Based on the funky dance that players do when they manage to advance a Football to the end of a field, everyone knows what the object is. What seems to defy explanation is everything else that happens during one of these games. Why do players only stay on the field for mere minutes before switching with other teammates? Why are there so many referees when there are only about a dozen players per team on the field at any given time? Why is it so damn hard to get that ball just ten yards down a field?!

To help me understand why so many fans voluntarily slap on the face and body paint, and why Football sends men’s testosterone levels through the roof, the man who does the play-by-plays for the BC Lions was generous enough to speak with me and give me some pointers before a home game. Team 1040‘s Rick Ball generally doesn’t have to deal with amateurs such as myself so needless to say, the introduction was much appreciated.

I don’t dare to claim that I know a heck of a lot more about the sport now but at least I’ve got the gist of it and can actually enjoy a game. I don’t know if it’s because I’m too preoccupied trying to figure out the rules to notice time passing or if I have a genuine interest in Football but I have to say, I was at the game for two hours and didn’t even notice. I had a good time and now understand why fans get so riled up whenever there’s a touchdown; they’re so rare! Read on to find out more about the game…

Here are some key things to remember:

End Zone: The areas on either end of the field where the football must be advanced to in order to score a touchdown.

Offense: The team that has possession of the ball and is trying to score a touchdown.

Defense: The team that doesn’t have possession of the ball and is trying to prevent the opposing team from advancing or scoring points. You’ll notice the crowd chanting ‘Defense’ whenever the Lions are in that position.

You’ll find it interesting to see that when a team is playing the offense, they’ll generally send the smaller and slimmer guys onto the field (the fast runners). When switching to a defensive play, the guys tend to be bulkier and wider to Block the other team. It’ll seem somewhat ridiculous how many players are standing on the sidelines, but once you see how often they switch up, it makes sense. It amazes me how they can keep track of all these players during a game. Look at how many there are!

There are a lot of football positions and all the players usually specialize in one. Here are some examples:

For the Offense:

Quarterback: Throws the ball to receivers or hands it off to running backs.
Offensive Linemen: Provide blocking for the quarterback and running backs.
Receivers: Run down the field and catch balls thrown by the quarterback.
Running Backs: Take the ball from the quarterback and run up the field.

For the Defense:

Defensive Linemen: Put pressure on the quarterback by trying to tackle him before he releases the ball. They also try to stop running backs.
Linebackers: Back up the linemen and cover receivers.
Cornerbacks: Prevent the wide receivers from catching the ball by breaking up passes from the quarterback.
Safeties: Play deep behind the rest of the defense to prevent a long pass or run.

Special Teams:

Placekicker: Kicks the ball through the goalposts to score points and kicks the ball to the other team to start the game.
Punter: Free-kicks the ball if his team can’t advance the ball down the field.
Returner: Tries to catch the ball and return it as far as he can during a kickoff or punt.

One game is divided into four Quarters, each fifteen minutes long. A one-hour game may sound short but it will feel quite the opposite because every time the ball is stopped, the clock freezes until referees mark the new starting point, players make their rotations and the game is once again in play. I’ll let you deduce when half time takes place. The clock also stops when a team calls a Timeout, which they’re allowed three of every half game.

You’ll typically see players advancing the ball down the 100-yard field in one of two pays. They’ll either Run as far as they can with the ball, or they’ll attempt a Pass, which means either passing (literally), throwing, or kicking it to another player.

Scoring is fairly basic. A team receives the most points when they get the ball to the opposing team’s End Zone. This is called a Touchdown and earns a team a whopping six points. If your team is lucky enough to do this, they also have an immediate opportunity to score a Field Goal for an extra point. A Field Goal is achieved when the ball is successfully kicked through the opposing team’s uprights (goalpost) at the end of the field. Ordinarily, this type of goal scores your team three points, but when it’s in addition to a touchdown, it’s worth one bonus point.

At the beginning of a game, the teams start at about the 20-yard line on the side of the field that belongs to the defense. The ball is kicked by the defense to get it as far away from their end zone as they can. The point is to make it as difficult as possible for the offense (the team in possession of the ball) to advance the ball back to where it started. You won’t see this happening often because a game isn’t reset like this until a touchdown is made.

