On Monday night, the 59th Super Bowl will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. In the biggest American sporting event of the year, the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles. But how does American football actually work? blue News explains.
You don't know anything about American football, but would like to have a say? No problem, blue News has put together a rough overview of the most important rules for you. So that you can prove to your friends on Monday how well you know football, there is also an example sentence to memorize for each rule.
What does the pitch look like?
An American football field is exactly 100 yards long and 160 feet wide. That would be 91.44 meters by 48.8 meters. But forget meters, nobody wants to hear that!
The attacking team tries to move the football yard by yard from their own side of the field to the opponent's side. The end zones of both teams are located behind the respective 0-yard lines. This is where the egg should go - from the attackers' perspective.
Example sentence: "The Chiefs are only at their own twenty-yard line and only have one minute left. It's time for Mahomes to unpack a few throws."
What is the goal of American football?
The aim of the game: simple. In American football, the team that has scored more points at the end of the game wins. Points are scored for touchdowns, field goals, conversions and safeties. More on this later.
The game lasts one hour. However, the game is constantly interrupted and usually lasts up to three hours. For the television viewer, these interruptions are always interspersed with commercials.
Example sentence: "Without these annoying commercial breaks, I would have gone to bed long ago."
How do offense and defense work?
An American football team consists of two blocks: the offense and the defense. The team in possession of the ball sets up the offense and tries to get the football into the opponent's end zone. The team without the ball sets up the defense, which tries to prevent the opponent from advancing the football.
Important: It is very important that you pronounce these two terms correctly. Offence is pronounced "Offfäns" and defense is pronounced "Diiifäns". The emphasis is always on the first syllable.
What is 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th down all about?
The attacking team has four "downs" (attempts) to move the football at least ten yards forward. If they manage this, they receive four new attempts for the next ten yards. If they succeed again, they get the next four downs. And so on. If they fail, the opposing team receives the football.
These downs are omnipresent during the game, so it is very important that you understand this part. A few examples:
There are two parts to calling a down. First, it's about how many attempts it is, then how many yards still have to be covered. This is then called, for example: "1st and ten" or "2nd and six". "1st and ten" would mean: 1st down (first attempt) and there are still ten yards to cover. If the offense is now stopped after four yards, they would only need six yards on the second attempt - "2nd and six". If they then manage two more yards, the 3rd down would be "3rd and four". As soon as the ten-yard hurdle is cleared, there is another 1st down and you start at "1st and ten". If the fourth attempt also fails, possession changes hands at the point where the last offense was stopped.
Usually, the offense does not execute a normal play on 4th down, but a "punt". In a punt, the football is kicked as far as possible to the opponent's side. Although this gives up possession of the ball, the opposing team has to start the subsequent attack much further back in the field of play.
Example sentence: "Eight more yards on 4th down, Purdy won't even try that. They'll kick it now."
What role does the quarterback play?
In American football, everything depends on the quarterback. He is the linchpin of a team's offense and ensures that the football ends up in the opponent's end zone. In an offense, the football is usually thrown to the quarterback first and he then chooses a sprinting teammate to throw the ball to. The latter tries to catch the ball and run into the end zone. However, if he is stopped by the defense, the game is stopped and the next "down" takes place at the spot where the attacker was stopped.
Instead of throwing the egg, the quarterback can also decide to run off with it himself or hand it to a colleague. This is called a "run" or "rush" and is often used for short distances.
The quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs is Patrick Mahomes. He is the new big superstar in American football. Brock Purdy makes the decisions for the 49ers. Experts never gave him much credit - now he has the chance to prove it to everyone.
Example sentence: "Purdy versus Mahomes - I'm telling you: It's like David versus Goliath! Does anyone still have chicken wings?"
What is the defense's job?
The goal of the defense is to stop the opposing team as early as possible. The first thing they try to do is prevent the opposing quarterback from throwing and "sack" him (bring him to the ground).
To prevent such a "sack" (say "sack", then you're cool), the opposing offense places a few particularly large and heavy players directly in front of the quarterback to protect him. Equally big and massive defenders try to break through this human wall and take the football away from the quarterback. So it's actually the defenders who want to get forward. But forget that again and don't let yourself be confused even more.
If the quarterback still manages to throw the ball (as in most cases) or pass it to a colleague, the defense now has to stop the player with the ball as early as possible. Usually through a powerful tackle.
If a defender manages to intercept the quarterback's throw and bring the football under control, possession of the ball changes hands immediately. This is called an interception and is an absolute cracker. You can celebrate it like a football goal - jump up, empty your beer, the whole nine yards. A nightmare scenario for the offense. The defender who catches the ball can even march off in the other direction and try to score a touchdown.
Example sentence: "I'm just waiting for someone to finally tackle Mahomes. He can't run after that."
What are points awarded for in American football?
Points are awarded for the following four actions
Touchdown (six points)
A touchdown is worth the most points (six) and is scored when a player from the attacking team carries the football into the opposing team's end zone or catches it there.
Pronunciation is also particularly important here.
Example sentence: "Taatsch-Daauuun!"
Field goal (three points)
Instead of carrying or throwing the football into the end zone, the attacking team can also kick it there. This is much easier, but only worth three points. The important thing is that the ball is kicked over a crossbar and through two large, upright goalposts set up in the end zone - the goal.
With a field goal, no player on the attacking team has to catch or control the football in the end zone. Field goal attempts from the 40-yard line are usually successful.
Example sentence: "If he messes up the kick, then I really don't know."
Extra point (one or two points)
After a successful touchdown, the attacking team is given the opportunity to score one or two bonus points (conversions). In most cases, only one point is attempted. All the team has to do is score a field goal from the 15-yard line. Easy as pie.
Two extra points are awarded if the attacking team scores another touchdown in a single attempt (2-point conversion). The attempt may be started from the 5-yard line.
Example sentence: "The 49ers not only need a touchdown now, they also have to add a 2-point conversion. Otherwise it will be really tight."
Safety (two points)
Points for a safety are awarded to the defending team if they successfully tackle the attacking team's player in possession of the ball in their own end zone. Safeties are rather rare and are worth two points.
Example sentence: "That's called a safety! I bet none of you knew that."
Huh... What was that?
Still no idea how the game works? Don't worry, just remember the example sentences and try to incorporate English terms into your explanations as often as possible. And chicken wings! Don't forget the chicken wings.
The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eaglesin the Super Bowl on Monday night. The game will take place in New Orleans and will be broadcast live on free-to-air TV in Switzerland on RTL. The broadcast starts on Sunday evening at 11.15 pm, kickoff is at 0.30 am that night.