"Guest Bloggers" Archive

Editor’s Note: I’m totally late posting this. Web site needed some updates and I got behind. This post was written before the Falcons played without all 3 weapons in Jones, Snelling, and White.  Obviously, all of us Falcons fans are reeling over this season falling apart but can you imagine this happening your first season watching football? I feel bad lol. 

Winniek is 23 years old and recently moved from Maryland from her home state of Georgia. She is a Falcons fan (like me!!)

So the Falcons won against Tampa Bay! Which is a good thing because at this point we should be grateful for any win. At the same time Tampa has not won any games so far into the season so we should have won that game anyway. Then again the Falcons let the Jets beat them so… Well at this point anything happen. (Yes, that was shade)

But I’m not going to talk about that today. I actually want to talk about something else that has been bothering me for a long time. I want to talk about the plays. Whenever I catch a football game I always see people drawing X’s, O’s, and little lines on the screen but I’m often confused on why they need all that to make a play.  

Wait! Don’t leave yet. Hear me out before you leave.

What I’m about to say maybe a horrible comparison but I feel like this needs to be said.  I remember when I played basketball my coach told us that the fastest way to get down the court was to go straight. Don’t stop and collect two hundred, don’t go around everybody, just keep straight and you will make it to the to other side.

Does that concept not apply to football as well? Lately when I watch football games I’m confused as to why whoever is running the ball always seems to run around the defense instead of trying to run straight though. I mean wouldn’t it be quicker if they kept straight instead just running around one hundred other players?

Now of course I know whoever is running the ball can’t just straight up run through the defense like they aren’t going to hit. However if the offensive line has good blockers and the blockers actually do what they are supposed to do couldn’t that be possible to just run straight down the field?

Am I on to something or do I just sound like a complete idiot?  Please let me know.

I’ve asked others who have more football knowledge and I’ve been told that it is impossible. But is it really? Is it really impossible for blockers to do what they are suppose to do so the receiver or the quarter back can make it down the field? Is this concept really that simple?

 OR.

Are these plays necessary?

Fawn is a former music writer, lawyer, and a classically trained dancer and musician.

This is the 2nd post from Fawn. Read Fawn’s bio here. Read Fawn’s first post here. 

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Okay, so we’re heading into week five of the NFL season, and I’m beginning to feel a little more confident about my knowledge of the game. I’ve watched the last few games with the boyfriend, which has been helpful and informative, but not much fun, I must say. Here’s what I’ve learned thus far…

Those fiftylevenhundred men on the field, that I complained about previously, are all there for a reason; a very strategic reason. Apparently without those linemen and linebackers (look at me, fancy with the titles, lol), the high-profile positions/players wouldn’t thrive. I get it. I still won’t pay them any attention, but I get it.

That said, I understand that the quarterback is the highest profile position, but I feel like there’s too much pressure on them. Quarterback throws the ball, wide receiver misses the catch,everyone is hammering the quarterback. The way I see it, everyone else has one job. In the wide receiver’s case, his job is to catch the ball. Your entire career is based on your ability to do one thing- catch the ball. The quarterback, however, has multiple jobs he must execute under the most pressure; yet, everyone is angry at him when things go wrong. That’s baffling to me. I’ve also learned that you can’t miss a minute of a NFL game, because in a minute the ball can be fumbled or intercepted and everything can change drastically. This has forced me to rearrange my Sundays so that the quesadillas and wings are done before kick-off. A woman’s work is never done.

 Now let’s talk about why, despite my newfound understanding of the game, I haven’t been able to really enjoy a complete NFL game yet. First off, my team is 0-4. When I decided to become a New York Giants fan, at the behest of my boyfriend, I didn’t know that they weren’t going to win any games. This is embarrassing, and has made for a very tense gaming experience on Sundays. I can’t get my questions answered because the boyfriend is so pissed about the game that he doesn’t want to talk. Also, as I’m learning about the game, when I come to an understanding of something I get excited. For instance, once I learn the rules of fumbling on a fourth down, it doesn’t matter what team it is, i’m anxious for the fumbler to recover the ball…even if it’s the opposing team. Naturally, that pisses my die-hard Giants fan off. So maybe watching with him isn’t such a good idea after all; at least until I become genuinely invested in the Giants.

