Since the announcement of the game between Patriots and Raiders of the NFL in Mexico, football fans went crazy and tickets for the game at Estadio Azteca practically flew off the shelves, but like in everything (because in Mexico we are not bandwagoners), surely there will be a large sector who just see it as a bunch of guys hitting each other.
So that this doesn't happen to you and you can make the most out of your ticket, or in case you want to show off to your friends while enjoying the game in your preferred spot, we leave you this little guide that will make you look like an NFL expert.
The Players
The first thing to understand is that the players are not just "good" (well, they are, but there's a reason for it), there are a total of 22 players per team, divided into two: 11 on offense and 11 on defense. Don't worry, you don't need to know all their names.
In this case, there are two names to memorize, Derek Carr and Tom Brady, who are the quarterbacks for the Raiders and Patriots, respectively. What is a quarterback? He is the most important man and the star of the team, also known as the quarterback, he is in charge of orchestrating the game and all offensive plays go through his hands.
The Time
An NFL game consists of four quarters of 15 minutes each, that is, one hour. But beware, in American football, time is effective; that is, every time the ball goes out, there is an incomplete pass, a play is reviewed, there is a change on offense, or the two-minute warning arrives, the clock stops, so the game ends up lasting from three to four hours.
The Field
To start, referring to the field of play as "the field" is not the best option, in the case of American football, you will look better in front of your friends if you say: the gridiron. Understanding this, it is also good to know that the gridiron measures 100 yards in the regular field and 17 more in each end zone, inside these zones are the goalposts, yes, those that look like a huge letter "Y".
What is it about?
Knowing the above, we can move on to the fundamental question, why do they all hit each other when the play starts? The answer is simple, the objective of American football is to reach the opponent's end zone, so each team has a defense and an offense, although it sounds logical, we will repeat it so that it is clear, when you are on offense the idea is to reach your opponent's end zone, when you play on defense the objective is to prevent the other team from passing.
How to Get There?
The team on offense has four opportunities to advance 10 yards, every time they advance 10 yards they get four new opportunities and so on, until they reach the promised land or fail to advance.
When a team reaches the end zone it is called a touchdown and they score 6 points, with this, they earn the right to try for an extra point, which they will get if they score a field goal, but beware, if they need more points the offense can attempt a conversion. What is a conversion? Instead of kicking for a field goal, the team lines up on the 5-yard line and tries to score again, if they succeed they get an extra 2 points.
Although scoring a touchdown is the main objective, teams don't always make it to the other end of the field, but as they get closer they can score a field goal, this happens when they run out of opportunities and are close enough to the end zone, when they succeed, the kick is worth 3 points.
Now you know the basics to fully enjoy the game, remember to identify the fans around you who support the same team, so that in case you don't understand something, you can copy their expressions.
Attend "Raiders vs Patriots" NFL Mexico! *Paying with any card