We’ve all been there. Sitting on the couch with your boyfriend or that cute guy from your English class, watching football and not knowing what the heck is going on. Your cute style and on point flirting tips have landed you here, but it’s your knowledge of football that is going to determine your ability to stay. If you’re totally oblivious and clueless about what football even is, you are in good company. While I may really enjoy football and know enough to get myself through hours on end of games, I have been known take the occasional cat nap to ensure my ability to make it through a full day of football.
Other than Tom Brady in tight pants, the most exciting part of football is touchdowns. Not only are they an exciting part in the game, they can be one easy way to show you know what’s going on. Your guy will most likely jump up and down shouting and hopefully involve you in his manly celebration with an aggressive high five or a rowdy bear hug and hopefully not a chest bump (ouch!). A touch down is completed after the offensive team has worked the ball all the way down the field from where they collected it at the kick off. Once a touch down is scored, the team is awarded six points, and is allowed to kick the ball through the yellow uprights for the extra point to earn seven overall. The offensive team has four chances to get the ball ten yards. Each chance is called a down and getting a first down is really crucial. This may seem like an easy task but if you watch the game, you will see the opposing team has picked their largest men to stand in the way of the offense. If the ball does not go the required ten yards in three downs, the fourth down is either used to kick the ball to the defending team, or try to complete the ten yards for a first down but risk turning the ball over if not sucessful.
Each team has two groups that play on the field, one at a time. The offensive team is responsible for earning points and the defensive team is responsible for stopping the opposing offensive team. More often than not, if the defensive team is good, the offensive team will not be able to move the ball ten yards. However if the offensive team can move the ball ten yards or more, they get a first down and another four chances to try and move the ball another ten yards.
One way the offensive team might try and move the ball down the field is by handing it off to someone who will try and squeeze their way through the defense, which is essentially like trying to squeeze yourself into a pair of skinnies from freshman year of high school. Another way is for a running back to run a route. A route is an imaginary path that the runner follows so the quarter back can throw them the ball so to advance down the field.
Sometimes, if you are watching the game, you might see a little yellow flag dart across the screen. This means that a rule has been broken. There are so many things that can warrant a flag on a play but one example might be pass interference. It is when some one on the defense interferes with a runner who is receiving a pass before the ball gets to him. A lot of times, the guy who you are with will know what the call is. Use this time to ask a question, get involved in watching. If he is into you, he surely will enjoy teaching you something about one of his favorite things. As a warning though, if he is a die hard fan, it might be smart to wait for a commercial break. Then he can fully pay attention to you, and not Tom Brady’s beautiful arms as he’s throwing the ball.