Football is a great game. Watching two teams out on the football field, offense and defense, is like watching two generals commanding their armies. So many possibilities; play books three inches thick; men the size of trucks; and the stadiums filled with people, some of whom had to wait six years to get tickets. And with all the excitement, all the suspense at that last second field goal and all the great players...
There are enough rules in this game to make you want to pull every last hair out of your head.
The typical lay person, the casual football fan and even some of the bigger fans, probably don't know half the rules of the game. Yeah, they know the main rules, four downs to make a first down and things like that, but the more complicated rules have many fans wondering what is going on half the time. Even the refs can many times be seen standing around trying to figure out which rule of the game was broken, if any at all. And what it more than one rule was broken? How is that situation settled?
Even the rules on contact with a receiver are so fuzzy, or not enforced the same by each set of refs. Some games will go by and you'll see a receiver get clobbered beyond the five yard mark and nothing gets called and then in another game the defender will simply brush up against his sleeve and get called for pass interference. A little consistency would be nice. Certainly that doesn't help the situation any.
One of the most confusing rules is whether or not a receiver had possession when catching a pass before going out of bounds. Technically, he's supposed to have both feet in bounds when he makes the catch. If he catches the ball with one foot in and then takes a step and has the other foot out, it's no catch. But what it he's pushed out of bounds? Would he have caught the ball with both feet in had he not been pushed? How is that situation handled?
Then of course there is the matter of actually scoring a touchdown. The football has to cross the plain of the goal line. Now, if the offensive player is on the ground when he scores, it's pretty easy to tell if he crossed the goal line. But what if he's on top of a pile up, four feet off the ground as he's trying to dive in? How do you figure out if he's crossed the plain?
Then of course there is forward motion when a running back gets tackled. If he gets hit by a 350 pound truck and gets sent hurtling five yards back, where is the ball marked? Does it get marked where the tackler hit him or where he lands? What if he trips? Can he get up and start running again? If he trips and one foot goes out of bounds, can he start running again?
So many questions and we haven't even scratched the surface of the surface of all the rules of football. Yes, this game can really give you a headache.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Football
Written By: Michael Russell
