Football Cheat Sheet
You don’t have to know every rule, every player’s name, or every stats to enjoy the game of football. It’s only really important to know what is happening while you’re watching. So to help you out, I’ve created a little cheat sheet. Make sure you check out the vocabulary page for more shortcuts.
***This may be a little different if you are actually at the stadium watching the game.***
On Sunday, football usually begins before the game with the pregame show where various football expects, mostly retired players and coaches, discuss their expectations of the games later in the day. They talk about who will win, who will lose, what they expect out of rookie players, who’s hurt, and who is going to play. This usually happens an hour before the game. This is good to watch if you want to get familiar with the players.
The game starts with a coin toss and kickoff. Each team takes turns playing offense and defense until the end of the game. There are four quarters lasting 15 minutes apiece however the game usually last for 4 hours with commercial breaks and time outs.
Now throughout the game you will see the teams advance down the field. Each time they line up on the line of scrimmage, a down is recorded. You will hear a lot about downs during the game. This is similar to baseball – three strikes you’re out – each team has four chances to get 10 yards. If they make it to 10 yards down the field then they start back at first down. If they don’t then they have to punt the ball to the other team.
During the game it’s likely that a team with break a rule and get a penalty. It’s hard to keep up with the many penalties in football. It easiest for you to listen to the referee for the offending penalty and the resulting enforcement – no memorization needed.