Football - A Slightly Different View

By Pengyu (Gavin) Qin

Before I came to America, my idea of football was a game in which everybody only uses their feet to kick the ball to gain a score. But now I know it was a wrong idea, or at least a narrow idea, for what I know only applies to the English football, or soccer, but not the American football, which is totally different despite the same name.

When one of my friends first introduced American football to me, I stared at the TV screen and asked him, “Where is the ball?” because what I saw was more like a brawl. He pointed at somewhere in the crowd and said, “Here it is!” But unfortunately, a white elliptical thing suddenly appeared at another place far away. He laughed embarrassingly and left me alone in front of the TV set.

Later on, when I watched football games on TV, my joy came from searching for the ball among a cluster of players. When the referee blew the whistle, all the players became so excited that they bumped into each other and began fighting with their hearts’ afire.

I also became excited, too. My eyes fixed on the ball and then lost it, then found it, but then lost it again. Through finding and losing the elliptic thing, my eyeball moved quickly as it ran from one person to another. I even discovered a trick: if one player covered his stomach and fell down while others still jumped on him, I know the ball must be in his hands, although I still could not see it. I found the game interesting because it was really like an exciting search for treasure, wasn’t it?

However, I am sometimes touched by the tremendous cheers from the audience. I can feel their deep love for this game, and this love somehow stimulates my respect for the game. It’s not only a game, it’s a glorious battle!

The players not only fight for the gall, but also fight for the honor of being an undefeated warrior. It’s a man’s game! Every fighter must be strong enough, or he will be bumped and fly away. And strength is not the only thing he needs. A successful player must master excellent martial arts because he really has to swiftly jink, jump, run, rotate and smartly fight with his head, shoulder, arm and hip. What amazing skills to break through the wall of flesh! How valiant the player is to carry the ball to the destination after being hit, bumped and kicked! No wonder millions of real men enjoy this game.

I feel ashamed that I have not completely understood the rules of football. So I can only watch the exciting scenes of it for fun.