FOOTBALL LINGO
A number of words and phrases currently in everyday usage can also be found in the language of football. Here is a selection of such terms, which you may find enlightening and entertaining.
Bootleg.   In popular talk, to bootleg is to smuggle alcoholic liquor. In football, it’s a type of running play intended to make [...]

FOOTBALL GAME PLAN
From a novice’s point of view, the apparent randomness displayed on a football field is, in fact, well-thought-out strategy. At any one time, there may be dozens of different plays every team player has committed to memory and knows by heart.
Here’s a thumbnail sketch of some key pieces of a typical game plan, [...]

FOOTBALL TEAM PLAYERS
To rookie fans, the feverish activity on a football field may seem like somewhat erratic behavior. Veteran spectators of the sport, however, know that the game is, in fact, well organized. What a player does depends on his assigned position. Following is a simplified overview of how a football team is put [...]

FOOTBALL TALK
Newcomers to the football scene may be puzzled by some of the terms they hear others use when speaking of the game. You may find the following, with brief explanations, useful in shedding light on some of these words and phrases. Even if you are a veteran fan, you may still find this an [...]

FOOTBALL RECAP:  PART THREE
The previous two articles of this series touched upon football basics and personnel. This concluding article offers brief notes on equipment used in the sport, and miscellaneous facts of interest.
Equipment
Players use various pieces of equipment according to the positions they play. As the team’s leader, the quarterback wears an earpiece in his [...]

FOOTBALL RECAP:  PART TWO
The first of this three-part series of articles briefly examined the origin of football, the dimensions of the field, the game itself and categories of players making up a team. Now let’s look at other team members not previously mentioned, to rules of the game and to penalties for breaking these rules.
The [...]

FOOTBALL RECAP:  PART ONE
Football played in the USA and Canada was created at Princeton University in 1867 as a soccer variant. By 1922 the NFL (National Football League) was born. This is perhaps the world’s best-known football league. It consists of 32 professional teams from cities throughout the USA.
In 1960 the Super Bowl came into [...]

FOOTBALL: IDENTIFYING THE PLAYERS
One way for a rookie fan to identify a player is by looking at his jersey number. According to NFL (National Football League) guidelines, the number generally corresponds to his position on the field.
Quarterbacks, for example, have to wear uniform numbers between 1 and 19. So do punters and placekickers. Tight ends [...]

A FOOTBALL OVERVIEW
Unless you’re an experienced football enthusiast, you’ll probably have moments of confusion while watching a game. You may at times wonder who’s doing what and why they’re doing what they’re doing. And you may ask yourself what it all means. Once you have the answers to these questions, however, football is fairly easy [...]

SUPER BOWL
In mid-January 1967, the first Super Bowl was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The name of this championship game was inspired by a popular children’s toy called “Super Ball.”
The Super Bowl usually takes place at the beginning of February every year. In what has become perhaps the highest-rated television show in the [...]