Eighteen players per team? End zones that stretch for 20 yards? Rebound nets? Football can mean lots of different things. (And don’t even get us started on football-called-soccer.)
The NFL season is just around the corner. Can’t wait? Here’s some cool facts about other NFL-like sports.
American football
Teams: The famous National Football League has 32 teams from coast to coast — Seattle to Miami.
Ball: Brown with pointy ends.
Field: 100 yards long, plus two 10-yard end zones.
Players on the field per team: 11.
Time: Four 15-minute quarters.
Scoring: Six points for a touchdown, three for a field goal, two for a safety or two-point conversion, one for an extra-point kick.
Biggest event: The Super Bowl, played in February.
Weirdest rule: Calling back-to-back timeouts is illegal and results in a 15-yard penalty.
Australian rules football
Teams: The Australian Football League has 18 teams, including the Brisbane Lions, Greater Western Sydney Giants and West Coast Eagles.
Ball: Red or yellow with rounded ends.
Field: Oval-shaped and both wider and longer than an NFL field.
Players on the field per team: 18.
Time: Four 20-minute quarters.
Scoring: There are four goal posts on each end: two tall central posts and two shorter outer posts. Instead of running or passing the ball for a score, you kick the ball. Kicking it through the center posts gets you a goal, worth six points; kicking it through the outer posts gets you a behind, worth one. You can also score a behind (one point) by running the ball between any of the posts.
Biggest event: The Grand Final, played in late September or early October.
Weirdest rule: Any player can kick the ball to a teammate at any time — and do so on the run. That’s why many Aussie rules football players become American football punters.
Canadian football
Teams: The Canadian Football League has nine teams with cool names like Eskimos, Blue Bombers and Tiger-Cats.
Ball: Like the NFL ball but with a white stripe on each end.
Field: 110 yards long, plus two 20-yard end zones.
Players on the field per team: 12.
Time: Four 15-minute quarters.
Scoring: Six points for a touchdown, three for a field goal, two for a safety or two-point conversion, one for a point-after-touchdown kick and one point for a rouge (see below).
Biggest event: The Grey Cup, played in November.
Weirdest rule: A rouge, or single point, is scored when the kicking team punts the ball through the end zone, kicks the ball through the end zone on a missed field goal try, or when the receiving team’s ball carrier chooses not to return a punt or missed kick out of the end zone.
Indoor American football
Teams: The Arena Football League has eight teams, including the Arizona Rattlers, Orlando Predators and LA Kiss — named for the rock band.
Ball: Like the NFL ball but with a diagonal stripe.
Field: 50 yards long, plus two 8-yard end zones.
Players on the field per team: Eight.
Time: Four 15-minute quarters.
Scoring: Six points for a touchdown; four for a drop-kicked field goal; three for a normal field goal; two for a safety, two-point conversion or drop-kicked extra-point kick; one for a regular extra-point kick.
Biggest event: The ArenaBowl, played in August.
Weirdest rule: There are rebound nets in the back of the end zones, and a pass that bounces off the net is a live ball — meaning you can still catch it and score.
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