The most popular sporting event in the US, the Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), is around the corner, so I thought it would be worthwhile to give a brief explanation about how this sport is played. To an outsider, the game is hard to understand and appreciate. It seems slow and boring, but actually, it's an exciting battle of strength and strategy!
SCORING. A football playing field is 100 yards long between the end zones. The object of football is to drive down the playing field and enter the opponent's end zone with the ball, called a touchdown (worth 6 points), or kick the ball through the goal posts at the back of the end zone, called a field goal (worth 3 points). After a touchdown, the offensive team can get extra points (1 point if it kicks the ball through the goal posts, or 2 points if the ball is caught or run into the end zone). After a score, the offensive team becomes the defensive team and vice versa.
KICK OFF. To begin a quarter (one of four time periods in a game) or after a score, one team kicks off the ball to the receiving team on the opposite side of the playing field. The receiving team tries to run the ball as far as they can. Then this team becomes the offensive one. Each team fields 11 players.
DOWNS. The offensive team has four opportunities, called downs, to advance at least 10 yards or to reach the end zone. If it reaches 10 yards, it earns a first down and four more opportunities to play offense. If it fails, the defensive team becomes the offensive team.
PLAY. The offense can advance the ball by either running or passing the ball. Where the ball stops determines the line of scrimmage, where the next down starts. Both the offensive and defensive team face each other on either side of this line. On a down, play starts when the center offensive linesman snaps the ball to the quarterback, who may decide to run the ball (typically handing it to the running back) or to pass the ball (typically to the wide receiver). A down can stop in various ways: when a player with the ball (ball carrier) is either tackled (brought to the ground) or he runs to the sideline or out of bounds (off the playing field), with an incomplete pass (a thrown ball falls to the ground or goes out of bounds), when a touchdown is scored or after a field goal is attempted. The offensive team can lose yards if the ball carrier is tackled behind the line of scrimmage, which means it needs more yards to gain a new first down. If the quarterback is tackled, it's called a sack. If a ball carrier is tackled in his own end zone, the defensive team scores a safety (worth 2 points) and then becomes the offensive team.
FOURTH DOWN. On the fourth down, if the offensive team doesn't think it can reach the 10th yard on the fourth down or score a touchdown, it can either attempt a field goal or punt (kick) the ball to the opposing team. If the field goal attempt fails, the other team starts its offensive drive at the original line of scrimmage. If the field goal seems too far to reach, similar to a kick-off, the offensive team punts the ball to the defensive team, who try to run as far as they can before being tackled, and then it becomes the offensive team.
TURNOVERS. The offensive team can also lose possession of the ball by interception, when a defensive player catches a thrown ball, or when a defender recovers a fumble, when a ball carrier drops the ball.
PENALTIES. During a play, the referee may throw a flag because of an illegal action by an offensive or defensive player, resulting in a penalty. Depending on the penalty and which team is penalized, a down may be lost, added or repeated, or more or less yards may be needed to reach a first down.
TIME. A game is divided into two halves. And each half is divided into two quarters. Each quarter is 15 minutes long. But in reality, a game lasts much longer than an hour because the game clock can stop for various reasons: a dropped pass, the ball going out of bounds, a score, a team timeout, a penalty, or the two-minute warning (when the game has reached the last two minutes of each half). And of course, there's a break at halftime for the teams to rest. So be prepared to sit back and enjoy the show with a brewski (beer)!
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