An Introduction to American Football

Anthony White3 said:Last season they had the games on ESPN 2 on Saturday mornings, but looking at the schedule now, I don't see them listed...

The official site still claims they'll be broadcasting on ESPN 2

http://www.afl.com.au/tv-radio/inter...dcast-partners

I'm guessing they'll end up being 🤷

It’ll probably happen once this winter sports madness wraps up, maybe even by next weekend, I guess.

Season's underway, catching ESPN on Saturday mornings, but things are still pretty blurry. Is there even such a thing as a "foul"? Like, is there stuff you just aren't allowed to do? Any kind of sin bin or whatever... I've seen people getting punched or hit, but I haven't seen the refs actually call anything for it.
Then there's those weird car situations. A guy takes the ball out of bounds, and nothing happens? Just walks off?

And how do they play this on American football fields over here? Dimensions, shape, player count... probably different, right?

When you're tackling an opponent with the ball, you can only make contact between the knees and the shoulders; any other type of contact results in a free kick...
You aren't allowed to grab, hold, push, or pull an opponent who doesn't have the ball, though within a five-meter radius of the ball, a legal bodycheck—what we call a shepherd—is perfectly fine...
If a player intentionally knocks the ball out of bounds, it's a turnover, but if it goes out by accident and the player simply didn't have the time or space to keep it in play, we call a ball up...
Any unsportsmanlike conduct—like failing to return the ball, hitting someone, or arguing with the ref—results in a 50-yard penalty awarded to the opposing team...
We don't use yellow or red cards here, but we do have a disciplinary committee that reviews intentional hits or poor sportsmanship after the game, which can lead to suspensions for upcoming matches...

Around here, we play a specific style of footy—think of it as the European version where the rules stay the same, but we play 9-on-9 on standard American football fields...
Substitutions are rolling, just like in pro sports...

And that's the gist of it...

Thanks for clearing that up 😉

Does it even matter? I thought there might be a connection, but I'm not sure. Like, if a Richmond player takes a shot and an opponent accidentally touches the ball while trying to save it (and it still goes in), or if the guy with the ball just barrels into the net because he's moving too fast... does that count?
Hopefully, I made enough sense there.

At the end of the game, they show the stats, and I just can't wrap my head around it—when it says "disposals" next to a player's name, what exactly are we looking at?
And I noticed "possessions" gets highlighted right next to the goal count, too. Any idea why?

Charles Bailey6 said:Thanks for clearing that up. 😉

Does it actually matter? It felt like it did, but I'm not sure. Like if a Richmond player takes a shot at the goal and an opponent touches the ball while trying to save it (and the ball still goes in), or if the player with the ball just charges into the goal area too fast?
Hopefully that paints the picture.

At the end of the game, they show stats and I can't figure out one thing—when it lists "Disposal" next to a player's name, what exactly does that count?
And I noticed "possessions" is listed right by the goal count, why is that?

1. If a defender touches the ball and it goes through the middle posts, it's just a behind. That's 1 point instead of 6. Defenders do that all the time on purpose just to play it safe.

As for your question about the difference between 'possessions' and 'disposal,' maybe we should wait for graniteranger19 to weigh in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Australian_Rules_football

To illustrate, if you see a score of 10.12 (72), it means the team scored:
10 touchdowns worth 6 points each (10x6=60)
12 extra points worth 1 point each (12x1=12)
bringing the total score to 72 (60+12=72)

The standard stats and possession metrics include:
Kicks—passing the ball with the foot
Handpass—passing the ball by hand
Disposal—any legal way to move the ball, whether by hand or foot
Free kick—an uncontested shot at goal
Marks—successfully catching a kicked ball
Hitout—the specialized action performed by the center during a kickoff

Dear American football fans,
we wanted to let you know that on August 2nd, 2014, there will be an exhibition game held in a small town in the US featuring Team USA against the Netherlands. We’d love for you to swing by if you're in the area to witness just how fast-paced and exciting this sport can be!

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.

