Dawgs By Nature
Things happen every game in the game of American Football that we don’t even think about.
Like, how did the goalposts go from an “H” to the way they are constructed now? Where did hash marks come from? Why is it four downs to make 10 yards? How did the “quarterback” get its name? What exactly does the position “safety” imply? Why is it called a “touchdown”? Where did the moniker “coach” originate? How come the end zone is not part of the field of play, yet points are scored in this area?
RELATED: EVOLUTION OF GOAL POSTS
Things just evolve when it is a brand-new game. American Football began as a new sport, with new rules and borrowing lots of details from other sports. American Football came from the sport of rugby. Rugby evolved from the sport of soccer, which has always been called “football” and still is.
When rugby began, it took some of the techniques, terminology, rules, field elements, equipment, and player standards from soccer and customized the game into something new and different, yet very familiar to its father sport.
Then, when American Football was first invented, the exact same thing happened. That game was a carbon copy of rugby except for some changes. It used terminology and aspects from both sports. Things such as punt, interception, tackle, kickoff, halftime, goal line, goal post, cross bar, among others, are all soccer terms.
But unlike rugby, American Football sets up a line of scrimmage, with a set number of “downs”1 to make so much yardage, then a new set of downs is achieved, and so on. The sport gave one team possession even if it failed on the previous down.
American Football has 11 men on the field because soccer does. American Football keeps the official time on the wrist of a referee on the field because soccer does. American Football has a kickoff to start the game and after every score, because soccer does. Up until 1950, American Football only allowed three substitutes per game because that was what soccer did.
Even positions that players are called have evolved from both soccer and rugby.
Soccer has positions labeled fullback and halfback. Rugby uses centre, flanker, halfback, and fullback. All have been used in American Football at some point.
In today’s game, each offensive play begins with the snap from the center. He hikes the ball between his legs to the quarterback, and then the play begins.
For one, the word “center” does not appear in the NFL rules handbook. That is what we all call the position, but the league does not. It never has. The “center” is what the position is called in college football, because he is located in the center of the line.2
In the NFL, this position is labeled “the snapper.” That explains why, on a PAT or field goal attempt, out trots “the long snapper” to hike the ball back to the place holder....
