Archive for December, 2007

Okay since the playoffs are rolling down the pike at us full steam, I thought I’d take this time to do some short PSAs for you girls out there who, unlike Sarah and I, do not enjoy football with full tilt passion yet are in a position where you end up watching it every weekend.

Your husband/boyfriend/butch girlfriend and Me & Sarah get annoyed by your endless inane questions so I thought I’d help you out. It’s really not your fault, you don’t dig the sport and you’re trying to interact with others about it, but we football fans can be short tempered about explaining stuff when it means we might miss a play and have to rewind the Tivo. We only want to rewind the Tivo on our terms.

Let’s start with a simple one, something that I was asked yesterday.
“What is with that yellow line and why does it move?”

Sigh.

Okay – there are two lines on the field that move – one is usually yellow, one is either blue or greenish depending the the network and the resolution of the set you are watching. The blue/green line is the line of scrimmage. The best way to explain this is that it is where the ball is starting. (How the ball got there, is really a whole other conversation we’ll skip for now).

The other line – the YELLOW line is the 10 yard mark FROM the line of scrimmage. The easiest way to explain this is that it is WHERE the offensive is trying to get the ball to. The offense has 4 tries/plays (DOWNS) to get the ball there. If the ball can get to the yellow line, the offense gets to keep the ball to attempt another 10 yards.
When the offense gets the ball to the yellow line, this is the FIRST DOWN – that you’ve heard about.

Essentially, your offense (the team with the ball) is trying to get the ball down the field in 10 yard increments. Sometimes they throw, sometimes they run. Sometimes they get way more than 10 yards. This is a good thing.

The players cannot see the yellow line or the blue/green line. It only exists on your TV. The players use the actual yard lines and hash lines to determine where they are going.

Next class: Downs, what are they, why are there 4 ?