Football match

“ Fast! it eclipses other games in this respect, as football outdoes croquet in point of roughness. Never a second to lose, never a moment to spare—an opportunity once lost is gone forever—and even one little slip, one miss, one fumble, is oftentimes the loss of a match. ”

“ The evolution of football, though, has necessitated not only a revision of the general system of play, but an entire rearrangement of the whole principle of the game—a complete alteration in the distribution of the players, as well as in the composition of the eleven. In the old times there were infinitely more opportunities for the exhibition of individual skill, and in some respects perhaps an Association match of thirty years ago was more interesting to watch for that particular reason. ”

“ Our forefathers, however, must have played the game in rather a rude and undignified fashion, if we can believe certain authorities—actual brute force and superiority in point of weight being the indispensable concomitants of a successful side. The matches, too, must have been played utterly regardless of science. Just fancy a couple of crack teams meeting on a heather-covered field, with the "hailing spots" about a mile and a-half apart, and playing a match lasting four or five hours! Could any of our young men nowadays stand such rough-and-tumble work? ”

“ In public-school football no animosities are left, no matter how keenly contested the game. Victor and vanquished dine together after the match, the best of friends, and the home team escort their visitors to the railway station. How well I recollect Paul coming home on Saturday evenings about eight o'clock after a victorious match; his firm, quick step, and the eager joy that shone in his (p. 036) face! His mother and I often watched the games at Dulwich, and he would go over every phase of the play with us, inviting comments and contributing his own. ”

“ The question in dispute was the payment of players. Football was originally played by men for the sheer love of the game, and by men who were comparatively well-to-do, and who could give the time to play it; but with the increasing popularity of the game it became the pastime of all classes of the people, and clubs began to grow rich by “drawing big gates,”—that is, large numbers of spectators, frequently many thousands in number, paid for the privilege of witnessing the match. ”

“ Happily it is not required. It has been found that a match lasting an hour and a-half, with the ball ever and anon passing in front of one on a level field, is quite enough, even for the strongest back, half-back, or forward. ”

“ Players wearing nails, bars, or studs on their boots, other than as provided in the rules, it is enacted "shall be prohibited from taking further part in the match;" and in the common interests of the players, and with a view to minimize the risks of the game, this power should be firmly exercised. A ball touching a linesman or referee is not dead. ”

“ The description of the professional football matches, attended by tens of thousands of spectators, none of whom will enlist, makes a decent man ardently wish that under a rigid conscription law the entire body of players, promoters, and197 spectators could be sent to the front. ”

“ From the other entrance to the gridiron the visitors enter and they seem every bit as strong and fit to maintain the undefeated record which they also boast this year. Footballs are produced, the two teams form in large circles in different parts of the field and begin to toss the ovals about in rapid succession, while the enthusiasts in stands and bleachers cheer their heroes till it seems as if their throats would be insufficient for the strain which one or the other side, if not both, will have to bear through the game that is not yet begun. ”

“ Again we start our march toward their goal, far up the field. It is still a fight, every inch of it, but the visitors are playing now solely to save the name of their Alma Mater from disgrace. Defeat is certain, but the spirit of the team inspires its men to keep playing the game with a zeal that cannot but rouse our admiration. Occasionally their brace gives them possession of the ball and once their feared, fleet runner brings back a punt for a thrilling dash of 30 yards, but he cannot play the whole game alone to a successful conclusion. ”

“ How many times it occurs that, when the line has been successfully assaulted and a runner penetrates into the enemy's territory, one of his comrades who has also broken through is able to grasp the man with the ball and carry him out of the arms of the tacklers into the enemy's country still further! It is team play. ”

“ The start of a football game is most exciting; not alone for the players, but for the spectators as well. Every one is keyed up in anticipation of the contest. The referee's whistle blows; the ball is kicked off—the game has begun.
Opponents now meet face to face on the field of battle. What happens on the gridiron is plainly seen by the spectators, but it is not possible for them to hear the conversations which take place. ”

“ What did they care about the ball being fifty yards off? Not a straw, so long as they tackled and kept each other away from it. "That's not football," says one, "it is horse play." "Never mind about football in a Cup Tie," says another, "let the heaviest team win; go into the fellow." "Oh! gentlemen, gentlemen, fie, fie, Association Football is an amateur game, and as long as I play it," said the captain, "there shall be no cruelty done on either side."
Little did the spectators know the real cause of the inordinate tackling done by Bob and Charlie, but the secret soon came out. ”

“ Leaping cheerleaders, a brassy band, and the Dixie Darlings are a part of the wonderful game of football. It’s a rich guy being chauffeured to the stadium gate, and a frightened boy shinnying the fence and darting for the end zone seats. ”

“ It’s a scramble for tickets, playing parlays, wide-eyed youngsters getting autographs, a fist fight in the stands, second guessing, banquets, icy rains, color guards, fumbles, goal line stands, homecoming queens, and the typical mutt running onto the field attracting everyone’s attention. ”

“ There was one team a few years ago whose captain used to deliberately place the ball just inside the line on the ground, as though only thoughtlessly leaving it there, and then spring in, crowding the end rusher three or four feet from the touch line, while a running half, who was well started, came tearing up the field, seized the ball, and usually made a long run before he was stopped by the astonished halves. ”

