Football has become very popular in the United States, both on the collegiate and the professional level.  The 2015 Super Bowl and the 2015 College Football National Championship set record-high viewing numbers at 114.4 million and 33.4 million, respectively.  The 2015 Super Bowl was actually the most watched broadcast in United States television history.  Pretty amazing… right? Despite these historical numbers, I KNOW there is a decent percentage of viewers that don’t actually understand the dynamics of football.  For those of you that care to learn or just want to know when it’s appropriate to cheer,  I have put together a SIMPLE list of things to know to understand the average football game.

FOOTBALL TERMS

• All phases – Offense, Defense, and “Special teams”; All teams have all three phases, they do not get on the field at the same time and each group usually has its own “phase exclusive” players
• Offense – When a team has the football in their possession, the team is on offense and is attempting to score;  key positions on the offense include the Quarterback(QB), the running back(RB), the fullback(FB), the wide receivers(WR), the tight end(TE), and the offensive line(O Line)
• Defense – When a team doesn’t have the ball in their possession, the team is on defense and attempting to prevent the other team from scoring;  key positions on the defense include the linebackers(LB), the cornerbacks(CB), the strong safety(SS), the free safety(FS), and the defensive line (D Line)
• Special Teams – Both teams deploy their special teams at the same time; Special Team duties include kicking and punting, as well as blocking kicks and returning kicks; key players on Special Teams include the kicker(K), the punter(P), the kick returner(KR), and the punt returner(PR)
• Touchdown – Occurs when a player carries into or catches the ball in the opposing teams end zone; awards 6 points and an opportunity for an extra point or a two-point conversion
• Field Goal –  Occurs when the offensive team chooses to kick the ball through the Upright; awards 3 points
• Extra Point –  Occurs after a touchdown, the scoring team can choose to kick an extra point; awards 1 point
• Two-Point Conversion –  Occurs after a touchdown, the scoring team has the option to attempt to reach the end zone again; awards 2 points
• End Zone – The ends of the field, which each offense is trying to bring the ball to and each defense is attempting to protect
• Upright – The U-shaped vertical posts at the end of each end zone
• Downs – Offensive teams are awarded 4 downs or chances to travel 10 yards; if they gain 10 yards, they are awarded 4 more downs
• Kickoff – Occurs at the beginning of the game, after halftime, and after teams score; the football changes possession; the team that just scored kicks to the team that was just on defense
• Punt – Occurs on the 4th down, when the offensive team is too far to attempt a field goal, so they forfeit their last down to kick the ball further away from their own end zone to make it harder for the other team to score
• Turnover-on-downs – Occurs when an offense fails to gain 10 yards in their 4 attempts; results in a change of possession
• Completion/Incompletion – a completion occurs when the QB throws the ball and a WR, RB, TE, or FB catches the pass before it hits the ground or before they go out-of-bounds; an incompletion occurs when the ball hits the floor or is caught out-of-bounds
• Interception – Occurs when the QB throws the ball and the ball is caught by a player on the opposing team; results in a change of possession
• Fumble – occurs when ball carrier loses possession of the ball; usually results in a “dog-pile” of some sort; may or may not result in a change of possession
• Flag – a “flag” or a yellow penalty flag is thrown on the field by a referee, when a team does something illegal;  usually results in a loss of yards or loss of a down;  opposing teams have the option of accepting or declining some penalties
• Challenge flag – a red flag thrown out by the coaches of teams, used to dispute calls made by referees; can result in the change of a call or the loss of a timeout

This guide isn’t for the casual fan or the self proclaimed sports gurus.  It’s not just for the girlfriends looking to snag some extra quality time.  It’s for the individuals looking to understand the basics of a over-a-century old phenomenon known as football.  Whether it’s your hometown, your alma mater, your father or significant others favorite team, or maybe you have a relative playing, anyone can find some sort of allegiance to a team.  It’s a nice thing when people come together for common interest.  So next time you watch the Super Bowl with real football fans, try to sit down and enjoy the actual event, instead of just waiting for halftime to see Sasha Fierce.