Beginner guides for fans discovering American sports from anywhere in the world.
American football explained from scratch: the field, four downs to gain 10 yards, every scoring value, the positions, common penalties, how a game flows and how to start watching.
This section is for fans who are discovering American sports from scratch, whether you live in the United States or follow the leagues from abroad. The guides here assume no prior knowledge and explain the basics before the details.
American football has the most rules to learn, so it has the longest beginner guide. American football for beginners covers the field, the four downs to gain 10 yards, every way to score, the positions, the common penalties and how a game flows from the opening kickoff to the final play, with tips on how to start watching.
Once the basics make sense, each league has a short guide that answers the first question most new fans ask:
Every guide gives the short answer first, uses plain English, and checks rules against the leagues' own rulebooks. More beginner guides will be added to this section over time.
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