Football 101 for Women

It is no longer a guy thing. Yes, American football, rugby, soccer, and baseball have moved out of the status of almost being a monopoly of men. Girls are making a journey through these rough and tough paths just as guys would do, albeit in lesser numbers.

Being a girl, I myself am a huge soccer fan. Of course there are less of my breed, but who cares. Nevertheless, if girls out there love American Football, and don't want to be left out when guys have their NFL talk, here is something you can use.

#1: Okay ladies, brace yourselves, and first things first, get out of that 'girly' demeanor a bit. American football is not that bad. The basic thing you need to do is to get to know who your home team is. Get a lowdown on as much as you can about that. Who's in, who's out, the stars and the injured players, team standings, all of it.

#2: The next thing is to get loaded with information on the football season. This will create a good background for you to get into technicalities. So, the round up of the season is important as well as exciting. It is because, the teams are deciding if they would be featuring in the playoffs. Then the real fun begins, and you are on the edge of your seats to know which teams qualify, and if your team in there.

#3: Now, for the ground rules and fundamentals of the game. Normally, you would root for your home team, right? But no problem, you begin with choosing a team which you like. Then, the next thing here you can get a grip of is the NFL numbering system of jerseys.

1-9 are for Quarterbacks and Kickers, 10-19 for Quarterbacks, Receivers, and Kickers, 20-49 are for Running Backs and Defensive Backs, 50-59 are worn by Centers and Linebackers, 60-79 are reserved for Defensive Linemen and Offensive Linemen, 80-89 are usually worn by Receivers and Tight Ends, and finally 90-99 are for Defensive Linemen and Linebackers.

#4: Now, these terms and football related jargon is obviously going to seem like Greek and Latin. Hence, the time has come to know understand the positions and descriptions, and the overall gameplay along with the scoring. Yep, it is not an easy tackle there, still, keep at it. Know that there is the offensive flank and the defensive flank, and their functions.

#5: Offensive gameplay, as the name suggests, is the part of the game when either of the teams attack the opposing team. Linemen, running backs, receivers, tight ends, and the quarterbacks are the main offensive positions in football, which will be mentioned and described the most, and you would hear them the most with regards to attack.

Attack is unleashed either by running or passing. On the other hand, defense includes a team's ability of defending its goal or target. It is mainly divided in 4 types: rush, blitz, man to man defense, and zonal defense. The most common defensive positions are Linemen, Linebackers, Cornerbacks and Safeties.

#6: A few good terms to throw in, especially if you are watching a game with guys, would not be a bad idea, right? Some of these terms are, personal foul (fighting, abusing), false start (when anyone on the line moves before the ball goes into motion), horse collar (when a defensive player pulls another player by the collar of his pads), and many more. Getting your jargon and terminology right is one of the basic things.