Guest blog post by Nolan
Football Facts and a
Sensational Story
Sensational Story
Are you ready to learn about football? Well, this blog post will tell you about football teams, scores and even includes a story I made! So take a seat and watch the game!
Facts and Scoring
There are 32 different teams in the NFL. NFL stands for National Football League. The teams are split into two parts, the AFC and the NFC. That is actually a division problem. 32 divided by 2 equals 16. So there are 16 teams in the AFC and 16 in the NFC. All teams have a stadium in a state. Two teams can have a stadium in the same state but just different stadiums in different places. For example, Texas has two stadiums. The Houston Texans have a stadium, and the Dallas Cowboys have a stadium in the same state, but just a different stadium location.
In a game, one team starts with the ball and the other team defends. The team with the ball has four downs or turns with the ball. If they get the ball past an orange marker, the first down marker, with a pass or a run, then they have four more opportunities with the ball. A touchdown is 6 points plus if the kicker makes it in the field goal, 1 more point. Instead of kicking for 1 more point, the quarterback can signal ‘Go For Two’ where the referee can put the ball on the 2-yard line and the team has an extra play to try to get into the touchdown zone, or goal, for two extra points. If a team is on their 4th down in their opponent's territory, they can try to kick the ball into the field goal for 3 points.
In a game, one team starts with the ball and the other team defends. The team with the ball has four downs or turns with the ball. If they get the ball past an orange marker, the first down marker, with a pass or a run, then they have four more opportunities with the ball. A touchdown is 6 points plus if the kicker makes it in the field goal, 1 more point. Instead of kicking for 1 more point, the quarterback can signal ‘Go For Two’ where the referee can put the ball on the 2-yard line and the team has an extra play to try to get into the touchdown zone, or goal, for two extra points. If a team is on their 4th down in their opponent's territory, they can try to kick the ball into the field goal for 3 points.
Since we are learning about make-your-own-ending stories in class, I created a made-up story you can finish. So here I go…
The Order Mix-up
By Nolan
One day I was at a football game. The two teams were the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots. My family and I got to the stadium in my mom’s shiny and white Toyota Sienna. We parked the car, unloaded a couple things, and my dad locked the car. The car went “Beep, beep!” as all cars do when they lock.
When we entered the Patriots stadium, Gillette Stadium, I was so excited I felt like I was going to explode.
We got into our seats and watched the start of the game. “Hike!” the quarterback yelled a few times.
Late in the first quarter, the Patriots scored by running the ball. The fans went wild like a pack of wolves. “Yay! Great! Yeah!” was what I heard. The kicker made the field goal and the crowd cheered some more.
In the start of the second quarter, the Falcons scored. There wasn’t much noise but I heard some faded wow’s and yeah’s In the crowd of people. They also made the field goal. The game was now tied, 7 to 7.
Then I saw one of those guys selling food and I got hungry. “Cotton Candy! Cotton Candy! Get your cotton candy for $1.50!” he yelled. I asked my dad, “Can I get something to eat?”
“Sure!” He answered, and brought me to the food court. Man, was there ever such a great view from up there.
When it was our turn, I told the cashier, “I think I will have a hot dog with ketchup, mustard, some fries, and an iced water.”
“Ok,” said the cashier.
My dad ordered a hamburger with dressing, lettuce, tomato, and an iced water.
They started making our food. I watched the game on the T.V. while I was standing there. After about two minutes, our food was ready. When I plopped down in my seat, I peeked at the scoreboard. Now the score was 14-28, and the Patriots were winning. I was so busy watching the game because they had scored that I didn’t look at my food. I took a big bite of my hot dog, or what kind of was my hot dog, when I figured out, they got my order wrong...
What happens next?
Write your own ending in the comments box!
Posts
Hi Nolan,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your very informative and educational blog post on football. It not only helped to confirm my understanding of the game basics was correct but also taught me something new. I did not know there could be two stadiums for two different teams in the same city. Fascinating! Thanks for teaching me a fun, football fact!
I also enjoyed reading your football story about the Falcons and Patriots. The way you write is very descriptive and conversational. I felt like I could hear you actually telling the story and feel your emotions, too. That means you made your story come alive for me which held my interest and made me want to keep reading more and more. Very well done!
You asked for people to contribute a possible ending to your order mix-up conundrum. Well, here’s one possible scenario:
The minute I bit into my hot dog, I knew something was terribly wrong. It was too squishy! I made a quick mental checklist of what my mouth was feeling. I thought to myself, “I can taste bun, check, ketchup, check, mustard, check, but oh no…. where’s my hot dog?” That super juicy, chargrilled, flavorful, ball park favorite was MIA, missing in action. I wanted to run back to the concession stand and get this ball park disaster fixed but the Falcons just scored back to back touchdowns. The score was now tied at 28 to 28. I said to myself, “I can’t possibly leave now. This game is too exciting and I don’t want to miss the winning play.”
So I quickly put my MIA hot dog out of my mind, continued to munch on my bun and condiments, and watched the Falcons beat all odds and win against the Patriots 31 to 28. Can you figure out how the Falcons earned the 3 winning points?”
Sincerely,
Barb (Nolan’s Grandma from Wisconsin)