My Quest to Figure Out Football Game Lengths
So, my nephew just joined the high school team, right? First game coming up. Auntie duties. I figure, cool, grab a coffee, maybe an hour tops? Yeah, rookie mistake.
Got there early Saturday afternoon. Parked my butt in the bleachers all excited. Kickoff happens. First quarter flew by – maybe 20 minutes? Clock stops constantly though, for incomplete passes, guys running out of bounds, injuries. Felt longer.
Halftime hits. Checked my watch. Woah. Already an hour gone! Thought it was like an hour total, max. Turns out the break itself dragged on forever – band playing, cheerleaders doing routines, teams regrouping. Seriously felt like another 30 minutes easy just sitting there. My coffee was long gone.
Third quarter crawls by. More clock stops. Announcer yelling “Timeout on the field!” every few minutes. Start wondering why I didn’t pack snacks. See bored siblings around me playing on phones. Energy drains away.
Fourth quarter. Game was actually close. This is when it gets messy. Whistle blows every other play. Coaches arguing. Players needing breathers. Injury timeouts stretch on. Score goes back and forth. They hit the end of regulation time… and then it happens. Overtime. Felt my soul leave my body a little. Both teams get a shot from the 10-yard line. First overtime done? Still tied. Double OT. You gotta be kidding me!
Finally, FINALLY, someone scores in double OT. Game ends. Sun was practically setting. Stood up, legs stiff. Glanced at my phone. Over three hours I’d been sitting there! Blew my mind. Here’s the mess I learned firsthand:
- Four 12-minute quarters ain’t telling the truth at all.
- Clock stops more than it runs. Timeouts eat up minutes.
- Halftime? Add at least 20 minutes. Seriously.
- Injuries. So many injuries stoppages. Feels like forever.
- Coaches arguing refs? That clock ain’t moving.
- Overtime? Forget that one-hour fantasy. Can easily pile on another 30 mins or more.
My big takeaway? That “roughly 2 to 2.5 hours” stuff? Pure fantasy. Unless it’s a total blowout fast game, bank on three hours, maybe even pushing four like my double OT nightmare. Next time? Bringing a blanket. And snacks. Lots of snacks. Maybe a book. You get the picture.
