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The final preparations for the Super Bowl are underway: join us!
PHOTO: CAITLIN O'HARA/ REUTERS
The Super Bowl rises on Monday night.
The final of the American NFL, the best league in American football.
One of the largest single sport events in the world.
And perhaps also one of the most complicated.
At least for non-experts.
Do you only understand chicken wings, snacks and cola during football talk in the office?
Have you arranged to meet at a Super Bowl party and actually have no idea what it's all about?
Or do you want to shine with specialist knowledge at work on Monday without having to laboriously deal with something you don't feel like doing?
Then we have something for you here.
The basics
At the Super Bowl (Monday morning, 12:30 a.m., live ticker SPIEGEL.de), the first thing is of course that two teams identify the new champion.
This year the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs meet.
In American football, however, the focus is very much on the quarterbacks, the playmakers and most important players.
Granted, the rules are complex.
If you talk to people who have a basic interest in trying out the sport but don't stick with it, that's usually the reason.
And these strange terms that are often simply taken from English.
The most important things at a glance:
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As in soccer, each team of eleven players plays football on a grass pitch.
The differences start with the square being littered with lines and numbers.
At the long ends of the square there are colored areas called end zones.
In a way, oblong gates hang overhead.
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A shot through the field goal bars scores either one or three points
Photo:Jeff Roberson/AP
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A football game lasts 60 minutes, divided into four quarters, and can be quite lengthy.
Time is stopped when a point is scored, when you run the ball out of bounds or when the quarterback makes a bad pass.
It continues when a player is knocked down on the field.
There are always breaks, which is also related to the structure of the game.
Expand sectionTeams
The teams are allowed to include up to 53 players in their squads, which are mainly divided into two groups: offensive and defensive.
First the one offensive takes on the one defensive, then they swap.
There are also the so-called special teams, including the kicker for field goals.
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Basically, it's about which team manages to move the most steadily across the field and also end up scoring points.
Each team gets four tries to cover the distance of ten yards.
If it succeeds, the team gets four new attempts.
The ball may be thrown (but only once forward) and carried.
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The lines on the field are painted in five-yard increments
Photo: IMAGO/Joe Camporeale/IMAGO/USA TODAY Network
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Every game starts with a kickoff.
The so-called kicker shoots the ball from the ground to the opposing team.
After that, the offensive is about getting to the opponent's end zone, and the defensive is about preventing it.
After every point there is another kickoff.
If teams have not covered ten yards to try again in three tries, they usually choose to punter the ball back to the opposing team.
Otherwise there would be a change in possession at the respective point.
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In the best case, points are scored by touchdowns, i.e. by running the ball into the opponent’s end zone – there are six points for this.
Shooting the ball through the reversed goals after a touchdown scores another point.
After a touchdown you can also try to score another goal instead of one, for which you get two points.
If you shoot the ball through without a previous touchdown, that makes three points - the so-called field goal.
There is another way to score points: If a player is brought down in their own end zone, the opposing team gets two points (safety).
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For a touchdown you have to get into the end zone with the ball
Photo: IMAGO/Kirby Lee / IMAGO/USA TODAY Network
Expand areaPenalties
There are also penalties.
For example, if a player is pushed or otherwise hindered when catching a pass.
Even if you hold the opponent for too long or tear him down by the collar or the grille of the helmet.
When tackling, you are also not allowed to attack an opponent's head.
Unnecessary hardness is also prohibited - even with the sack, tearing down the opposing quarterback.
Die-hard football fans and even journalists have a hard time with the rules.
Some may know that a little bit from the Bundesliga, when the handball rule is adjusted again.
In football, fouls and penalties are often the cause of heated debates.
Penalties are indicated by one or more of the seven referees throwing up yellow flags.
There is also video evidence, for which referees in New York are, so to speak, in the counterpart to the football basement in Cologne.
There are many paradoxes in the NFL rulebook that even football professionals don't understand.
US broadcasters hire their own rules experts.
So don't feel bad and stay confident in the conversation with the help of our Smalltalk glossary of the most important rules decisions:
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Explanation:
Player runs into the end zone.
Smalltalk:
»Great touchdown.
But for me, nothing comes close to 2018's »Philly Special«.
I hope the Eagles dare another trick play today.”
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Explanation:
Player shoots the ball through the reversed goals.
Small talk:
»You can do it that way.
But Justin Tucker would have hit him in his sleep.”
Open areaPass Interferience
Explanation:
A player attempting to catch the pass is illegally interfered with.
Small talk:
"I don't see how he could have been disturbed if the ball couldn't have been caught anyway."
