A giant stadium shaped like a bowl (referred to as “The Bowl” – the “Yale Bowl,” &c.), with a seating capacity of anything from 60,000 to 120,000. The bowl surrounds a field the playing surface of which is 100 yards long, divided by precise white parallel lines at intervals of ten yards. That is the stage as set for American football, and such stages are littered all over the United States.

The number of players a-side is eleven, but limitless reserves are permitted, to replace a tired or disabled man. The spin of a coin decides which side starts. The ball is placed in the centre of the field and kicked down the field by the side that won the toss. The side that has possession of the ball before being tackled and thrown “has the ball,” and the spot where forward progress is arrested decides the place for the scrum or “line-up.” The object of the game is to score a try, or touch down, for which six points are allowed, or to convert a touch­down into a goal, which counts one point more.

Now, the side in possession of the ball is allowed four “downs” in which to progress ten yards. Each time the side in possession attempts to run with the ball toward the enemy’s goal and is tackled and the ball “downed,” that counts one “down.” If at the end of four “downs” the side in possession has progressed ten yards or more, that side retains possession; otherwise it goes to the other side. The “line-up” is formed by two opposing lines of seven men with the four backs close at the heels of the “pack.” The seven face one another kneeling on one knee.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Harvard football team in training circa 1915. Photograph: Everett/REX_Shutterstock

The tactics to be pursued are deter­mined either by prior consultation, when the men form the “huddle,” standing in a bunch with arms-loosely flung around each other’s necks listen­ing to their captain, or else by a pre-arranged system of signals, which may consist of a sequence of numbers barked out by the side’s quarter-back with the precision and energy of a sergeant major.

The Game

The ball is placed in the centre of the “line-up,” then held by the centre man of the side in possession, and at the chosen moment is passed by him between his legs to the chosen back, who either runs with the ball towards the enemy’s goal or passes the ball to another back to do so. After each “down” the same preliminaries are all religiously gone through, which makes matters very tedious at times. The game is divided into four quarters, each of 15 minutes.

The fact that a player has not got the ball does not prevent him being bumped and thrown by the man on the other side, who may decide on this course so as to remove a potential danger. “Bumped,” by the way, is often a euphemism for much rougher (and illegal) action, and injuries are frequent; but then there are plenty of reserves.

The forward pass is most spectacu­lar, and if the ball is caught by one of the thrower’s own side and an advance made before being tackled, and the ball “downed,” well and good. The danger is that the wrong man may get the ball and that it is in his possession when the “down” occurs. As a rule, the four “downs” are not enough in which to progress ten yards, and the game resolves itself into endless “huddles” and line-ups, a backward pass to the back, and then the two teams are on their backs, or fronts, anywhere and anyhow but standing up.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Portrait of Walter Camp (1859 - 1925), ‘The Father of American Football’ who developed rules and scoring for the game of football, and coached for Yale University, 1920s. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

There its a multitude of officials who wear white – a referee, an umpire, lines­men with line and posts to measure the progress made, a field judge, a doctor, and a man who keeps racing on to the field with a tray of paper cups filled with water. Then there are assistants who pile up a stock of blankets to throw over the shoulders of the heated athletes as they leave the field because relieved or because of injuries.

It is the colleges who provide the teams, amateurs, and there has grown up an army of coaches, men with big salaries and big reputations, assisted by an army of helper coaches.

Then there are the cheer-leaders. These are young men in white armed with megaphones, who first inform the crowd what special “cheer” or “call” or “cry” or “yell” is wanted, and then, discarding the megaphone, lead the required chorus by a series of most vigorous jerkings with their arms and body, first to one side then the other, winding up with a leap into the air, a back lash with their heels, and a clapping of the hands to indicate approval. These cheers are given before the game and at every conceiv­able opportunity during the game. The home side has thus every incitement to further prowess or else a continuing balm. One felt sorry for Florida the day they played Harvard at Boston. The Florida men, or “Alligators,” had come such a long long way, and of course the majority of the spectators were for Harvard, the home side, and the cheer-leaders were ruthless.

The Crowd

The crowd at Boston had a substan­tial leaven of the labouring class, but there was nothing like the cap-and­-scarf brigade one sees at home. All wore clean collars, bright ties, and new-looking suits. Some degree of smart­ness was achieved, but closer inspection revealed the suits as decidedly shoddy, the variety to wear in the rain at one’s peril. There were many women and many children, young people, middle aged, and old people.



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