“ If from any cause during the progress of the game the bar is displaced, the referee shall have power to award a goal if in his opinion the ball would have passed under the bar if it had not been displaced. The ball is in play if it rebounds from a goal post, crossbar, or a corner flagstaff into the field of play. The ball is in play if it touches the referee or a linesman when in the field of play. The ball is out of play when it has crossed the goal line or touch line, either on the ground or in the air. ”

“ Assuming that a team had the lead in the game, if on the third down that team was forced to kick from behind its own goal line, should the punter receive a poor snap from his center and be unable to kick, he should pick up the football and either run with it or throw an incomplete forward pass. ”

“ The students always play the association game, and it used to be the ambition of every youth to get the ball, and carry it down the field all by himself, while the audience cheered, "Bravo, bravo!" So the faculty arranged matches with the crews of visiting British warships, and from sad experience the college learned the value of side plays and frequent passes, and began to see dimly that good football is played, not with the legs and mouth alone, but with the head, and that hard team-work is better than grand stand exploits. ”

“ From across the field a loyal encouragement is still given by the visitors to their beaten team. The hopes of months are going down to defeat, but the men who are beaten have done their best and, when the final whistle is blown and the game is over, the players of each team gather close together and cheer each other after the style of true sportsmen who have tested each others' mettle with mutual respect. ”

“ Squarely in front of us forms our team, stretching across the field along the 55-yard line which marks the middle. In the exact center the ball is carefully stood on end, ready for the kick-off, which is the method of putting it in play. Defending the west goal the visiting team, which has won the choice of positions, is so disposed in scattered array over the half of the field that the kick which is coming, regardless of its direction, may fall into the ready arms of some waiting player. ”

“ From the side lines we see the men put their shoulders to their work, charging and pushing [Pg 408] their opponents aside to make a hole in the line, through which the man with the ball may gain his distance; or we may see a man on the defensive, full of grim determination to meet the oncoming charges of his opponent. As we glance at the accompanying picture of a Yale-West Point game, we will observe the earnest effort that is being made in the great game of football—the crash of conflict. ”

“ The deep back who does not field the ball will get in front of the ball carrier and lead interference. The back who receives the kick-off will start straight up the field attempting to gain as much yardage as possible. ”

“ A crowd of young men pursuing a round object, called a ball, with great earnestness of purpose. To the young cad, who can think of nothing but the colour of his latest pair of kid gloves, or the check of his newest acquisition in the shape of fashionable trousers, all out-door amusement is considered an interminable bore, the game of Football has, of course, no charm. ”

“ To some of his young men he remarks—"And you call that a grand game, running about a field trying to put a ball near a pair of upright posts, and knocking the first lad down who attempts to retard your progress! Do you call that manly, eh? Would anyone but a pure lunatic run the chance of getting his shins cut, or collar-bone dislocated, indulging in such work, and donning coloured stockings and fantastic shirt the while to make the matter all the more absurd!" ”

“ But as long as guards-back and tackle-back formations are allowed it's got to be played. It was a mistake in ever allowing more than four men behind the line. The natural formation of a football team consists of seven players in the line, and when you begin to take one or two of those players back you're increasing the element of physical force and lessening the element of science. More than that, you're playing into the hands of the anti-football people, and giving them further grounds for their charge of brutality.
"Football's the noblest game that's played, but it's got to be played right. ”

“ The hands must be used freely on the defense to jerk the opponent aside. The most effective method of breaking up the play of an opposing team is illustrated when a team possesses forwards who are able to penetrate the opposing line, starting the moment the ball is snapped and either tackling the man with the ball or so throwing his interference into such confusion that the runner is tackled the moment he reaches the line of scrimmage or even before. ”

“ It's just that eagerness to aid the next man, that stand-and-fall-together spirit, that makes the ideal team. I don't want to see any man on Saturday standing around with his hands at his sides; as long as the ball's in play there's work for every one. Don't cry 'Down' until you can't run, crawl, wriggle, roll, or be pulled another inch. And if you're helping the runner don't stop pulling or shoving until there isn't another notch to be gained. Never mind how many tacklers there are; the ball's in play until the whistle sounds. ”

“ On the part of the public there is general appreciation of the spirit which these two academies have brought into the great autumn sport, a spirit which combines with football per se the color, the martial pomp, the elan of the military. The merger is a happy one, because football in its essence is a stern, grim game, a game that calls for self-sacrifice, for mental alertness and for endurance ”

“ Showing fine interference - team play. To strengthen the impression in the mind of each of his ten comrades that he himself may be relied on to do his part should form the foremost endeavor of every member of the team. He must show the others that, when the emergency comes, as it does come in every play, he is doing his duty. With such zeal firmly instilled in the mind of each man, football reaches its highest state of perfection. ”

“ Like a shot, through the rush of men one of our ends tears in, dives for the ball, rolling over and over. He grasps it in both arms and tries to regain his feet for a run to the opponents' goal, but there is a man who throws himself at him and flattens him to earth again. It is our ball, however, but 15 yards from the goal, and a touchdown almost within our grasp. Can the team make it? ”

“ A gate opens at the farther end of the grounds, there is a vociferous cheer from the nearest section and the team in whose success our hopes are centered, trots out on the field, to be met by a tumult of welcome. Big fellows they are, stout of limb and victors through the season over every team they have met. ”