Even if you don’t care whether the Oregon Ducks or the Ohio State Buckeyes claim victory in tonight’s National Championship, the BCS title game is predicted to have a TV audience of more than 25 million — so you’ll be out of the loop if you can’t make small talk about football over the next couple of days. If you know exactly what the Apia International Sydney is, but have no idea who won the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, here’s a tennis fanatic’s guide to talking about football with coworkers, bar patrons and anyone else you may run into before kickoff.
WHAT TO SAY IF … someone talks about Marcus Mariota or Cardale Jones
Did you know serving in tennis and throwing in football are nearly identical motions? “That’s why some of the American players have had some of the bigger serves,” said Washington University tennis coach Matt Anger, “because they grow up throwing balls in all sports, whereas a lot of other countries, they’re playing soccer and not throwing the ball as much.” A successful server echoes the motion of a football pass, hitting the ball at its highest point and then rotating the wrist downward, following through toward the opposite hip. Here’s a more detailed explanation of how the serve mimics a football throw. Think any college quarterback could hit a 140 mph serve?
So who will be serving the big passes in tonight’s matchup? Cardale Jones is Ohio State’s third-string quarterback, who’s savoring his moment of glory after his precursors suffered season-ending injuries. Mariota’s known as the better quarterback (some might say the best ever) and earned the Oregon Ducks’ first-ever Heisman Trophy earlier this season. Quack, quack.
WHAT TO SAY IF … someone mentions AT&T Stadium
Did you know both football and tennis have their roots in grass playing surfaces? Tennis was primarily played on lawns until the 1940s, when someone realized that concrete surfaces were cheaper to maintain, according to a Grantland article by Jonah Lehrer. Today’s more popular hard courts are made from a variety of materials that create a surface slightly slower than a fresh grass court, but accumulate speed as frequent use deteriorates the court’s friction, Lehrer says. That means the more you move your feet the faster the game.
The venue for tonight’s game in Arlington, Texas, is made of artificial turf, but prior to the late 1960s, all football fields were made from natural grass. In fact, another Texas stadium was the first to use artificial turf for a professional team (the now defunct Houston Oilers). The $1.4 billion AT&T Stadium in Arlington has a capacity of about 100,000 — and expect that to be largely made up of Buckeye fans. Ohio State has the highest total game attendance in the nation with an average of 96,346 fans per game. Home court advantage?
WHAT TO SAY IF … someone discusses which team has a stronger offense or defense
Seems like Oregon is more of a Roger Federer while Ohio State is more of a Rafael Nadal. Just like football, in tennis, there’s always one side on offense (the server) and one side on defense (the returner). But before the game of tennis evolved, offensive strategy was much more important with players who had a big serve and an attacking-the-net style of play dominating the field. Now the serve-and-volley has lost it’s appeal and defensive baselining has risen to prominence. Although Ohio State has proven itself to be the better team defensively this season (allowing 333.6 yards to Oregon’s 421.9), the Ducks’ offense will be tough to beat. Most experts are predicting a victory for Oregon.
