The ultimate guide to understanding Football (not soccer)!

Paris Sports Report with George Le Gresley

My whole family loves football, my wife and daughter played touch, my son played tackle up to university and I played and currently referee football So, let’s talk about football! Football’s origins come from Rugby; like hockey, basketball and lacrosse, the game's origins came from Canada in the early 1860’s. Montreal’s McGill University introduced the game to Harvard University in 1861. Harvard then brought it down south and introduced the game to other schools, made changes to the rules and from that point the game evolved to be the “American Pastime”

Now for those who hate or don’t understand the game because it looks complicated, it kills too many weekend afternoons, let me try to simplify things for you, football is like a play with many roles and acts. Plays are called by the Quarterback where each player has a role to play. The big guys on offence are the lineman, whose job is to 1 follow their designated play moves to create a gap for a ball carrier to run through or b) to protect the quarterback from the defence so that he doesn’t get tackled and throw the ball.

Next are the running backs, who tend to be the fast guys who are not necessarily big guys who run with the ball. The receivers on the team, are also fast guys who run patterns to catch the ball. Patterns you might hear about post (they run towards the goal posts), corner (they run toward the point where the sideline and goal line intersect), or outs (they run down the field and make a 90 degree turn to the sideline). Then is the guy you see the most on TV, the Quarterback who after taking the ball from the centre starts every play, to move the ball down the field to eventually score. Finally, there are kickers who kick for points or punts when the offense fails to score or make a first down.

The defense’s role is to stop the offense from moving the ball down the field and scoring. The defensive line’s role is to tackle the ball carrier or the quarterback with the ball Behind the line of scrimmage are the linebackers and defensive backs who cover pass receivers and finally there is the safety, who plays a bit deeper from the line of scrimmage and assists in covering the offensive players. The defense also has plays covering the offensive players and to sack the quarterback.

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Plays are called by the Quarterback where each player has a role to play. The big guys on offence are the lineman, whose job is to follow their designated play moves to create a gap for a ball carrier to run through or to protect the quarterback from the defence so that he doesn’t get tackled and throw the ball. This is a photo was taken at a PDHS Football game in the fall of 2023. Photo credit Garth Chivers

Touchdowns can be scored by both the defense and offense and happen when the tip of the ball crosses the goal line to earn six points. Convert points or “points after touchdowns” can be scored by a place kick through the uprights in the end zone for one point or a ball carrier crossing the goal line with the ball for two points. Safety points don’t occur often and is scored when the offensive player is tackled with the ball in their own end zone. Only in Canada is the “Rouge” or safety point scored. This happens when the ball on a missed field goal or a punt goes into the end zone and isn’t run out of the end zone and the kicking team earns a point. The origins of the word Rouge is French for red, which officials at one time signaled this score with a red flag. Safeties/Rouges are controversial with many fans and there are pros and cons to it. Personally, I like it, as scoring that single point can add some dramatic situations in a football game.

American vs. Canadian Style Football

I like them both because they are different styles of football and for the same reasons I like baseball and softball. Both games have the same goal to score points and win. One big difference is the field dimensions, whereas in Canada the field and end zone is much larger Having a longer end zone gives the offence more room to score as opposed to a 10 yard end zone, where the offense has less room to play in.

In Canada we have 12 players on the field, all receivers and backs are allowed to move before the start of a play and the ball is slightly larger, closer to a rugby ball The US has 11 players a side, only allowing one player to move in the backfield Other than those big differences it’s football

So, here’s what I suggest. Try watching a live game. Commit to watching a Brantford Bison game, or a Paris High school game, or go big to Hamilton, Toronto, or Buffalo for a game. It’s a fun game to play or watch. Remember, if you see a big guy refereeing, wearing number 75, he never misses a call

Lawn Bowling season underway – new clubhouse is coming together!

The Paris Lawn Bowling seas is officially underway. Members gathered on June 4th to kick-start another season and the excitement is growing as the new clubhouse is starting to form. The Paris Lawn Bowling Club plays every Tuesday and Thursday from 7 pm to 9 pm. New members are always welcome – no experience required. The club promises, if you’ve never bowled before, they’ll give you a quick tutorial and have you on the greens playing in 10 minutes! For more information on the club or how to register, visit them online

Photo credit to Evan from the County of Brant