(Published by www.palmbeachillustrated.com)
by Lesley Visser
September, 2005
Here it is, your National Football League season primer - everything a Palm Beacher needs to know to tell a New York Jet from a Gulfstream jet.
It doesn't require a Ph.D. to become knowledgeable about the NFL, and this crash course on the league's past and present will give even a football novice the confidence to contribute to conversations about the sport many regard as our national pastime.
Part of what makes the NFL so entertaining is that it's impossible for one to know everything about it. There are too many teams and players, too many stories, and too many nuances for a novice to become an expert overnight. People throw around insider phrases like "cap room," the amount of money a team has left to spend on player salaries before the payroll meets the maximum - kind of like a huge allowance. Then there is "cover 2" - not new beach attire from Ralph Lauren, but a defensive scheme whereby the two safeties divide the deep half of the field, allowing the cornerbacks to play up closer to the receivers. But even some longtime fans don't know what those terms mean.
Still, you don't want friends to see right through your Friedrich Optik platinum frames on game day when you refer to the team opposing the Miami Dolphins as the "Buffalo Bulls."