Ok, I'm tired, pissed off, miserable, and really bad company. But I got tickets to a college (American) football game tomorrow, and I'm going to go, and for some reason, someone agreed to come with me . I hate football, I'm going because I'm bored to death, and the tickets were free (nothing is cheaper then free! ) I don't know anything about football. I've never been to a game, and I've never even seen one. I know that they run on a field that is counted in yards, and the guy with the ball gets tackled. Can someone give me a mini football lesson, please?

TheJourney4all7 said:

Who are the teams playing?

You'll have fun no matter what! College crowds are great!

I hear that they have a ball that they kick around.

CCII said:

Hampton University vs. Morgan State.

althom said:

Nah, that's that other kind of football. I know about that one.

2the9s said:

Then

TheJourney4all7 said:

Oh.

Never mind!

TheJourney4all7 said:

This may be boring. Not all college football is this way though.

alright, heres my best shot....

first thing is the coin toss.... that determines the leading team.... that team is going for a touchdown. they have 4 chances to get at least 10 yards. there is 100 yards on field. if at the end of the 4 downs, that team hasnt made it the 10 yards... they have to kick off to the other side..... if they are within field goal range, they can choose to kick a field goal for 3 points.

if however they make the touchdown, they get 6 points.... and the extra point gets them 1 more.

when they kick off, it starts on the other side....

good luck !!! football games are lots of fun... AND FULL OF MEN !!!!! oh, sorry, thats why I like them enjoy and have some beer, it'll be a blast

if it is college, go to the section where they are passing people down the bleachers. aka; bodysurfing the crowd. yell "who has the hop skip n go naked's?" if no one has this, then ask what they are drinking instead. Hopskipngonaked is vodka and lemonade, if I remember correctly.....

Okay. Football is known as the beautiful game. It is played by two teams of 11 players who are arranged in groups of 1 Keeper, Defenders 3 or 4, Midfielders 3 or 4 and Strikers 2 or 3.
The aim of the game is to put the ball (round) through the goal which consists of two uprights and a crossbar.

That is football not the bastardised fuckin' version American football the game for weeds who require pads unlike the one for real men Rugby.

mdiver said:

..... He shoots... He scores!

mdiver said:

Dude please... You have no idea of the athelete's that play American football...I played ball I am 6'ft 225lbs but I played against guys 6'3 250 can run a 40 yd dash in 4.3 seconds hell even guys who weighed 320lbs can run a 40 yd dash in 5.0 seconds, guys who can squat and bench press 500lbs. Tackling a guy like that is equivalent to being in a minor car crash!!! It's a violent game, pure testosterone but I love it.

Basically the game is like this. you have a offense and defense with 11 men between the two that can be on the field at one time. The field is 100yds which the offense has to travel to score and the defense of course is there to prevent the offense from scoring.

The offense is given 4 downs or chances to take 10 yards to recieve a new set of downs, if the offense is unable to reach that 10 yard goal it either takes that 4th down to go for that 10 yard goal if the offense fails the opposing team takes over at that location of the field or the offense punts/kicks the ball to put the opposing team deaper on the opposite side of the field to gain better defensive field adavantage. This happens until either teams scores and until time expires on the game clock.

It is a beautiful game, like chess match or even comparble to a tank battle where the opposing coaches try to out manuever each others with game planning and offensive and defensive schemes. True Gladiators!!!
[Edited 9/25/04 9:36am]

mdiver said:

Tell 'em baby!

"1st down and 10 to go" means one guy fell down and they need to knock over ten more.

nakedpianoplayer said:

Minor clarification: the one (1) extra point is earned by kicking the ball through the goalposts. However, they have the option of trying for a "two-point conversion" by getting the ball across the end zone line again via a running or passing play. As the name implies, the team gets two (2) points if they succeed at this.

It's relatively rare for a team to attempt a two-point conversion... they usually just try to kick for one extra point.

There's one other way to score in American football, and it's also relatively rare. If an offensive player gets tackled behind his own end zone line, it's called a "safety," and the other team gets two (2) points. For example, this might happen if the quarterback goes back behind his own end zone line to set up a good pass, but he gets "sacked" (tackled) before he throws the ball.

Disclaimer: My own experiences playing football have been limited to playground and gym class games. But, as a marching band geek, I did have to attend every one of my high school's home football games for three years in a row.