intercepting passes, and tackling the player with the ball – which is done by grabbing legs or knocking players down by the most direct and unfriendly of means. If the defense tackles an opponent with the ball in the opponent's end zone, the defense earns a 'safety' (worth two points) and possession of the ball. Rugby fans tend to mock the use of helmets, but football has far more head-to-head collisions between far bigger guys.

Each team gets three time-outs per half. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, overtime is played. Time stops after change of possession, an incomplete pass, or if a player with the ball runs out of the field's sidelines.

Scores & Types of Games

Football scores have helped American children excel at multiplying numbers by sevens (a touchdown plus the extra point is seven points – overheard at games: 'let's get seven, guys!') and threes (a field goal's point value). Typical scores are about 31-24, or 28-17. A 'wild shoot-out' is something like 56-52, a 'defensive game battled out in the trenches' is 10-3, a 'blow out' is 38-3, and a 'shut out' is when one team doesn't score.

The most unusual (and best) score in the history of football was 2-0, when Oklahoma beat Texas by a last-minute safety. This was in 1902.

TD (touchdown) Celebrations

Never wander off for a beer after a TD is scored, or you'll miss the celebrations, which can be pretty entertaining (with choreographed dances, the 'Lambeau Leap' into the stands in Green Bay, or role-play maneuvers like Chad Johnson's giving the ball CPR). Another recent fad is the 'jumping chest thump' (where celebratory team members run at each other, jump, then collide mid-air chest-to-chest). Occasionally you still get the infamous 'butt pat' or a 'tap on the helmet' – others just high five. Sometimes players get fined for this. No one ever runs and slides on their knees as you see in European football.

Meanwhile, fans in the stands tend to high-five or sip on a beer.

GLOSSARY

Blitz - defensive strategy of sending more than just the four lineman in to tackle the quarterback

Bomb - a long pass downfield

Conferences - 32 NFL teams are divided into two conferences - the National and American - with four 'divisions' within each conference. Winners of each division, plus two wildcard teams per conference, make the play-offs.

Goal-line stand - stopping the offense in a full series of downs near the end zone's goal line; often used poetically (eg fighting off a hostile corporate takeover from a mega-corporation could be likened to a 'goal-line stand')

Heisman Trophy - college football's most prestigious award, given to the 'most outstanding' player of the season.

Illegal motion - a penalty when two offensive players are in motion before the start of the play

Line of scrimmage - the yard-line where players line up at the start of each play

Middle finger - sometimes extended by fans as visiting teams are entering/exiting the field

Pass interference - when a player obstructs an opponent to catch a pass while it's in air (usually committed by the defense against an offensive player, but not always)

PAT (point after touchdown) - the extra-point attempt following a touchdown

Queen - English band whose anthems are sung widely at every football game (more 'We Will Rock You' than 'You're My Best Friend')

Regular season - the 16 NFL games of the season before play-offs, or the 11 or 12 games in college football

Rookie - first-year player, often hazed in training camp

Shotgun - when a quarterback begins a play several steps behind the offensive line of scrimmage (often used for passing plays)

Touchdown - a six-point score awarded, along with a chance for kicking a single extra-point, after a player takes the football into the opponent's end zone

Turnover - when the team loses possession of the ball to the other team