Superbowl XLI

Once every year a sports event comes around that creates more hype in the USA than the Sydney Olympics ever did here in Australia. The Superbowl is the equivalent of the biggest Grand Final you can ever imagine taking place here. It is the pinnacle of the sport known as American Football or “Gridiron” played in the competition called the National Football League (NFL).

It is a strange sport with a lot of stops and starts, but don’t be so fast to dismiss it based on that alone. I say if we dismissed everything we didn’t understand we would be very unintelligent. Not that knowing about this sport will make you more intelligent, just wait until you know a bit about how it’s played.

I’ll break it down for you:

• The attacking team has four chances (called downs) to successfully advance 10 metres (or yards). Once 10 metres have been attained the attacking team gets another 4 chances.
• The Quarterback is the playmaker in the attacking team. He calls the plays so that all the other players know what to do, where to run and who will ultimately get the ball.
• Players without the ball are allowed to protect their team-mate with the ball by pushing opposition players out of the way. However they are not allowed to grab and pull players to the ground. Grabbing at the facemask is a definite no no and will bring a penalty.
• A “Touchdown” is scored when the ball is carried or caught in the “end zone.” A Touchdown is worth 6 points. The kicker can score an extra point from a field goal attempt. Extra two points can be scored if another touchdown can be completed in one play. Most teams go for the relatively easy option of a field goal.

That’s about all you need to know when watching the game. Everything else will come with time. I was willing to put in the time. Superbowls have been watched many times and with the advent of cable television the access is even more prevalent.

Now that we have two former AFL stars punting in the NFL I have two teams to follow. Ben Graham came from Geelong and is playing for the NY Jets while Sav Rocca from North Melbourne has just signed a contract for the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately though, punters only make a brief appearance in a game. If they make 5 or more punts then the team is usually going poorly.

I have jumped on the Jets bandwagon and am keen to at least watch some of their games when the next season starts around august this year.

For the record, in Superbowl XLI The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29 – 17 at a rain soaked Dolphins Stadium in Miami. Colts Quarterback, Peyton Manning, was declared most valuable player.