Your NFL Football Primer

Don't let them kid you.... the television isn't even on.

So, unless you've been living under a rock, you know Americans love their NFL games. With the Superbowl a little over a week away, I thought I'd take pity on those of you who know NOTHING about football and probably couldn't care less but want to be the cool guy or woman at that Superbowl party next weekend by bestowing a bit of football knowledge so you don't have that confused look on your face come gametime. Look for a second post just on the Superbowl itself later in the week if I get some time.

If you are already bypassing this post because you hate football, here's your heads up to skip the post later in the week as well!

But to all my friends who want to be "in the know", here's some NFL football trivia to dazzle, impress, mystify and generally wow your friends about American football that I've found on the web:

• American Football regular season starts each September and ends the following January - There are 17 games over an 18-week period and normally 3 pre-season games.

• There are 32 NFL teams currently and two conferences (NFC and AFC).

• Touchdowns are worth 6 points and the kick point after is worth, well, one point.

• Games are divided into 4 quarters of 15 minutes each and each team gets 3 timeouts per half.

• Each team is allowed 11 players on the field at one time, and a team has to advance 10 yards in four downs to advance to the next first down.

• A "safety" happens when the offense commits a foul in their end zone, fumbles the ball out of the end zone, or is tackled in their end zone. This gives the other team 2 points.

• As of 2023, overtime happens if the teams are tied at the end of 4 quarters. Overtime is an additional 15 minutes for regular season games.

If you've made it this far and go, yeah, yeah, yeah, I already knew all this stuff, then give yourself a cookie and a pat on the head. Here's some stuff you may NOT know:

• The oldest NFL team in history is the Arizona Cardinals - they were founded in 1898 and were originally the Chicago Cardinals.

• If you're a football mogul and want to buy a team, the cheapest would currently be the Cincinnati Bengals. The most expensive valued NFL franchise team that will cost you over 7.64 BILLION dollars would be the Dallas Cowboys.

• The coldest stadium in the NFL is Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. It's famous for historically cold games including the Ice Bowl in 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys when the temperature reached a chilly -13F with wind chills of -48F.

I can't feel my face but my team is winning

• The Arizona Cardinals have the most losses on record, and the Green Bay Packers have the most regular season wins on record - (Freezing out the opponent, no doubt).

• Arrowhead Stadium (Home of the Kansas City Chiefs) holds the Guinness World Record for the loudest open outdoor air stadium.

• The league's newest NFL team is the Houston Texans playing their first game in 2002.

• The highest number of points ever scored by an NFL team is 72 points (Redskins against Giants 1966).

• Tom Brady (The GOAT) holds the record for oldest quarterback to start an NFL game at the age of 45 years and 158 days.

• The fastest football player is currently Kenneth Walker from the Seattle Seahawks with a speed of 22.09 mph.

• Quarterbacks will lift their leg in the air to signal to their center to snap the football. It's typically used in loud stadiums where it's difficult to hear.

• The NFL takes its fines seriously - Deshaun Watson was fined five MILLION dollars for violating NFL conduct guidelines in 2022, and the Washington Commanders were charged $10M in 2021 for creating a hostile work environment of bullying, intimidation and reports of sexual harassment.

• The highest-paid player in the NFL currently is Dak Prescott at $60M annually with Josh Allen coming in second at $55M.

• The most popular Jersey number in the NFL is 26 and the Number 00 is no longer allowed. Quarterbacks choose between numbers 0-19, defensive backs 0-49, fullbacks, tight ends, halfbacks and wide receivers 0-49 and 80-89, linebackers 0-59 and 90-99.

• The most Super Bowl championship wins were my beloved Pittsburg Steelers at SIX! (Yeah, that other team, New England Patriots also have six, but who cares).

• Finally, dazzle your friends by informing them that American football's first game on record took place in 1869 in New Brunswick, New Jersey between Princeton and Rutgers. It was invented by Walter Camp as a variation of soccer and rugby.