I have a confession to make: I don’t really know anything about football. I can probably match a few teams to a few cities and may even know a few star players—if they’ve been on Saturday Night Live and/or the cover of People.
Once the coin is tossed, I’m completely lost.
You need to know that I’m originally from Eagles country. I don’t recall my father or my brother watching a lot of sports when I was a kid, but I do remember Ron Jaworski and Dick Vermeil being football gods at the time. As I got older, the only thing I really knew about the Eagles was that their one-time home, Veterans Stadium, was the first in the country to install an in-house jail. (We’re number one!)
Still, it’s sort of a weird thing, since I’ve been to countless tailgates, football-themed parties, and even actual games. My husband and my son enjoy watching games and after seeing how many of my fellow GeekMoms are such rabid football fans, I was determined to learn the rules before this weekend’s Super Bowl.
So I went about learning football the best way I knew how: from a children’s book. Let’s Play Football is a cute little book for young kids, ages 2 to 6. It’s also perfect for a beginner like me, since it’s now available in app form.
Created by dad-coaches Andy Blackman Hurwitz and Jon Richter, Let’s Play Football is the first of an upcoming series of Let’s Play Sports apps and other products. The app is an interactive version of the book, and a great way learn about some of the fundamentals. The plot involves a papa bear teaching the sport to his two young cubs as they watch the “Lions” play the “Bears”—and yes, these are cute, animated critters conveying the whole story.
The app also includes narration by Jaworski himself, as well as points where you can stop in the story and touch on specific words to learn more. There are terms such as “Special Teams,” “Safeties,” “Wide Receivers,” “3rd and 2,” and more.
Once you’re finished with the story, the app also has a full glossary with additional terms, with the same characters and user-friendly manner. There’s also “Training Camp,” which will quiz users on some of the lingo.
We had a lot of fun with this app. I actually felt like I learned a little bit, with my husband and son filling in some of the gaps. It was cute to see how much my son knew, what he wanted to explain to me, and how much more he wanted to learn. He was repeatedly looking to better his score in “Training Camp,” but also was asking for the story on a regular basis.
Let’s Play Football is cute and most importantly, it’s free—at least the app is. Available now at the iTunes App Store, it’s a perfect pre-Super Bowl activity if you have a little one at home (or just need an easy tutorial). If you like what you see, the book is also available for you or another future all-star.
