FOOTBALL 101- TIMING IS EVERYTHING

A typical football game is divided into 15-minute quarters. However, games usually last about three hours because the game-clock which displays the amount of time left in each quarter (in seconds) is stopped many times in the game for various reasons (a team scores, someone goes out of bounds, a receiver drops the ball, injury, timeout, etc). The quarter ends when the game-clock counts down to zero, though any play still unfolding when the clock finishes will be seen until its completion.

After the first two quarters of the game there is a 12-minute intermission called the "halftime." This is when you go to the bathroom, grab the chips, walk the dogs, and least importantly, this is when the players get a chance to rest and enjoy the painkillers.

Unlike the end of other quarters, the end of the second quarter (i.e. the end of the half) signifies a 'semi-restart' of the game. Normally when a regular quarter ends, the game-clock is reset and the next play continues as if there was never an official break in the game.

However, after the halftime a new kickoff begins the third quarter. Whichever team received the ball in the first kickoff of the game will now be kicking the ball. Each half is like its own mini game. The teams timeouts get replenished and the teams switch sides on the field so that their the endzones they defend now become the opponent's endzone.