Unlike soccer, in pointy ball, you kick off to the other team. So the team that receives the kick is the one that really gets the ball. And if you elect to kick off in the first half, the other team gets to choose whether to kick off or receive in the second half--so they start with the ball both halves. (But there is also a choice for the coin-flip winner to "defer," which means they get to choose for the second half instead of the first.)
Because you are giving possession to your opponent. Yes, they could try an onside kick (where the kicking team recovers the ball). But it's rare and difficult - usually reserved for desperate situations. Now, if someone could please explain what "Defer" means ... Edit: NM, socal explained it - I should read the whole thread before typing my post.
Before they changed the extra-points rules a few years back, it was possible to line up as if going for 2, and then, if the play was not going well. dropkick for 1. I miss that weirdness.
To say nothing of what actually constitutes a catch. How many football movements can dance on the head of a pin?
Let's at least stick with real sports as opposed to 'chess where the players can spit and scratch' for 162 meet ups a year.
The infield fly rule is actually fairly easy. Try batting out of order for extreme levels of confusion. i am a baseball umpire, and I keep the batting out of order procedure in my notebook in my pocket every game. It has a lot to do with proper and improper batters and WHEN it occurs and WHO notices.
Please don't . Trying to explain that one to someone who doesn't understand baseball is a blooming nightmare!
Technically, after a touchdown, the team who did not score gets the option of who gets the ball next. And circling back the conversation, if a team does not present captains before the game at the appropriate time, then they automatically forfeit the coin toss.
Just once in my life I want to see a successful fair catch kick. Is this still true in any of the American rules? I know there used to be (still is?) something like that in the CFL, but I’d never heard of that south of the border.
I'd heard about it so looked it up. It's apparently still on the books. Going way back, captains used to meet up quickly to discuss what the intention was. My guess is that in the early game 100 years ago teams didn't punt as much or as well so it was an advantage to kick off and pin the other team on their own side. Obviously not really a thing anymore.
Personally, if I were involved in gridiron football, I would want to have the first possession of ball in the second half. That way, you could theoretically score on the last possession of the first half and then get the ball back immediately for another scoring drive to begin the second half. That’s what I do on the Madden football video game anyway.
That's why deferring is probably done 80% of the time these days (if not more). Every now and then you'll see a team decide to take the ball in the first half, I assume to set the tone for the game (e.g. hoping to score early).
I've seen it happen at the high school level. And last Friday, there was a high school playoff game with two touchdowns in the last 30 seconds of the first half.
To be fair, before I saw this video, I never heard of this and would have been just as confused as these guys were. I just finished my 19th season doing radio play by play for high school football. Now that I am prepared to call it correctly, it has yet to happen.
I learned about the Perfect Game in baseball. No hits, no walks no nothing...at least on one side. So therefore if both teams were having an equally "Perfect Game" then a perfect perfect game is one where nothing happens. I also learned Baseball cannot end in a tie, so I guess the ultimate perfect game is one where nothing happens and it goes on forever. To be fair...I've seen 12u KFTM that seem to go forever.
And then there's the "immaculate inning," in which a pitcher throws only nine pitches, striking out all three batters.
There's an episode of the great show Sports Night in which they try to figure out whether taking 10 wickets in cricket is a good thing.
I have a vague recollection of unintentionally running a reverse one time when my ARs lined up wrong and I didn't catch it. Needless to say I was very out of position most of the first half. I'd look for my AR and they would be right behind me ...