Professional, college and high school football are national obsessions in the United States. Football has been the most popular sport in North America since the mid-1960s and its hold on the public shows no signs of abating. The idea behind the game of football is to run or pass the ball until you get it to your opponent's end zone. This takes athletic skill, planning and strategy, along with toughness and a willingness to compete for every inch you can gain.
Step 1
Put together two teams of 11 players. These two teams will compete with each other on a field that is 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. At both ends of the field are 10-yard end zones.
Step 2
Have one team kick off the ball to the opponent. The receiving team must catch the ball and will try to return it to the other team's end zone. Once the kickoff returner gets stopped, either by a tackle or after running out of bounds, the team with the ball goes on offense. It has four plays to advance the ball 10 yards. If it does, it keeps the ball; if it doesn't, it loses the ball. If the team has not gained 10 yards after three downs, it may choose to punt the ball to its opponent at a point much farther down the field and away from the kicking team's end zone.
Step 3
Place seven players on the line of scrimmage to start the play legally on offense. The center will snap the ball to the quarterback, who will either hand the ball off to a running back, keep it and run himself or pass it to a wide receiver or running back. If the play is a running play, the offensive linemen will push forward and attempt to open holes for the running back. If the quarterback is going to throw it, the offensive lineman will try to form a protective pocket around him.
Step 4
Put the ball in the end zone in order to score a touchdown. Scoring a touchdown is worth 6 points. Kick the ball through the uprights after the touchdown for an extra point. Run or pass the ball into the end zone after the touchdown for 2 points. If you don't get into the end zone, you can attempt a field goal worth 3 point by kicking the ball through the uprights.
Step 5
Play the game for 60 minutes. The team that has scored the most points after 60 minutes wins the game. If the game is tied at the end of 60 minutes, teams will play an overtime period to determine a winner. At the professional level, during the regular season the team that scores first in the extra session wins. In a postseason game, if a team scores a field goal on the first possession, the opponent will get a possession to either tie the game or win it with a touchdown. In college football, teams get the ball at the opponent's 25-yard line. If team A scores a touchdown on its possession, team B gets an opportunity to score and remain in the game. The game continues in this manner until one team scores more than its opponent when both teams get a possession. High school football uses the same system as college football, but some states use the 10-, 15- and 20-yard line as the starting point in the overtime period.
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