NFL Football from a Woman's Point of View

I wasn't always a football fan. While I did consider myself more savvy than the average woman, having been a cheerleader once upon a time (I at least knew how the game was played, I could appreciate a good play when I saw one, etc.) I didn't understand why anyone would plan their entire week around a game. Why in the world would anyone would watch more than one game in the same week, much less the same day? I would go to a Super Bowl party every year, but really for the social aspect of it, the sense of occasion, the food and, of course, the commercials. I, and the other enlightened females sat chatting in the kitchen, smiling indulgently as a cheer went up from those poor souls huddled around the television.






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That all changed in 1999 when I was living in Nashville. The team with a nonsensical name, the Tennessee Oilers, became the Tennessee Titans. They had a new name, a new stadium, the city seemed to buzz with new possibilites.
I watched a couple of games out of curiousity. The excitement was contagious. That year we always seemed to come from behind and win it at the last minute. I watched every game, I couldn't get enough of it. That was the year of the "Music City Miracle," the year we went to the Super Bowl. A really excellent way to start being a fan.
Though the Titans haven't matched that success since then, it doesn't seem to matter. I'm hooked for life: On my team, on the NFL and on football in general.
Now you couldn't pay me to sit in the kitchen with those smug people who just don't get it. Life is being played out on that screen, the best and worst of human nature. All the people gathered around are witnesses to the pursuit of greatness. It's a shared experience, shared not only with those in the room but with people watching all over the country and with the players on the field. A common interest, a common frame of reference, a common feeling of unity.

More than just a fan, Alex Flanagan is one of the female faces of the NFL Network. And she is turning up more and more often these days
Flanagan started at NFL Network just three agos. She is a reporter, an occasional anchor for NFL Network Now, but I see her most often as a stand-in host for NFL Total Access.
Alex Flanagan is an excellent representative for women who love football. She is knowledgeable and handles herself well with such football greats as Terrell Davis and Marshall Faulk. While it's clear she has prepared what she will say ahead of time, and is not as quick with the banter as Rich Eisen, she often surprises her co-hosts with insightful questions and her understanding of the game.
Of course she is not new to sports, before her current job, Flanagan spent five years at ESPN, where she worked as a sideline reporter for college football. She has also reported on programs such as SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight. And even reported on the 2008 Summer Olympics for ABC. Before ESPN, Alex was an anchor for one of Alabama's most reputable TV stations, WSFA Channel 12, in Montgomery.
I am always proud to see her and hope she continues to do well.

Football is unlike any other sport. It is a physical, mental and emotional game. To be the best you must have mastered all three elements. But very often, especially in the playoffs a team that has an abundance of one thing--the emotional will to win--will triumph over a team that has only physical toughness or clever leadership. Those are the games that you remember always, and are touched by in some way.
To me, football is uplifting. Watching world class atheletes at the peak of their fitness playing a game that they love is inspiring. I enjoy watching the coaches match wits against each other, the clever plays, the strategy playing out on the field. And I love watching a team achieve the impossible through sheer force of will.
Given two minutes and the game on the line, quarterbacks throw incredible passes, running backs find holes and break through, wide receivers jump impossibly high and catch balls on their fingertips, kickers make record setting field goals against the wind, defensive lines make goal line stands that save the game.
There is no other game like it. It's worth looking into. If the only reason you haven't is because you're a girl, you might want to give it a try. The next time your boyfriend or husband is watching a game, snuggle in beside him. Don't ask a lot of questions or demand attention. Just watch the game with new eyes. I bet you will love it too.

Football is America's Game. Some would say baseball, but that is just a pasttime. ;-) American football was derived from rugby. The game was created here. The heroes of the game are Americans and their stories are legend. But the best thing about it all, to me, is that the history of football is not just something that I read about in a book, not something I have to close my eyes and imagine. Nearly every bit of the NFL's history has been filmed and preserved for its fans.
People like me who did not grow up watching football, can still be a part of it.
The immaculate reception, the ice bowl, the body bag game, the catch, the drive, the music city miracle. When you mention these things to a fan, 9 times out of 10 they'll know exactly what you are talking about and have an opionion about them.
Thanks to NFL films and the NFL network, I know them all and more besides. Don't be intimidated. It's easy to catch up.

So you sit down with the boys to watch a game, but don't really understand what is going on. You try to get someone to explain it to you, only to hear a chorus of shhhh's. Or get a pat and a smile instead of an answer. I've been there.
You can wait patiently until it's over, cheering when they cheer. You can be obnoxious insisting that someone answer your questions. Or you can wander away and leave them to it. I've done all three, along with other variations.
But the truth about football is that it's not as complicated as some men make it. It's as simple as you want it to be. And I've found that to enjoy a good game is very simple indeed. Here are some basics to start you off.
The football field is 100 yards long with an endzone at each end. Your team is trying to get to their endzone to score 6 points. The other team is trying to stop them.

When a team gets the ball, they have four tries to go at least 10 yards. The quarterback throws the ball or hands it to someone, they go as far as they can before being tackled by the other team. The ball stays at the place where they were tackled.
Each try is called a down. 1st and 10, means it's their first try and they have 10 yards to go. 3rd and 2: third try, 2 more yards to go. See? It's simple.

If they make it, the team gets to start over with four more downs. It keeps going on until that team goes all the way to their endzone, making a touchdown and earning 6 points.
If they don't make it, the other team gets a chance to try the same thing, going in the other direction.
Other ways to make points are with a point after, two-point conversion, field goal and a safety. After a touchdown, the team has a free kick towards the goalpost. If the ball goes through the y-shaped opening, the team gets 1 point.
If the team decided to go for 2 points, instead of getting the free kick, they get a free chance to run one play for the endzone. Kind of like a mini-touchdown. This is a two-point conversion, if they do it they get (of course) 2 points.

A field goal usually happens on a 4th down. The team hasn't managed to go the 10 yards that they were supposed to, so instead they try to kick it through the goalpost from whereever they are on the field. If it works, they get 3 points. This happens a lot.
A safety is worth 2 points, and happens when one team's quarterback is tackled with the ball (that's called a sack) in the other team's endzone.
The game lasts for 60 minutes on the game clock, but with all the time-outs, penaties, half-time, etc. a football game lasts for three hours or more. At the end, the team with the most points wins.
The most confusing things that happen:
*Penalties: One of the referrees can throw a yellow flag anytime they see something they don't think is right. They usually explain what has happened and the penalty. just listen. The same ones happen over and over, you'll learn as you go.
*2nd and 23? A lot of times a team has to go more than ten yards in four tries. If the quarterback is sacked (tackled with the ball) the ball is put where he fell. The main thing to remember is to keep your eye on the ball. Wherever the ball is, that's where they mark the starting line (the line of scrimmage).





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*That's not a touchdown! Some guy is running for the endzone, he gets tackled and knocked out of bounds. But he stands up with a smile on his face and everyone is cheering for the touchdown he just scored. Again, keep your eye on the ball. If the ball crosses the line and the player had it in his hand and control of it, it counts as a touchdown. Even if just the very tip of the ball crossed the plane.
What else confuses you? Leave a comment and I'll add the answer to this section.

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