Alright, let’s talk about them football penalty hand signals. You know, the things them fellas in stripes do on the field. I’ve watched enough games on that there TV to figure some of ’em out.
First off, there’s that holding thing. See, if a ref stands there and crosses his wrists in front of him, like he’s handcuffing himself, that means somebody’s been holdin’ onto somebody else. Like, grabbin’ a shirt or somethin’, you know? They ain’t supposed to do that. It ain’t fair play. If they do that, the ref will go whistle and cross his arms like this:
- Crossed wrists: Holding
Then there’s the penalty kick. That’s a big one. If a ref blows that whistle real loud and long, and then points straight at that little white spot on the ground? You know, the penalty spot. Well, that means somebody done messed up bad, and the other team gets a free shot at the goal. That ref will point real clear, no mistakin’ it. They point like this:
- Pointing at the penalty spot: Penalty kick
Now, sometimes you see a ref throwin’ somethin’ on the ground, looks like a yellow hanky or somethin’. That’s a flag. Means somebody did somethin’ wrong, but it ain’t always clear what. They gotta announce it later. Could be anything, really. Maybe somebody jumped offsides, or maybe they hit somebody too hard. That flag mean the ref saw somethin’ and he’s gonna tell everybody about it. They do like this and then will tell you what’s up:
- Throwing a flag: Penalty, details to follow
And speaking of hittin’ too hard, there’s this roughing the passer thing. If the quarterback throws the ball and then somebody tackles him late or hits him too high, that’s roughing. The ref, he usually makes a kinda twistin’ motion with his hands, like he’s showin’ somebody twistin’ the quarterback around. It means “protect that there quarterback, ya hear?” They move their hands like this:
- Twisting motion with hands: Roughing the passer
Another one I see a lot is pass interference. That’s when somebody tries to catch the ball, and somebody else pushes him or shoves him or somethin’. The ref will put his hands out in front of him, like he’s pushin’ somebody away. It’s like sayin’, “Hey! You can’t do that! Let him catch the ball!” The ref will put his hands up like this:
- Hands pushing forward: Pass interference
Offsides is another easy one. If a player crosses that line before the ball is snapped, the ref will raise his arm straight up in the air. It’s like he’s sayin’, “Hold on there, partner! You went too early!” They just put one arm up real quick:
- Arm straight up: Offsides
Then there’s illegal contact. That’s when somebody touches another player when they ain’t supposed to, like before the ball gets there. The ref will usually kinda tap his chest with one hand, like sayin’ “you can’t be touchin’ him there, fella.” They usually tap their chest like this:
- Tapping chest with one hand: Illegal contact
And let’s not forget face masking. You know, when somebody grabs another player’s face mask. That’s dangerous! The ref will grab his own face mask, like he’s showin’ what happened. It’s pretty clear, even to an old lady like me. They will grab their own face like this to show you what happen:
- Grabbing own face mask: Face masking
So, there you have it. A few of them football penalty hand signals explained in plain English, the way I see it. Next time you’re watchin’ a game, pay attention to them refs. They’re tellin’ you a whole story out there with just their hands and that whistle. It’s like a whole ‘nother language, but once you learn a few of the basics, it ain’t so hard to understand. And if you still don’t get it, well, just holler at the TV. That’s what I do!
Keywords: football penalty, hand signals, holding, penalty kick, flag, roughing the passer, pass interference, offsides, illegal contact, face masking.