American football is also becoming more and more popular here in Germany. Anyone tuning in to the Super Bowl, the final of the US professional league National Football League, for the first time will be surprised by the many English terms and numerous rules of the game. Here is an overview of the most important rules and technical terms.
The National Football League and the Super Bowl
In der American-Football-Profiliga National Football League, short “NFL”, play 32 teams. By 1970, there was also a rival league, the AFL. However, the AFL and NFL then merged. From this came the Conferences AFC und NFC. A season lasts 18 weeks in which each team plays 17 times. Wins qualify teams for the playoffs, the knockout stages of American football. The champions of the AFC and NFC are then determined from the playoffs. The winners from the finals of both conferences play in the final, the “Super Bowl“, against each other, which now always takes place on the second Sunday in February. It is one of the largest single sporting events in the USA and attracts millions of viewers worldwide every year in front of the television.
Basic rules of American football
The key to success in American football is to do as much as possible to gain space as long as you have possession of the ball. If a team fails to bridge the given distance or to score in time, the other team usually gets the ball. In order to win a game, more points than the opponent have to be scored. A team can score points primarily by transporting the football to the opposing end zone of the field or by kicking it through the opponent’s goal posts.
A game lasts four times 15 minutes. In some game stoppages, the time is stopped if, for example, in the last minutes of a game, the ball is run sideways out of bounds. Moves are usually implemented tactically and as cleverly as possible in order to either take as much time as possible off the clock or stop the time as quickly as possible, depending on the lead. One can also do this be taken time out, of which each team has three per halftime. A game may also go into overtime if there is a tie at the end of game time. The teams also switch sides after the first and third quarters.
There is a 100-yard playfield between each 10-yard deep end zone. This is 53.3 yards wide. In meters are 91.4 x 48.7 (one yard is almost 0.9 meters). At both ends of the playing field is the end zone, there is also the goal, because of its shape tuning fork called. An American football game is supervised by four to seven referees. On the field of an American football game are two teams of 11 players each. The players are divided into three categories: Offense and Defense – So the attackers and defenders, as well as the “special teams” who have special tasks, such as kicking the football through the opposing goal to shoot a field goal. One of the most important positions is the Quarterback, the playmaker on the field, who announces the moves on the offensive and is usually also responsible for passing the ball.
This is how a football game works
For the The start of the game is decided by a coin tosswhich team gets the ball first. The team that wins the coin toss can choose to launch the first attack or not. The game then starts with the “Kickoff“, i.e. the kick-off. This is carried out by the defending team from their own 35-yard line. They try to get the football far into the opponent’s half. The attacking team has to catch the ball and point it in the direction from which After the “kickoff” occurs, the offense then attacks and tries to get the ball into the end zone, while the opposing team’s defense tries to stop the attack.
At the point where the defense successfully stops the offense, there is an imaginary line, “Line of Scrimmage” called. It indicates the point on the field to which the offensive team came on the last play. Now the offense gets four tries (“downs”)to get the ball at least 10 yards closer to the opponent’s end zone. The football can be carried or thrown forward to a teammate behind the line of scrimmage. The defending team tries to prevent that. Because: If the offense gains 10 yards, it gets four more downs. In order to stop the offensive, the defenders can throw the player who is currently carrying the ball to the ground (with a so-called “Tackle“). If the player who is currently carrying the ball is stopped by the opponent, the next attempt starts at this new point. This goes on until the attacking team either doesn’t get the 10 yards in four tries and loses possession, or they get a “Touchdown” or a “Field Goal” succeed.
This is how points are scored
A “touchdown” is scored when the team moves the football into the opponent’s end zone in a controlled manner. The ball may be carried in or by a player in the end zone (“Receiver”) to be caught. Six points are awarded for a touchdown. If the team can’t make a touchdown and the end zone is not far away, they can also try a field goal. The ball is kicked through the goalposts of the opposing goal. Three points are awarded for a field goal.
After each “touchdown” there is also the offense for the Chance of extra points: This allows the attacking team to score a point if they kick the ball through the posts from the 15 yard line. There are two points for a “Two-Point-Conversion“. The offense does without the usual, quite safe “Field Goal” and instead completes a full turn from the opponent’s Two-Yard-Line. If they manage to get the ball into the end zone a second time, the attacking team gets two points. If the “two-point conversion” is not successful, the “kickoff” continues.
If the offense has not managed to cover 10 yards after three attempts and the end zone is still too far away, the team usually decides to the football to “points”. In doing so, she tries to kick the ball as far as possible into the opposing half, where an opponent then picks it up for the attack.
The defending team can also decide the game. Basically, the defense wants to prevent the attackers from gaining space. They do this either by tripping the ball-carrying player or intercepting a pass. If a defender manages to catch a pass, this is recorded as “Interception“. The defender can then go on the attack and carry the ball into the opponents’ end zone. If the ball slips out of the hands of an attacker or is knocked out of his hands by the defender, it is a “Fumble“: Even then, the defense can pick up the exposed ball and run in the direction of the opposing team’s end zone. This game situation is also “Turnover“, i.e. the loss of the right to attack. The right to attack changes after a “touchdown”, “field goal”, “punt” or a “turnover”. The team that just provided the defense now sends its offensive players onto the field field and trying to score points. However, in American football, defenders can also score points without owning the football. To do this, an attacker must be tripped in their own end zone or forced off the field. This situation is “Safety” and is worth two points.
Fouls and Penalties
American football is an intense sport with a lot of physical contact. Even if the sport may seem quite aggressive to a layperson at first glance, there is one clear set of rules to protect players and numerous offenses prohibited in football. Among other things, the following are prohibited:
- “Holding” – unauthorized holding of an opposing player
- Use your helmet against an opponent’s helmet
- “Face Mask” – pulling on the opponent’s helmet’s face shield
- Attacking the opponent’s abdomen
- “Pass Interference” – illegal physical contact during a pass
- insulting the referee
- “Taunting” – taunting the opponent
Similar to soccer, there is American football yellow flags (“Penalty Flag”). These are thrown onto the field by the referees in the event of a violation of the rules. The offense is then only dealt with after the current play, usually yard penalties are awarded for it. Depending on the severity, a foul is punished with a loss of space between 5 and 15 yards. If the fouled team accepts the penalty, the attempt is restarted with the corresponding loss of space. If it refuses the penalty because the previous play was successful, the next down is played normally. In addition, the defense can also be marked with a “Automatic First Down” be punished. The offense is again awarded four plays, which they can use to overcome ten yards.
In addition to the yellow flag, there is also one red flag, which the head coaches of the respective teams can use once per half if they want to have a decision made by the referees checked again via video evidence. However, they still need at least one timeout and the red flag cannot be thrown in the last two minutes of a half.
2023-04-26 14:52:37
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