ExpandareaFumble
Explanation:
A player lets the ball fall out of hand with or without impact.
Small talk:
"Slightly arrogant of the player not to hold the ball in his outside hand or with both volumes."
Expand areaRoughin the Passer
Explanation:
It's actually allowed to attack the opposing quarterback, but
sometimes
not too much.
»Roughin the Passer« means something like: »Rough behavior towards the passer«.
Smalltak:
»Yes, of course, with Tom Brady it would never have been a flag.
The umpires were too in awe of him.”
AreaOffside/Neutral Zone Infraction/False Start unfold
Explanation:
When the two lines of big strong men face each other at the beginning of each play, premature movements often occur.
There are different penalties for this.
Small talk:
»With the reaction time, I would like to see the guys at the start of a Formula 1 race.«
The position descriptions can also be a bit confusing, as they were simply taken from English during the football hype in Germany.
The most important
offensive positions
:
Quarterback = Playmaker
Wide receiver = pass receiver
Tight End = Stronger pass receiver
Running back = runner
Offensive line (the big men in the front row) = quarterback protector
Some positions are more important than others, many are not really covered in the TV broadcast anyway.
That's why you can limit yourself to the most important positions on the
defensive
:
Cornerback = pass defender
Safety = last man just in case
Defensive End (also: Pass Rusher) = Quarterback hunter
Linebacker = hybrid of everything
Show-off knowledge to surprise friends:
»The Eagles really developed with Jalen Hurts.
The already strong running game has become unpredictable because of him.«
Or also:
»The Chiefs are creating a new dynasty with Patrick Mahomes.
The clever staggering of his contract leaves room for strong teammates.«
The commercial breaks
One of the most important things about a Super Bowl broadcast is the interruptions.
That's because there are a(eeee)er many that make the NFL a(eeeee)er lot of money.
Accordingly, stars cavort not only on the square, but also in the advertising blocks.
A list of the best Super Bowl commercials can be found here.
Poser knowledge:
"A 30-second commercial has always cost more than five million dollars in recent years, and the trend is rising!" Or:
"I hope I don't have to cry at the commercials again like I did in 2015. The Always commercial about the self-image of girls and women touched me very much and is my all-time favourite.«
The Snacks
As essential as advertising is for NFL business, snacks are just as important for viewers.
Every year there are studies on how many people eat how many tons of nachos and how many hectolitres of cola they drink.
Showoff Knowledge:
"
Did you know that the New York water company can tell when the game is halftime and when it's over by looking at the difference in consumption during a Super Bowl?"
The actual event
A lot of people probably watch the Super Bowl because of halftime.
The NFL has created what is probably the largest sub-event in sports history: the famous halftime show.
Superstars are kind of queuing up to perform there.
In recent years, musicians such as Dr.
Dre, Eminem, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez or Justin Timberlake.
This year it's Rihanna's turn.
But almost certainly not alone, the artists were never really that.
There are usually special guests, betting providers in the USA are betting on Jay-Z this year.
Of course, a huge secret is kept about it, at a press conference before the show, a moderator asked Rihanna almost provocatively only about topics that had nothing to do with the halftime show.
Showoff knowledge:
"It's crazy that the artists perform on one of the world's biggest stages, but don't get paid."
And Tom Brady?
Many people associate football with one man in particular: Tom Brady.
The now 45-year-old is considered the greatest quarterback in history, Brady won the Superbowl seven times, six times with the New England Patriots, and in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the current season, Brady withdrew from the resignation and thus probably caused the marriage to top model Gisele Bundchen.
To put it mildly, there is not only understanding for this in social networks and in the football bubble.
Brady and Bundchen should have agreed beforehand that Brady would take care of the kids more after a triumph with the Buccaneers.
Bragging Knowledge:
»It's almost tragic for Brady that he only resigned now.
It was clear that with the Buccaneers there was hardly a chance of winning the title after the numerous departures.«
Why are we actually interested in this?
The football hype in Germany has been growing steadily since ProSieben/Sat.1 started broadcasting the regular season in 2015.
There are more and more fans in Germany, especially in the social networks there is a large community with pictures of snack stadiums and jerseys that are much too big.
Whatever you want to think of it.
Last year, for the first time, an NFL game took place on German soil – in Munich.
More games are planned for this year and the years to come.
So the moments in which you can score points with knowledge about football during conversations at work are not likely to decrease.
Show-off knowledge:
»Say, the game is now decided.
Can we switch?
Among other things, the Discovery Channel is running the ›Puppy Bowl‹ with 100 puppies who compete against each other as ›Tom Barky‹ or ›Taillon Hurts‹.«