10 Song Titles Containing Football Plays

With the NFL playoffs approaching, people start for preparing for their Super Bowl parties. Even the most ill-informed football fans participate in Super Bowl festivities, perhaps even catching a glimpse of the gridiron action in between the much-hyped commercials.

I offer here a quick musical tutorial to help educate those once a year fans of the sport of football. These song titles all contain football strategies, which will be briefly described.

For example, most everyone knows the two basic offensive strategies. Were it necessary to discuss them, I would use two Beatles song. The verb in Run for Your Life from Rubber Soul would introduce the common play where the quarterback hands the ball off. The verb in Don't Pass Me By from the White Album could introduce the common play where the quarterback throws the ball to a receiver.

Having provided those basic examples, I now begin the ten song lesson on football strategies.

1. Ballroom Blitz by Sweet: The popular song comes from the charismatic '70s band's Desolation Boulevard album. In football, a blitz is when members of the defensive secondary (linebacker, cornerback, safety) charge into the offensive backfield as soon as the ball is snapped instead of waiting as usual to see which direction the play is heading.

2. Clothes Line Saga by Bob Dylan and the Band: This amusing ditty comes from the excellent Basement Tapes album. The term resembles what happens when a ball carrier gets knocked down from the chin by the outstretched arm of a defensive player.

3. Five Gears in Reverse by Elvis Costello and the Attractions: From the twenty song masterpiece that is Get Happy, this song has all the energy and wordplay characteristic of Costello's early departure from punk pop. The reverse in football occurs when the quarterback hands off to a teammate who then hands off to another teammate running the opposite way. It's usually either a big gain play or a big loss play.

4. Fighting in a Sack by The Shins: One of the more fast-paced tunes from Chutes Too Narrow, the song's lyrics are as tantalizingly elusive as the rest of the album. On the football field, a sack occurs when the quarterback or other ball carrier is tackled behind the line of scrimmage.

5.Kicks by Paul Revere and the Raiders: The song by the 60s pop band is cheerful in spite of its insistence that fun keeps getting more and more elusive. In the game there are actually four types of kicks: a punt which is when you kick the ball before it hits the ground; an extra point kick or field goal occurs when you kick the ball while a teammate holds it for you; a kickoff comes after your team scores or either at the beginning of the game or the second half; the drop kick is the rare play when you kick the ball after it hits the ground.

6. Ballad of the Bootleg by Young Fresh Fellows: From the band's latest album This Is comes an amusing tune about their music being sold illegally. On the field, a bootleg play is when your teammates run in one direction and you run wide the opposite way.

7. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats: This song has the brass energy backing the signature sound of the new wave band's guitar and keyboard work. In football, a trap is when an offensive lineman runs horizontally to block a defenseman on the opposite side of the line, and the ball carrier follows him.

8. $15 Draw by Ringo Starr: The song by the Beatles drummer is a clever pop tune from early in his solo career. On the field, a draw occurs when the quarterback appears to go back for a pass, but instead he hands off to a running back after a slight hesitation.

9. Screen Door by Uncle Tupelo: Jeff Tweedy's first band before Wilco made some amazing alt-country records, including this one from the Anthology. In football, the entire line sometimes runs horizontally without blocking anyone at first. Then the quarterback passes the ball to a receiver behind that wall of linemen to complete what is known as a screen pass.

10. Sneaking Sally through the Alley by Robert Palmer: The late pop singer's first hit had a reggae-like appeal before his Bad Case of Lovin' You made Palmer a household name. On the field, the quarterback sneak is used primarily for short yardage gains to get a first down. He simply gets the snap then burrows through the linemen for a short gain.