For some reason, foreigners seem to have a hard time understanding American football. This might have something to do with the fact that they have another name for soccer — football — and they play an odd version of the sport called rugby. Whatever the reason for the confusion, here is a simple explanation of American Football for all to understand:
What’s the Purpose of it All?
How to Explain American Football to a Foreigner
Image Via Flickr by alschim
Foreigners often think of football as an unorganized, yet complicated mess of a game where there is more starting and stopping and player swapping than they care to understand. That’s because they’re relating it to other team sports, such as soccer. The best way to get a handle on American football is to take everything you know about sports and throw it out of the window. Imagine you’re from Mars and you’ve come to earth because you have Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets but you don’t know a thing about the sport. A weird concept, but let’s roll with it.
The aim of the game is to get the ball into the opponent’s ‘end zone’. This can be done by running it in there or passing it to a player in the zone. There are 11 players on each team and the game is split into 15 minute quarters with a sudden death 15 minute period if the scores are tied at the end. Each team is allowed three time outs per half.
How the Heck Does the Points System Work?
A touchdown is awarded when a team crosses into the end zone with the ball or it’s thrown or collected by a player in that zone. It’s worth six points.
A field goal is scored when a player kicks the ball through the goal posts. This is usually attempted after the third down and is worth three points.
An extra point can be earned by kicking a field goal after a touchdown has been scored, similar to a conversion in rugby. Two points can be gained if the team can successfully take the ball into the end zone instead.
Safety is when a defensive team is able to tackle an offensive player in their own end zone. It’s worth two points.
What’s All This Business With Attack and Defense Teams?
Why have one set of players when you can have two or three? You may feel slightly confused when the game is halted and then an entirely different set of men run out on the field, but it’s completely normal. There is a separate set of players for offensive and defensive plays. There are only 11 players on the field at one time from each team, but a squad is made up of 45 players of all shapes and sizes that have special roles during the game. Attackers are there to get the ball downfield and score points, while the defense is there to stop the opposition from doing just that.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
The most important thing to know, other that what you’ve already learned, is that an attacking team has 4 attempts to move 10 yards further down the field. If they are unable to do so, the other team gets possession of the ball. This is the reason that most people get confused when watching. If the attackers are unable to progress 10 yards with the ball in their hand, they lose the play, which is why a kick is often resorted to after the third down.
Now that you understand the basic rules of American Football, there’s no excuse for sitting in the stands and making silly comments!