{"id":77327,"date":"2015-09-08T12:37:50","date_gmt":"2015-09-08T12:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=77327"},"modified":"2023-04-13T15:14:24","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T15:14:24","slug":"behind-mic-foot-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-foot-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: No “Foot-Ball”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you ever wonder why our favorite sport is called \u201cfootball\u201d?\u00a0 After all, it is a game that is played primarily with your hands.\u00a0 Soccer, on the other hand, deserves the name \u201cfutbol\u201d because it is played with, well, you can guess.\u00a0 So why do we call it \u201cfootball\u201d?\u00a0 According to Wikipedia:<\/p>\n

There are conflicting explanations of the origin of the word “football”. It is widely assumed that the word “football” (or “foot ball”) references the action of the foot kicking a ball. There is an alternative explanation, which is that football originally referred to a variety of games in\u00a0<\/em>Medieval Europe<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, which were played on foot. There is no conclusive evidence for either explanation.<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, no one seems to know.<\/p>\n

There is one high school coach, however, who knows the name should definitely not be \u201cfoot-ball\u201d.\u00a0 He could appropriately call it \u201cNo-foot-ball\u201d.\u00a0 Kevin Kelley is the coach of Pulaski Academy in Arkansas.\u00a0 He has been the coach since 2003.\u00a0 He took over a struggling program and in the past 11 years his team has won three state titles.\u00a0 His record is 124-22.\u00a0 AND, except in very special situations, he never punts.\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u00a0 He never punts<\/strong>!!<\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0 Because he has statistically proven that there is no advantage to giving the other team the ball.\u00a0 Even if you have the ball on your own 5-yard line, Kelley says you should not punt.\u00a0 If you make the first down, there is no problem.\u00a0 If you do not, the opponent\u2019s chance of scoring is 92%.\u00a0 If you punt the ball, statistics show the other team will get the ball around your 40-yard line.\u00a0 Again, statistics show the opponent still has a 77% chance of scoring.\u00a0 That\u2019s only a 15% difference.\u00a0 More numbers \u2013 Pulaski gets the first down 50% of the time.\u00a0 California University professor David Romer agrees.\u00a0 He said high school punters are very unreliable and therefore high school teams should never punt.\u00a0 And your chances of making ten yards in four downs as opposed to three are dramatically increased.\u00a0 The only time Kelley does punt is near the end of a half or at the end of a game when he feels time does not permit the other team to score.<\/p>\n

When Kelley\u2019s teams score, he adds another ripple to his unconventional style.\u00a0 He ALWAYS<\/strong> onside kicks.\u00a0 His team is successful 20% of the time in recovering the kick.\u00a0 That is not a very high percentage, but once again, statistics prove his point.\u00a0 The average drive after a kickoff starts on the 33-yard line.\u00a0 The average field position after an onsides kick is the 47-yard line, a difference of just 14 yards.\u00a0 Pulaski will cause a turnover one in five kickoffs \u2013 well worth the 14-yard risk.<\/p>\n

How do you think Lehigh Valley fans would react to this decision-making?\u00a0 We all know that fans\u2019 patience with high school coaches\u2019 decisions is far from tolerant.\u00a0 Going for and failing to make a first down inside your own five-yard line on fourth down would definitely create, to put it mildly, disgruntlement. One of Kevin Kelley\u2019s fellow coaches succinctly explained why he is not a disciple of the Pulaski philosophy, \u201cI like my job, and I would like to keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This would, however, bring the \u201cfoot\u201d back to football, I suppose, because the coach would get \u201cbooted\u201d from his job!<\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I returned from vacation Saturday morning to the devastating news that my friend and fellow announcing buddy for so, so many years, Dick Tracy, had passed away on Friday. My last visit with him suggested it was time.\u00a0 More on Dick next week.<\/li>\n
  2. I was off the ship Saturday morning, got home, and back in the broadcasting booth on Saturday night for the opening game of the 2015 football season \u2013 William and Mary at Lafayette and now in high definition. It was great to start another season, but my make-up budget just increased dramatically!<\/li>\n
  3. Friday night football went as expected with the Lehigh Valley teams destroying the teams from up north in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference OUTSCORING THEM 359-132 (47 by Stroudsburg in a loss). I wonder if I will see the day when the Pocono teams become formidable opponents.<\/li>\n
  4. Congratulations to Liberty for their win on Saturday night. Bethlehem Catholic took a bit too long to get over opening night jitters; Liberty, not so much.\u00a0 Despite the outcome of game one, Beca will have a terrific season.<\/li>\n
  5. I hope you didn\u2019t spend Labor Day \u201claboring\u201d at the computer like I did.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Gary's<\/a><\/p>\n

    NEW ENGLAND
    \nGREEN BAY
    \nHOUSTON
    \nCLEVELAND
    \nINDIANAPOLIS
    \nMIAMI
    \nCAROLINA
    \nSEATTLE
    \nARIZONA
    \nSAN DIEGO
    \nTAMPA BAY
    \nCINCINNATI
    \nDENVER
    \nDALLAS
    \nPHILADELPHIA
    \nMINNESOTA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Did you ever wonder why our favorite sport is called \u201cfootball\u201d?\u00a0 After all, it is a game that is played primarily with your hands.\u00a0 Soccer, on the other hand, deserves the name \u201cfutbol\u201d because it is played with, well, you can guess.\u00a0 So why do we call it \u201cfootball\u201d?\u00a0 According to Wikipedia: There are conflicting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4],"tags":[191],"class_list":["post-77327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic","category-featured","category-sports","tag-football"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Mic: No "Foot-Ball" - 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