How to Watch Football With Your Boyfriend

Are you stuck watching football every Sunday? And sometimes Mondays and Thursdays? You're not alone. If your weekend quality time with your man is limited to your couch, here are some tips for making the experience a little more enjoyable for you. These tips will help you to understand the basics of football. Your man may be so impressed with your newfound knowledge that he won't want to watch the rest of the game.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Know who's playing. Not only should you know the two teams playing, but you should know their mascots. Bonus point if you know at least one star player from each team (note: the quarterback is usually the most well-known player).

2. Have a basic understanding of what's going on. Each team will have 11 men on the field at one time. If the team is on offense, they will be trying to score. There are several ways to score on offense. A touchdown is worth six points, and is scored when the football crosses into the end zone. After a field goal, the scoring team gets a chance to add points either by kicking the football through the upright (one point); or by again crossing the football into the end zone (two points). A field goal is worth three points, and is scored when the team cannot get into the end zone on a drive but kicks the football through the goal post.

3. The objective of the defense is to stop the opposing team from scoring any points. This is done by tackling the ball carriers, receivers and/or quarterback. Tackling the quarterback while he's still holding the ball is called a "quarterback sack." Points can also be scored on defense if the defense tackles a member of the opposing team in his own end zone. This is called a "safety" and is worth two points.

4. Each team will have at least four chances to score on each drive, unless they turn over the ball (see Step 5). On each change of possession, the offense will begin on first down. They will attempt to move the ball at least 10 yards. If they do, they will continue on first down. If they don't, they will fall to second down and XX, with "XX" being the number of yards they have left to reach a first down. So, for example, if the team moves the ball three yards on its first attempt, they will be at second and seven (because there are seven yards left to reach a first down). This continues until the team scores or they reach fourth down, at which point they have the option to punt the ball to give their opposing team more of a distance to travel in order to score.

5. A turnover occurs when the offense loses the ball. Examples of turnovers include an interception (when the quarterback throws the ball and a member of the opposing team catches it), a fumble (when the quarterback or another offensive player drops the ball) or a turnover on downs (when the offense fails to score or reach a first down on their fourth down.

6. A football game is filled with penalties, which are basically called when a member or members of a team break one of any number of rules of the game. If the offensive team commits the penalty, they'll be forced to move the line of scrimmage back a certain number of yards away from their goal line for their next play. If the defense commits the penalty, the opposing team will move a certain number of yards closer to their end zone.