There is a popular opinion that football is a brutal sport with the high rates of concussions, head injuries, and injuries in general. Having played all four seasons for the George Washington Trojans (our campus-wide team), I can say there is so much more to this sport than danger! Football players are generally big guys but they have to be agile, athletic, quick-witted, and alert on the field. Football involves a lot of different skills. Football is a very easy sport to understand but not to play. Players have to have drive and not be scared of contact.
Anybody who’s never played football might say in their minds, “I don’t want to get injured! Football is too rough!” Football is all about contact but it also deals with a lot of responsibility and teamwork. There are many positions with many different purposes. Even though football is a physical game, the fast pace and teamwork aspects make it a great sport. To get a sense of local knowledge I spoke with TCA students Emmanuel Mezquita and Luz Nunez. Mr. Mezquita is an established fan who knows the game, while Ms. Nunez knows less about the sport.
TCA Heights:” What do you feel when you watch a game of football?”
Mezquita: “I feel like I love competitiveness. I feel like I’m on the field. You know? I feel like seeing a football game, especially when the Super Bowl comes.”
TCA Heights: “Do you feel like your in the game of football by just watching it do you feel connected”
Mezquita: “I feel like I’m every quarterback. I picture myself as the quarterback. I’ll be like, I’ll be I’ll be thinking, why is he throwing this? Why is he throwing that? Like the game is so, so interesting that you think you’re on the field. You think you’re the coach. You know what I mean? Yeah. The game just brings competitiveness. It’s just amazing. It’s an amazing sport. I wouldn’t play it because it’s not my type of roughness and yeah you know yeah yeah yeah it’s it. No more no no more.”
TCA Heights: “Tu como una persona que no entiende el deporte bien como te sintes cuando vez un juego.”
Nunez: “Yo no conozco las reglas son muy curiosas.pero siento Ánimo porque los juegos son muy emocionantes y si uno está viendo a la gente y veo cómo ellos se esforzaron para todo lo que hacen ellos.”
The Basics of Football:
Here are the main positions of the game and what their role is on the field:
The Offensive Line:
This is key to football you need to be able to score points these are your playmakers the people you expect to lead you to victory. The offensive line runs set plays to either pass or run the ball down the field. Each team has four downs (or chances) to run 10 yards to keep their team on offense.
Quarterback(QB): Leads the offense, calls plays, and is responsible for passing or handing off the ball
Running back(RB): Carries the ball on running plays catches passes and can also block.
Fullback (FB): A powerful back often used for blocking or short yardage runs
Wide receiver (WR): Runs routes to catch passes from the quarterback.
Tight end (TE): A hybrid player who blocks like an offensive lineman and can also catch passes like a wide receiver.
Offensive line: The five players who protect the quarterback and block for him.
Center (C): Snaps the ball to the quarterback and blocks defenders.
Guard (G): Lines up on either side of the center.
Tackle (T): Lines up on the ends of the offensive line. running plays.
The Defensive Line:
Now we head into defense this is the most important thing in all of football. A team without defense will not win the games. Imagine being in a war but you have no weapons to defend yourself! It’s like that if you have a team in front of you and without defense you’re not able to stop them from taking over the field. Here are all the essential positions that have to be on the defensive side
Defensive line (DL): The players who line up opposite the offensive line.
Defensive tackle (DT): Works to stop the run and rush the passer from the inside.
Defensive end (DE): Rushes the quarterback from the outside and helps stop the run.
Linebacker (LB): Plays behind the defensive line and is responsible for stopping the run and covering receivers.
Defensive backs (DB): There are two types, cornerback and safety.
Cornerback (CB): Covers wide receivers to prevent them from catching passes.
Safety (S): A deeper-field defender who can stop deep passes or support the run.
Football isn’t played alone. It is impossible to do it by yourself without all of these people having your backs or helping you on either defence or offense. Football is able to be played no matter how big or how small you are. You won’t be able to play alone though! Teamwork is essential and personal ability is second. And while there is the potential for injury, when played as a team football can be a dynamic and exciting sport!
