The Super Bowl, the annual final of the American football season, will take place this weekend. American football is a tough tactical sport that is gaining increasing attention outside the United States. With the guide below, you can take a look at this great sport with more knowledge on Sunday.
Field full of ribbons and over a hundred players
American football is played on a lawn or an industrial field the size of a soccer field here. The field is split into 10 strips of 10 yards (9.14 m) with another 10 yard end zone on each side where the goalposts are also located.
During the match, there are 11 players on the field twice at the same time: a team attacking and a team defending. Unlimited changes are allowed, which is something that happens constantly due to the rigidity and intensity of the game.
This is also the main reason why NFL teams have such a gigantic core of 53 players. It is divided into three groups:
- a crime: Players who attack exclusively
- defense: Players who defend exclusively
- Special teams: Players are in standard positions where the ball must be kicked
American football field with different yard lines
Objective of the game: score the touchdown
As in any sport, the goal is to score more points than your opponent. The attacking team tries to operate the ball or pass it to the defending team’s end zone to score the touchdown 6 points yields.
After relegation, the attacking team has two options:
- Either they’re trying 1 bonus point Scores by kicking the ball between the two goalposts, which is the most popular option.
- Either they go for it 2 extra points Scoring by running or throwing back into the finish area of the 2-yard streak in one attempt, which is more dangerous.
When a goal is scored, this is followed by the kick-off as the scored side kicks the ball onto the opponent to get them to initiate the attack as far from their end zone as possible.
Attack: 4 attempts to cover 10 yards
The attacking team gets four or so attempts drop To cover at least 10 yards. After one try, they always start from where they were stopped (e.g. 2 yards + 3 yards + 5 yards). If 10 yards were achieved, they would gain four more attempts Until they reach the finish zone and score a touchdown.
Every attempt always starts with QuarterbackThe most important player on the team. He decides how they will try to gain ground. These are the two most used options:
- Scrolling: The midfielder may move the ball and throw it forward once to his team-mate, the receiver, who in turn may continue to run with the ball.
- Rushing: The midfielder can pass the ball to a fellow player, run back, and then make his way forward while running.
If the pass goes out of bounds or the ball falls to the ground, it is called a Incomplete pass. The game then starts on the next try from the same location. If the midfielder is dealt with the ball in his hands, he is called a Bag Then the next attempt begins at that location.
The attacking player may lose the ball or the defenders may block the pass in the air. When that happens, there is one objection The defense instantly turns into an attack and can even score a touchdown if they run the ball into the end zone.
Defense: Try to stop gaining ground
The opposing team’s defense does everything in their power to prevent the attacking team from gaining ground. Blocking, interference, expulsion … etc. Much is allowed within the strict NFL rules.
When defense succeeds in restraining territorial gains, the following situation arises in most cases:
- Field goal: The attacking team failed to reach 10 yards after 3 attempts and is close enough to the finish area to kick the ball between the goal posts with an additional three points.
- PUNT: The attacking team failed to reach 10 yards after 3 attempts, it was too far from the end zone to score a field goal and kicked the ball forward in order to get the opposing team to start its attack as far from its end zone as possible.
- rotation: The attacking team makes a fourth attempt and fails to reach 10 yards, causing the ball to automatically pass to the opponent at that point.
Because the chance of turning is so high, the attacking team almost always kicks or scores a field goal on the fourth attempt. Unless it is very close to the end zone or is far behind.
Hit the field target
American football can take a long time
American football is divided into 4 quarters of 15 minutes each. Each of the sides is changed and after two quarters there is a rest of 12 minutes. In the event of a tie, there will always be 10 minutes extra time.
In theory, the match lasts 1 hour and 12 minutes. But, as with most American sports, American football also has an efficient playing time. Once the game stops, the clock stops too.
This is why matches over three and a half hours are no exception. So make sure you have enough snacks and drinks when watching the Super Bowl.
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