FOOTBALL IN HIGH HEELS: TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Tonight, I am going to switch gears a little bit from formations and get into the timing of the game. I will eventually go back to formations, but also throw in some other lessons in between.
When checking out a preseason game (which I recently just learned was similar to spring training in baseball) I realized the game was divided into quarters. I am guessing it is the game’s version of innings in baseball and periods in hockey. The average NFL and college game lasts for fifteen minutes, while high school games last for twelve. (College and high school will be covered later, today we focus on the NFL.)
‘It is that short?’ I wondered. To me, it seemed like it was taking forever, but that could have been because I was also incredibly confused. However, I realized that it did take longer than it seemed, not because I kept pausing the game to figure it out, but because there are stops and starts within this amount of time.
Why would they stop and not play continuously? There are many reasons, many of which make a lot of sense once I sat down and thought about it.
Timeout: Both teams are allowed to do so and allowed three per half game. (So, three pre-halftime and three post) If two consecutive ones are taken, then the second one must be reduced to 40 seconds, rather than being a full minute.
End of a quarter: This is pretty self explanatory, but it also allows teams to change the goal they will defend during the first and third quarters.
The quarterback throws an incomplete pass.
The ball carrier going out of bounds.
The term out of bounds always makes me think of this song.
There is an injury.
There is a penalty. An official uses a flag to signal this.
The officials check to see if the offense has gained a first down.
Officials need to spot or place the ball correctly on the field.
A touchdown, field goal, or safety is scored.
The ball changes possession due to a kickoff, punt, or turnover.
A team fails to have advanced the ball ten yards in four downs.
Two minutes remaining.
They need to add this when they get to the two minute mark of a game!
A coach challenges a referee’s call and it must be reviewed.
Needless to say, this is why games end up lasting longer than an hour! (Although it is a good excuse to eat more yummy, fattening foods and drink that second beer.) However, seeing these things happen and then trying to figure out what will happen next is half the fun of the game. I am just happy to understand WHY it takes this long and to know that my math skills aren’t as bad as I thought they were….they are still bad, but at least I know I can still add. I just now know football math!
Stay tuned for more lessons.
