Super Bowl 58: A beginner's guide to American football (2024)

Super Bowl 58 - American football's biggest game and the country's most popular sporting occasion is coming in February.

Described by some as the greatest sporting event on Earth, millions will watch all over the world, and many will turn on just to watch the famous half-time entertainment.

So, if you don't know much about American football or the Super Bowl, and want to know more, then Newsround has got you covered.

Keep reading for some handy information so you can sound like an expert...

The 58th Super Bowl will be played on Sunday 11 February at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, USA. In the UK, you will need to stay up late as it kicks off off at 11.30pm UK time. Or you could always record it and watch it the next day.

It's sometimes written as Super Bowl LVIII - which are Roman numerals - symbols for numbers - for 58.

We're down to the final two teams now - the Kansas City Chiefs, who won the title last season, and the San Francisco 49ers.

The Chiefs will be aiming to win back-to-back titles for the first time in the last 20 years. It will be their sixth Super Bowl appearance overall and fifth in the last six years. Now that's Super impressive.

The 49ers have been one of the best teams in the NFL this season, and they have only lost five games, so they will be confident of lifting that famous trophy.

In American football, one of the main positions is the quarterback. They lead the team and aim to put as many points on the scoreboard as possible.

The Chiefs are led by Patrick Mahomes, one of the best quarterbacks in recent years. He has already won the Super Bowl twice and has been named MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the NFL twice. That's an award given to the best player in the league.

Brock Purdy is San Francisco's quarterback, and he'll be out for his first Super Bowl title. He's been one of the best performers in the NFL this season.

If you really want to impress your friends, you can drop Christian McCaffrey's name - the best running back in the league.

And you've probably heard of Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce - he's currently dating Taylor Swift.

Okay, so it's not strictly part of the sport but the Super Bowl entertainment is a show in itself.

The famous half-time show has seen many greats - from Beyoncé to Prince, and Lady Gaga to Bruno Mars - perform in the past.

Last year, Rihanna headlined the spectacular 12-minute show.

The performance was watched by well over 100 million people in the United States and many millions more around the world.

This year, singer-songwriter and Grammy award winner Usher has been announced as the headliner of the half-time show.

It all sounds exciting - but do you need to know a bit more about the game itself?

Okay here's how the tactics work.

Each team is split into two groups; an attacking one and a defensive one.

The team which has control of the ball will have their offence (attacking players) on the pitch.

The attacking players will attempt to move the ball forward and score touchdowns.

The team without the ball it will have their defence (defensive players) on. The role of the defence is to stop the other team from scoring by tackling the ball-carrier, intercepting passes or causing fumbles.

This is true for most of the game except when one team has chosen to kick the ball. The 'special teams' come on for that.

Top tip: Make sure you pronounce defence like this: "Dee-fence". That's how Americans say it.

Examples you could use: "The Chiefs' offence relies a lot on quarterback Patrick Mahomes to be successful don't you think?" or " Nick Bosa is so important for The 49ers' dee-fence if they're going to win the Super Bowl".

These 'downs' are key to the game and pop up all the time, so nail these and you'll sound like a pro!

Basically you get four attempts (aka downs) to move the ball 10 yards (by either running with it or passing it). If you make 10 yards then you get another set of four downs.

If you watched the Super Bowl you might have seen the words '1st and 10' written in the corner of your TV screen. That means it's the 1st down with 10 yards to make.

If a team makes three yards, for example, then next it's 2nd and Seven, 3rd and Four etc. If they fail to make 10 yards in the four downs then the other team gets the ball.

Top tip: If teams fail to make 10 yards on their first three attempts then they'll probably kick it away on their 4th down. This means the other team will have further to go to score.

Examples of use: "I'd throw the ball deep on 2nd down" or "The Chiefs sometimes run the ball on 1st down"

A quarterback is the leader of the team and the player that throws the ball a lot.

You might hear the phrase "pocket passer". When a quarterback will stand in one spot, protected by his team (in the 'pocket') and throw the ball to a teammate.

Top info: Chiefs' number 15, Patrick Mahomes has led the team to four Super Bowls in five years.

Meanwhile look out for 49ers quarterback, Brock Purdy who holds the record for the most passing yards in a single season for his team.

Examples of use: "I think Mahomes shows how pocket passers can still be successful in the league."

Similar to rugby, both teams are attempting to run the ball to opposite sides of the pitch before touching it down or score a goal by kicking the ball through the upright posts.

Touchdown (six points) - A touchdown is scored when a team crosses the opposition's goal line with the ball, or catches or collects the ball in the end zone.

Field goal (three points) - These are usually attempted on fourth down if the kicker is close enough to the end zone to kick the ball through the posts, or uprights.

Extra point (one or two points) - A point is earned by kicking the ball through the uprights after a touchdown (similar to a rugby conversion). Two points are earned by taking the ball into the end zone again.

Safety (two points) - Awarded to the defensive team when a member of the offensive team is tackled with the ball in his own end zone.