Chances are that you will attend a Super Bowl (SB) party on Sunday, February 13. It is a big cultural event that draws most of America, not just fans of the two teams in the game – the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football Conference (NFC) and the Cincinnati Bengals of the American Football Conference (AFC). Some fans watch on TV just for the halftime show.
People who are new to the game – immigrants especially – participate in the food and the drinks but are often confused about the game. But only a few pointers can turn the most passive observer into a maniacal fan who will scream, curse, and cheer at multiple points of the game.
EASY FUNDAMENTALS ABOUT THE GAME
The first thing to understand is that American football is less complicated than it appears. All that the two teams are trying to accomplish is to move the ball past the “goal” of their opponent. There is no actual goal post, just a line in the field that marks the start of the field from the side of the opponent.
The area beyond the goal is called the “end zone.” The objective is to score a touchdown by putting the ball in the end zone. The end zone is like Canaan in the Bible. Teams aspire to get there to score a TD. But sometimes, they can see Canaan but cannot get there and have to kick the ball into the end zone. That kick fetches them only three points versus six (potentially 7 or 8) with a TD.
HOW THE GAME STARTS
The game starts when one side kicks the ball to its opponent. The side that wins a coin toss chooses whether to do the kicking and play defense or receive the kick and play offense. The receiving team designates one of their players, a speedy runner to run the ball back to the end zone of the kicking team. The effort to score on a run back fails often and the game starts wherever the receiver is tackled. Often, a kick ends in a Touch Back when the ball enters and stops in the end zone. With a touchback, the game starts on the 25-yard line of the receiving team
“FIRST AND TEN” MARKS THE BEGINNING OF EACH OFFENSIVE DRIVE
When play starts, the offense begins its drive, the journey to get the ball to the end zone of the opponent. It gets four chances to move the ball past the yellow line on TV. That line is 10 yards from where the offense began. Hence we get the terminology “1st and 10” meaning 1st attempt with 10 yards to go. “3rd and 4” means third attempt with 4 yards to go to the yellow line. When a team fails to make the 10 yards, it punts the ball to the opposing team so that it can now start its own drive in the opposite direction. The yellow line is actually only television, not on the field.
A PENALTY IS REALLY A FOUL
Soccer fans know that a penalty causes a ball to be kicked into the goal from a distance of 12 yards. In the NFL, a penalty is a generic name for fouls. The punishment for each foul is usually enforced in yards. No player wants to commit the type of foul that is so egregious that it results in his expulsion from the game
STORYLINES ENHANCE THE ENJOYMENT OF A FOOTBALL GAME
A Super Bowl is special because of the trophy that is at a stake. But the excitement before and during the game is often due to multiple storylines.
- The Bengals are the underdog team. They lost the Super Bowl in 1988 and have never advanced beyond the first game in the postseason since that loss. Joe Burrows, their QB is only in his 2nd The QB of the Rams, Matthew Stafford, is in his 13th year. The Rams last won a Super Bowl in 2000. They lost, with their current coach, in 2018
- The Bengals, the underdog, have the most African players, all Nigerians. Four of them — Hakeem Adeniji, Chidobe Awuzie, and Larry Ogunjobi will be on the field. J. Uzoma is doubtful due to injury and Larry Ossai has been injured all season. The Rams have only one Nigerian — Ogbonnia “Obo” Okoronkwo
- Selected players from both the Rams and Bengals won league honors for their play in 2021. Burrows, the Bengals QB is the Comeback Player of the Year, while Ja Marr Chase of the Bengals won Offensive Rookie of Year honors. Each team had at least three players that made the pro bowl (of the best players in the league).
- A mini plot in the game will be the contest between Ja Marr Chase of the Bengals and Von Miller of the Rams. Miller, a 32-year-old linebacker with 11 years of experience, will be trying to frustrate the attempt by Chase, a 21-year-old rookie, to catch the ball
- Stafford will be trying to establish his position as a leading QB in the league. This is his first season for the Rams who exchanged their previous QB with Detroit to get Stafford. He came into the league after a great career in college, but his record was poor at Detroit, a team that has lost most games every year for decades, regardless of who was QB
- The opposing head coaches know each other very well. Zac Taylor, head coach of the Bengals was an assistant under Sean McVay, head coach of the Rams when the Rams last went to the Super Bowl
- The Rams are only the second team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium. The NFL selects the SB location several years in advance and no home team had played in their home stadium until the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did in 2021
Come Monday morning, we will be discussing these storylines, the halftime show, and spectacular plays or flops at the game