Once the ball has been kicked down the field, the line where it lands is marked. You’ll see two out of the bunch of referees holding one tall marker each at the sidelines. If you look closely, you’ll notice a rope tied to and connecting the base of each marker. This rope is ten yards long and helps the referees know if they’re marking the areas properly. One referee rests his marker at the line where the ball lands and the other walks down the field towards the defense’s End Zone until the rope is taut. This means that the game continues where the ball landed and the offense must try and get the ball to, or past, the second referee with the marker. They have three Downs (just a word that means a chance) to achieve this or they have to relinquish the ball and play the defense. If they manage to advance the ball ten yards from the starting point or beyond within those three Downs, they can continue to play the offense and keep trying to move the ball down the field ten yards at a time towards the opposing team’s End Zone for a Touchdown. When the ball is stopped by a Tackle, a new starting point is marked. If the ball is dropped (a Fumble), it’s called an Incomplete and the teams have to go back to the starting point with one Down used up. A team is only allowed one Forward Pass during each Down. They can throw the ball sideways or throw it back to another teammate behind them any number of times.

If the offense hasn’t advanced the ball a minimum of ten yards in three Downs, the ball changes teams and we’ll see it move down the other direction. Let’s simplify this. Let’s say we have the Red team and the Blue team. The Red Team is the offense and the Blue the defense. If Red sees that it can’t make the ten yards before their turn with the ball ends, they’ll kick the ball, during the Third Down, as far as they can. They don’t intend for the ball to be caught. They’re just trying to get it as far away from the Red End Zone as possible because they lose possession right after. This is called a Punt and it’s a strategic move that only happens when a team in the offense doesn’t think they can make the ten yards. They can risk trying to accomplish that by Running or Passing, but if Red doesn’t make it, Blue begins their offensive play too close to the Red End Zone. Another option Red has during the Third Down is to try and kick it (with another teammate holding the ball upright on the ground) through the goalpost. Problem is, that’s incredibly difficult (I’ve seen them miss even when they’re thirty yards from the uprights), especially if Red is clearly far from the Blue End Zone.

The defense isn’t just trying to stop the ball from advancing. They also try and Intercept the ball every chance they get. They do this by catching a ball that is meant for an offensive player. By doing this, they steal the ball and the other team loses however many Downs they still have left.

I mentioned that there are a heck of a lot of referees on the field. This is because there are a heck of a lot of penalties to spot! Every time a player breaks a rule, a referee throws up a coloured flag (those things must have a weight sewn into them because they are thrown pretty high!) and the game stops. The offending team could have their ball moved back 5, 10 or even up to 15 yards! Some examples of penalties (found at iVillage.com) include:

Illegal Motion: When the offensive team moves before the ball is put into motion (or Hiked). That means move AT ALL. The defensive team can move horizontally before the ball is Hiked

Offsides: When a defensive player moves too far forward and crosses the line of scrimmage before the ball is hiked (a Line of Scrimmage refers to the invisible line that bisects the field where the ball is placed and the players take position)

Delay of Game: When the offense takes too much time before Hiking the ball

Holding: When a player grabs onto another player and literally holds or restrains him

Pass Interference: When a defensive player interferes with a receiver before he has caught an incoming pass

Face Mask: Pulling a player by his face mask

Unnecessary Roughness: Hitting a player when he is down, out of bounds or the play is already over; spearing another player with one’s helmet; punching; etc…

So that in a nutshell is football. Please keep in mind that I’ve merely skimmed the surface of this sport and there is a lot more to it. Once you understand what is happening, you can really begin to strategize and try and get into the heads of the coaches and players to figure out why they made a particular play. There are a ton of terms to learn, such as “Blitz,” “Sack,” “Bomb,” “Snap,” “Hail Mary”…it goes on and on. There are also numerous ways to score points so if you’re looking for a great hobby where there’s always something new to learn, check out a live game of football. You might be surprised.

The next BC Lions game is this Thursday in Toronto against the Argonauts but you can catch it on TSN (CH 30) at 3:30 PM (PST). If you want to get the real experience, check out their next home game against the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday July 6th at BC Place Stadium. Ticket prices range from $27 to $70 depending on where you sit. Click here for details.

Also, don’t forget to tune in to The Rick Ball Show on Team 1040. You can hear him every afternoon from Noon to 3:00 PM or get his play-by-plays during any BC Lions game on AM 1040.

Oh! And if you are looking forward to seeing what the Felions can do, don’t hold your breath. I realized during the game that they weren’t recruited for their cheerleading skills OR their dancing skills. I think it’s fairly safe to say that they were chosen to increase their swimsuit calendar sales. Despite the lack of coordination though, I still found myself turning to them whenever the game stopped so I have to admit they’re still a good distraction.