American football is one of the most popular sports in the entire United States, and it is precisely that same popularity that has spread around the world. and it gets much stronger every time. The SuperBowl, which brings together the champion of the American Conference (AFC) against the champion of the National Conference (NFC), is by far the largest event held in the country for everything it involves.
SuperBowl LVIII will be played this Sunday, February 11 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and will feature the confrontation between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, the current champions. The winning team will win the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named in honor of legendary coach Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to the first two SuperBowl victories (it was first held in 1967).
The magnitude of the spectacle is seen in the average price of tickets, the advertisements during the game. Thus, it is estimated that this Sunday the Las Vegas stadium will receive more than 60,000 people and The event registered a television audience of 100 million viewers in every corner of the world.
One of the most relevant aspects that the SuperBowl brings with it and for which it is known internationally, It’s for the halftime showtime, in which a renowned artist livens up the wait and this year it will be none other than the American R&B singer, Usher, who will celebrate his 30 years of career at this great event.
How does the NFL work?
The National Football League (NFL) is made up of a total of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). In turn, these have four divisions each: north, south, west and east. The teams face each other from September to January in an 18-week regular season, in which a total of 17 games will be played with rivals from the same conference and division. (some against teams from the other conference based on rotations and according to results from the previous campaign).
When the regular season has come to an end, the winners of each of the four divisions of both conferences qualify for the playoffs., along with the three teams with the best records that did not win their division, known as wild cards, in each conference. A total of 14 teams are selected to advance to the playoff round and get closer to playing in the Super Bowl of the current season.
The playoffs are played in January and are organized in a direct elimination format, that is, the team that loses is eliminated immediately.. The teams face each other in the Wild Card, Divisional, and Conference Finals rounds, with the winner of the AFC and the winner of the NFC advancing to the Super Bowl, the crowning matchup.
Positions and roles of players on the playing field
The offensive unit that has the quarterback or field marshal (leader of the attack), running back or runner (his mission is to run with the ball), wide receiver (receives passes from the quarterback), tight end (hybrid between receiver and blocker) and offensive line (center -passes the ball to the quarterback-, guards -on the sides of the center- and tackles – external offensives -).
The defensive line is made up of the defensive line (with the defensive ends and the defensive tackles focusing on breaking up the offensive line and stop plays), linebackers (they stop runs, cover passes or pressure the quarterback) and defensive backs (cornerbacks and safeties seek to defend against passes).
The special teams are made up of the kicker (kicks field goals and kickoffs), punter (clears the ball from the opposing team) and the return specialist (kick returner and punt returner who return kicks and punts).
American football is played with two teams of eleven players on the field. The main objective is to score points by carrying the ball to the opposing team’s end zone or through field goals. The game is divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each and with a break in the middle (the well-known SuperBowl musical event that will take place today, Sunday, February 11). Despite this, the game usually lasts longer than established due to the pauses that occur in the match due to clock issues, review of plays and timeouts.
The offensive line will try to advance to score, the defense will stop these players, while the special teams come in when required (kicks, punts, etc.). With the kickoff, the offensive team has four attempts (downs) to seek to advance 10 yards, either by running or by passing. Each play has a time limit of 40 seconds to be executed. If you reach the rival team’s end zone, a touchdown (six points) is scored.
Once this is achieved, a new play can be made to score from the 2-yard line, seek an extra point with a kick from the 15-yard line or field goals (they give three points if the kicker manages to put the ball into the opponent’s goal posts). The latter can be attempted at any time.
The team with the most points at the end of the match wins. In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time, extra time is played under a sudden death format: The first team to score wins the game definitively.
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