Until next time… Go Giants (I guess)!

Winniek is 23 years old and recently moved from Maryland from her home state of Georgia. She is a Falcons fan (like me!!)

It’s not that I don’t like football its just that I truly don’t understand it.  It intimidates me, especially when people start talking about numbers and using abbreviations like NFC, AFC, SEC, CIA, FBI, and the whole time I’m sitting there thinking, “What in world are you all talking about? “I thought you guys were talking about football.” Are we talking about math or government agencies?”   Another reason why I have never been really got into football is that every time I try to learn or comment I always have some man making misogynic comments and that makes me very uncomfortable.

However I figured this year I would actually learn football because if this what everybody going to be talking about for the next 5 months then I might as well learn.  If anything what I do know about football has nothing to actually do with the game it self.  I know more of the pop culture side of football. I didn’t even know who Reggie Bush  was until I found out Kim Kardashian dated him.

As a football newbie the only thing I know about is that a touch down is good and that occasionally instead of making a touch down the team will kick a field goal, which for the longest time I called a free throw.  Also, I just recently found out that those blue and yellow lines aren’t actually on the field those are computer generated.  Which is a relief for me because the first time I actually went to a professional football game I thought I was crazy because I couldn’t see those lines anywhere on the field.

I hope to learn more about football as the season continues. My goal for me is to understand what everybody is talking about and hopefully have the ability to talk a good game so the next time somebody talks about the Falcons I will able so say more than “Well at least our colors match.” 

Fawn is a former music writer, lawyer, and a classically trained dancer and musician.

Oh great! Another NFL season is upon us. That means ceaseless trash talk by my friends on all social networks, Sunday dinner at the bar with his brothers, and one irritable baby deer that could care less about any of it.  But not this year. This year, I have succumb to the old adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them;” which means I’ll be tuning in this season, with hopes of learning the game enough to understand what the hell everyone is so excited about. And maybe, just maybe, I can come out of the proverbial “kitchen” that these chauvinist send women like me to during sporting events, and join the fun.

I thought about starting with college football, for my introduction to the sport, since I tend to enjoy the competitiveness of collegiate sports a bit more than professional sports. However, more NFL fans surround me than college football fans (ironically), and since I could use all the clarification I can get, I decided the NFL was the way to go.  Because it seems absurd to gain an in-depth understanding of the game from studying some 32 teams (yes I Googled that number), I decided to pick a team to study, and root for. Without a good frame of reference, by default I picked my boyfriend’s favorite team. So without further ado, please welcome your newest New York Giants fan. Yes! Send all your hate mail; just wait until the end of the season. I should understand what you’re talking about by then.

My first game of the season was the New York Giants vs. the Dallas Cowboys.  I watched alone, since my boyfriend hasn’t accepted my newfound NFL fan status. Whatever. More wings for me.  I went in with limited knowledge about the object of the game- get the ball to the other end of the field, via running or passes, for the touchdown. Each team has four tries to do this, before the other team gets their shot. How’d I do? All the other details of the game sound like pig Latin to me.

Anyway, the game came to an end. A very depressing end as my Giants lost. However, this left me with many unanswered questions. Why are there so many players on the field? What’s all the hype over these Manning brothers? Who is Dez Bryant and why did I hear more about him before the game than I heard about him during the actual game? How does a running back fumble the ball and still be allowed to play? Isn’t it his job to hold onto the ball, whilst running? But back to my original question- why are there so many players on the field. If I’m only paying attention to the person with the ball, and there are fiftylevenhundred other players on the field, who ARE they and why should I be paying attention to them?

Despite my confusion, I must admit that I enjoyed my first game as an NFL fan. I love the suspense. I respect the skill of the key players. I have decided, however, not to make a habit of watching anymore games alone.  That’s a lonely life. A lonely, confusing life. Anyway, can’t wait to update you guys on my next NFL game experience. In the meantime, let’s go New York football Giants!