Ladies, football season is here and this year we’re going to know what we’re talking about. No more monotonous mansplaining necessary! This year we are going to cheer for teams not just because their quarterback is hot, which definitely helps ;), but because we actually understand what is happening. Whether it is college or professional, football is a thrilling and action-packed sport and just maybe your new hobby.
Let’s start simple. The NFL (National Football League) has two conferences, the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference, or AFC and NFC. Each of those two conferences has four divisions: North, East, South, and West. This means there are 32 teams in the NFL. Now college is more challenging. In the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) there are 11 conferences. This is where the big names in college football can be found like Ohio State in the Big 10, Alabama in the SEC, and Clemson in the ACC. You also have independent teams like Notre Dame and UConn, meaning they have no conference. I know confusing right? But stick with me. Conferences help determine who plays who and how much the win affects your ranking. This means beating someone in your conference will make your team look better. So a team like Notre Dame with no true conference wins would naturally rank lower.
Ok, once you pick your team to root for you need to know the rules of the game. The offense, the team with the ball, is given four attempts, or downs, to gain 10 yards or more. Once they achieve 10 yards, the offense gets four more attempts to achieve 10 or more yards and play continues until the offense scores or the defense gains possession of the ball. So basically you are trying to get to the end of the field without losing the ball or going out of bounds. If they do go out of bounds or get tackled that spot will become the line of scrimmage, and that is where the next play will begin. To score a touchdown the ball has to cross the goal line while in a player’s possession. A touchdown is worth six points. After scoring a touchdown the team can then go for an extra point by kicking from the 15-yard line for one extra point or going for the two-point conversion. If a team chooses to go for two extra points, they will line up at the two-yard line and make one attempt at either running or passing the ball into the end zone. It’s basically like an extra mini-touchdown. If the team runs out of downs before scoring a touchdown they can choose to kick a field goal and earn 3 points if it goes in. Now there is one last way to earn points. That is a safety for 2 points. A safety is when someone tackles someone from the opposing team with possession of the ball in their end zone.
Now finally the positions. The leader of the team is the quarterback. He is the one that receives the ball from the center and he will either throw the football to a receiver or try to run the ball. A running back runs the ball to the end zone, while a wide receiver would most likely be deep to catch the pass from the quarterback. You will also have offensive linemen out there to protect the quarterback and create a path for the run plays. These are all offensive players. Defensive players include the defensive linemen, linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties. These players are usually bigger guys whose jobs are to tackle the opposing team and keep the other team from getting to the end zone to score a touchdown. There are also some special players on the team. Literally, they’re called Special Teams. This includes the kicker who will come out to kick the ball in the goalpost to score a field goal or the extra point. And the Punter who kicks the ball to the opposing team on the fourth down when the possession switches.
Congrats! You now know all about football. There are obviously some more technical terms and references but this is a great start. Watching football doesn’t have to be confusing and showing off your knowledge is definitely impressive. So ladies this year join that fantasy football league proudly and cheer your hearts out on game day!