Football season is almost upon us. Once again, the sports enthusiasts will rise to the occasion with their chants, rants and vibrant displays of school pride.
For those of us who don’t have the slightest clue about football, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the show, and hopefully nobody will find out.
Cal Memorial Stadium (Image source: sfgate.com).
With one of the craziest and fun-filled sports seasons of the academic year fast approaching, you might want to know a thing or two about college football to stay in-synch with the campus community (and to avoid shame).
Here are the basic things you need to know about the most celebrated sport in your American college-student demographic.
Intercollegiate football was established on the East Coast in 1869, but had spread to the rest of the states by the early-20th century.
The National Collegiate Athletics Association, or NCAA, sets the rules and organizes championship leagues for universities around the country.
The football division of the Pacific 12 Conference, or Pac-12 (pronounced “pack-twelve”), was founded in 1959, and includes football as one of its 22 regional sports competitions.
The 12 schools are divided in half, Pac-12 North and Pac-12 South. UC Berkeley (California) is grouped in the North division, along with our arch-nemesis, Stanford.
Cal vs. Stanford (Image source: dailycal.org)
The rivalry between Bears and Trees goes way back, which also manifests itself in the match between UC Berkeley and Stanford, known as the Big Game. This is the oldest college football rivalry in the West.
As per tradition, the winning team of the Big Game is awarded with the Stanford Axe, a long-standing symbol of victory. However, the Golden Bears haven’t seen a win against Stanford since 2009, when they beat the Cardinals with a close score of 34-28.
In 2013, Stanford beat Cal with a whopping score of 63-16, breaking the record for the most points scored in the history of the match. (If your soul isn’t cringing as you read this, then you need to reevaluate your capacity for school spirit and basic human sympathy.)
Girls can be into football, too (Image source: sfgate.com).
The rules are slightly convoluted, but as an aloof observer, this is all you need to know:
- The field is 300 yards (1 yard = approximately 3 feet). There are end zones and two goal posts on either ends of the field.
- The time length of each game is about one hour.
- To win, one team must score more points than the other.
- There eleven players on either team. It’s widely considered that the quarterback is the most important player of the team because it’s his job to pass the ball into play.
- If a player brings the football into the end zone at the side of the defending team, it’s called a touchdown. That’s six points.
- Field goals are scored by when the offensive team kicks the ball between the other team’s goal posts. If it goes through, that’s three points.
- After scoring a touchdown, the offensive team has the opportunity to score extra points. This is where everybody sits and watches as the offensive team kicks the ball between the defending team’s goal posts. If it goes through, it’s just one point.
- Players can also punt the ball during the game, which is kicking to cover distance.
- The offensive team gets four chances, or downs, to carry the ball 10 yards down the field. If they don’t move up at least 10 yards in those four downs, possession of the ball is given to the other team.
- To steal possession of the ball and to prevent the offensive team from advancing down the field, the defending team tackles the members of the other team. This is essentially the fun part of watching football.
The player positions of the game (Image source: sportingody.edublogs.org).
If you find it hard to keep up with the happenings of the game, there are many other aspects of the sporting event for you to enjoy.
Organized chants, energetic cheerleaders, over-priced beverages and spectacular half-time shows put on by the school marching band are features of the game that everybody can delight in/bear with.
Finally, here are the answers to some of those burning questions you never had the guts to ask:
1. What is the actual point of college football? College football exists so we can demonstrate school pride, get competitive, and go to awesome parties. If you aren’t participating in any of these things, it’s no wonder you never got into football. Now is the time to change that.
2. …So it’s like rugby? No. Never ask this question again.
3. My school’s team sucks, do I still have to root for them? YES. Always root for your school’s team. Always. It doesn’t matter if your team is the best in the league or the butt of every football joke. School pride is something everybody can agree on, and the least you can do is show a little support for the team representing your school on a national level.
Now that you know a thing or two about college football, you’ll be able to stay in the loop and evade the judgment of your fanatic friends. Who knows, maybe with this new enlightenment, you’ll even have some fun participating in one of the most rejoiced sporting frenzies in America.
Our beloved team mascot, Oski bear (Image source: dailycal.org)
If you’re insistent that football just isn’t your thing, I urge you to watch this video of one of the most amazing halftime shows ever recorded: the 2007 Cal vs. Washington State game.
If that doesn’t change your mind, maybe football isn’t for you, after all.