If you’re learning American English, you can’t help but get sucked into American culture as well. And something that’s a really big deal in the United States is football. We’re not talking football as the rest of the world knows it—the one where players wear shin guards and only the goalie can touch the ball with his hands. We call that soccer here in the States. We’re talking American football, the sport where the players wear helmets and padding and crash into each other. That kind of football.
Football is especially important during the fall. The season for the National Football League (NFL) runs from September to December, though it’s not officially over until the Super Bowl in February. Thanksgiving is also a big day for football; some diehard football fans even plan their Thanksgiving dinners around NFL games. This year, there are three games scheduled for Thanksgiving Day (the 27th of this month). If English is your second language or you just aren’t very sports savvy, you might get a little lost when people start to throw football terms around. But don’t stress—here’s some football vocabulary to help you rehash the games with your friends.
Quarterback – a player on the offensive team who accepts the first pass of each play and leads his team
End Zone – a large rectangular area at each end of the field where goals can be scored
Touchdown – a score of six points that occurs when a player crosses the goal line while holding the ball, when a player catches the ball in the end zone, or when a defensive player recovers a ball in the opponent’s end zone
Extra Point – a score of one point that occurs after each touchdown if a player is successfully able to kick the ball through a Y-shaped goal post
Tackle – to jump on a player who’s holding the ball and forcefully bring him to the ground
Dead – the status of the ball after certain occurrences—including, for example, when the ball touches the ground or a player is tackled to the ground while holding the ball
Down – a period of play that begins with a kick or a pass and ends when the ball is dead
Field Goal – a score of three points that occurs when a player on the field kicks the ball through a Y-shaped goal post
Interception – a pass that is caught by an opposing player instead of by the player that the pass was intended for
Fumble – when a player loses control of the ball (drops it) before being tackled or scoring
Huddle – when players meet together on the field to discuss instructions for an upcoming play
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