Best of all, this match is being played for a great cause, with all proceeds going toward relief efforts for those parts of America hit hard by the recent flooding.

They'll be back. 👍

August 2, 2014. Small town in US, friendly match USA-Netherlands 215 - 18

Check out the photos over on the USA Football Facebook page! https://hr-hr.facebook.com/footycroatia

Solid game yesterday, New York City vs. Richmond 👍

Richmond somehow managed to hold off the Lakers' pressure in those last five minutes. Now Marić and the rest of the crew are heading into the Playoffs starting next weekend.

Calling all American football fans!
We’d love for you to join us this Saturday, September 13th, at 5 PM at the Old Pharmacy pub located at 11 Hebrang Street in Chicago for a special premiere screening of a new documentary about American football.
The film was shot all over the globe, featuring our own national players who are helping showcase the spirit of the game to the rest of the world.
To make things even more exciting, the director himself, Michael McIntyre, will be there to introduce the documentary.

Check out the movie trailer here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ud_s9FzrKk#

The NFL Playoffs kicked off this week.

Here are the 8 teams that made the playoffs:
1. Seahawks
2. Rams
3. Hawthorne (defending champions)
4. New York City
5. Richmond
6. Cleveland Bulldogs
7. Chicago
8. North Melbourne

The competition format is a bit weird. First, the number one seed plays the fourth, while the second takes on the third. Those are what they call the Wild Card Round. Playoffs. The losers are heading into what they call the playoffs. Semifinals That’s actually the Semifinals.
The fifth seed plays the eighth, and the sixth takes on the seventh. Those are what you call the Wild Card Round. Wild Card RoundLosers go home. Winners move on to face the losers from the other side. Playoffs. In the round known as... Semifinals.It’s basically like a Quarterfinal, if that makes sense. Hope you guys get what I mean. 🙂

Basically, Playoffs. They've already played:
Seahawks beat the Giants 69-60.
Los Angeles 96, Hawthorne 64.

Wild Card Round
Richmond vs. North Melbourne this Sunday.
Bulldogs 102 Crows 109 The game is on today. Catch the broadcast on ESPN 2 at 11:15.

The 2015 NFL season was quite the ride. It was one of those years where you just couldn't predict who would come out on top until the very end. Looking back at the standings and how the playoffs shook out, it’s clear that momentum played a huge role. Some teams really caught fire during the regular season, only to stumble once they hit the postseason, while others managed to scrape by and still make a deep run. It's funny how much a single game can change everything in a league like this.

What a game 🙏 🙏

Bulldogs 102
Crows 109

The Bulldogs left way too many openings on the table. In the end, the Crows just played smarter during those final five minutes.

Can someone explain why they called a free kick for New York City shortly after kickoff?
Never seen that before, I guess.


New season's almost here. Preseason Challenge starts next week, then the NFL kicks off at the end of March.

The free kick was awarded to Los Angeles because the opponent threw the ball incorrectly—it wasn't a clean release...
after that, the ball should have been handed back to a player immediately. However, since they tossed it high into the air and slowed down the tempo, the North Melbourne players had enough time to scramble back into their defensive positions, leading the referee to call a 50-yard penalty...

Thanks for clearing that up.

Here’s a link to some of those NAB Challenge games.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=...J64JPdQZUhLaGy

I wonder if they're actually carrying any of the broadcasts on ESPN this season.

Since ESPN lost the broadcasting rights, there hasn't been as much eyes on the league this year. In the finals, we saw New York City pull it off after yesterday's convincing win over Green Bay, followed by Cleveland Browns clinching a wild finish against the Dallas Cowboys, 89:83. Now, it’s the Browns waiting for us in the championship—they haven't hoisted a trophy since 1954.

The Super Bowl kicks off next Saturday (10/1) at the usual early morning slot, 6:30 AM.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_NFL_season

What a game, what an atmosphere 🙏 🙏 🙏

Tears on the field, tears in the stands. The first title for the Cleveland Browns in 62 years.