Chapter 2 : The Basics of the Game
While it is important to not assume any
knowledge for a beginner, it is also crucial to begin with some basics upon
which everything else will follow. Be
sure you understand the basics before you attempt to go on and try to learn
more or gain an overall familiarity with the game.
Here are some of the BASICS of the game
of football.
 |
| An American Football |
- Football is played with a football. This may seem a rather elementary and unnecessary statement, but nothing is assumed here. This is a picture of a football. It may be helpful here to clarify that the game of "soccer" is also referred to by many as "football", but it is quite different from the American version. While a portion of our game involves kicking ("foot"), a greater part is involved in running and passing the ball.
- Football is a team game. While a football team usually includes many more team members, there are eleven players for each team allowed on the field at any given time. There is an offensive team, a defensive team, and a group called Special Teams, which includes all of the aspects of the kicking game.
- Football is played on a field. Originally, all football games were outdoors, played on grass. In later years, some fields were moved inside, and the playing surface sometimes was changed from grass to an artificial “turf.” Most of the reasons for this were weather-related. Some football purists believe that part of the essence of the game is the playing in natural conditions, whether on a sunny, dry field, or in the snow or mud.
- Football is a time-based game. While baseball is based on outs and innings, and therefore could theoretically go on indefinitely, football is a timed game. REGULATION time lasts for sixty (60) minutes, divided up into four 15-minute quarters, with a halftime break. The time clock is usually stopped on dead balls, which include incomplete passes, out-of-bound plays, after scores and on time outs. At the end of regulation, if the game is tied, an OVERTIME period will normally be played to determine the outcome of the game. Overtime rules vary, depending on whether it is high school, college, or professional football. [see RULES OF THE GAME].
© 2014 Bob Wingate
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