Street football, also known as backyard football or sandlot football, is a simplified variant of American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 primarily played informally by youth. It features far less equipment and fewer rules than its counterparts, but unlike the similar touch football

Touch football (American)

Touch football is a variant of American football in which the basic rules are similar to those of the mainstream game , but instead of tackling players to the ground, the person carrying the ball need only be touched by a member of the opposite team to end a down...

, features full tackling.

Main game

An organized version has seven players to a side, playing both sides of the ball; however, such organization is rare and players per side can range from as few as one ("one on one" football) to dozens. Games are played on fields generally ranging from as short as 10 to as large as 50 yards, with the occasional game being played on a full-size regulation 100 yard field. Generally, the larger the field, the more players that can be incorporated into the game.

Rules

The teams organize each other at the beginning of the game; if there are no pre-selected teams, a draft

Draft (sports)

A draft is a process used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Russia and the Philippines to allocate certain players to sports teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players...

 is held on the spot from the available players. In the event of an odd number of players, one player will usually serve as an "all time quarterback," who plays on offense the whole game and cannot run the ball past the line of scrimmage, or, if more players are on their way, the team who is short handed will automatically draft the newcomer upon arrival. Teams can be identified solely by memory or by the Shirts Versus Skins

Shirts Versus Skins

Shirts versus Skins is a common form of denoting team affiliations in an informal sports game; typically when played on a public court or park. The practice involves the members of one team wearing shirts while the other does not...

 system; uniforms are rare, and even those that are used are generally low-cost pinnies

Scrimmage vest

A scrimmage vest, sometimes referred to as a pinnie is a piece of clothing or sportswear , often made of mesh, used in practices as a substitute for a sports team's usual uniform or to differentiate temporary teams in informal scrimmages...

.

The two teams organize on opposite sides of the field for the kickoff. Because of skill, field size and other issues, this is usually not a kickoff but rather a punt-off or a throw-off. Many versions skip this process and start the offense at a certain point, similar to a touchback

Touchback

In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus...

 in other national leagues.

As in regular American football, each team usually has four downs per series. In order to achieve a series of downs, backyard football requires the team with the ball to complete two passes or reach a certain point on the field

Milestone

A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...

. Few games include enough people to run a chain crew

Chain crew

In American football, the chain crew are assistants to the referee who handle the first down measuring chain and the down indicator box...

 to maintain the 10 yard familiar in most organized leagues. These structures encourages passing plays over running, as does the usual lack of offensive and defensive lines. Play continues until there is a turnover on downs (i.e. the offensive team fails to complete two passes in four downs), an interception occurs, or the team on offense scores a touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

. Touchdowns are worth 6, 7, or 1 point(s) depending on the rules set out before the game.

Field goals and extra point kicks are nonexistent (streets and backyards have no goal posts), although punts can frequently happen, usually during "4th and 2 completions" situations where the offensive team cannot earn a first down. (In games played on regulation fields, these kicks can be attempted, but only in certain scoring systems.)

In the event a touchdown is scored, the team on offense will normally stay in the end zone in which they had just scored and the other team will go into the main field and field the subsequent kickoff. Thus, until an interception or turnover on downs, both teams defend and attempt to score on the same end zone.

Rules greatly vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and are customarily set before each game. There can be a rush on the QB depending on the rules set out before the game. Usually if rushes are allowed, there are 2 rules that are commonly applied; Call rush and blitz count. Call rush is the first rule of rushing the QB in street. This is where the defense calls "Blitz" in a loud voice before the offense hikes the ball, signifying that they will rush, but there is also a counter effect with this. The QB can get out of the pocket and run without having to pass or hand off the ball, also the quarterback can call "shotgun" before or after the other team says "blitz" causing the opposite to have to count to 5 or 10 depending on whether or not they called blitz 5 calling "shotgun

Shotgun formation

The shotgun formation is a formation used by the offensive team in American and Canadian football. This formation is used mainly for passing plays, although some teams use it as their base formation. In the shotgun, instead of the quarterback receiving the snap from center at the line of scrimmage,...

" adds 5 seconds to the blitz count. The second, and more common, rush QB rule is Mississippi rush (a blitz count), so called because the blitzing player must insert the word "Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

" between numbers so as not to allow the player to count ridiculously fast and effectively give the quarterback no time to throw (In Canada the word "steamboat" is generally used instead of Mississippi). Sometimes the two rules are combined, allowing one separate call of "Blitz!" per set of 4 downs. The other option to handle a rush is to use an offensive lineman or center to block any pass rush. A line is rare in street, and the act of a center snapping to a quarterback is completely optional and impossible in 2 on 2. When a center is used, the center is eligible as a receiver. Also the center sneak, wherein the center snaps the ball touching the QB hands but retaining possession and then running is completely legal and honorable in sandlot ball. Most teams that use a line opt for 3 down linemen(1 center and 2 guards). Some organizations that don't require the center to snap the ball to the quarterback only use 2 linemen. Popular plays include going long, the hook, the hook and go, and the down and out. A well practiced pump fake by the QB often accompanies the hook and go.

Conversions after a TD

Two-point conversion

In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...

 usually aren't applied and they can only be attempted from the 6 (or occasionally 7) point TD system, but if they are, there are several conversion systems, including "single point," "pass-run," yardage and "runback." The single-point is the simplest of the rules, in which any successful conversion is worth one point. Pass run is used in some midget leagues and awards 2 points for a pass and one point for a run. Usually all pass-run conversions are attempted from the 1 or 2 yard line. The second conversion system is the yardage system, similar to that used in the XFL

XFL

The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...

 playoffs, the Lingerie Football League

Lingerie Football League

The Lingerie Football League is a women's 7-on-7 tackle American football league, created in 2009, with games played in the fall and winter at NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums. The league was founded by Mitch Mortaza...

, and the Stars Football League

Stars Football League

The Stars Football League is a semi-pro American football league operating primarily in the Southern United States. The league is headquartered in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Its inaugural season began June 30, 2011 with two teams; the league phased two more teams into the schedule over the course of...

. The yardage system is formatted like this: 1 point conversions are attempted from the 1 or 5 yard line, and 2 point conversions are attempted from the 2 or 10 yard line. The runback is the most rare of the conversion rules, and is most often implemented in one-on-one games. In this version, the play does not end once the ball crosses the goal line; instead, the player with the ball must change direction and advance it all the way back to the other end zone for two points.

The game ends when a pre-determined number of touchdowns or points has been scored, or an arbitrary time is reached (for instance, dusk or the start of school).

Penalties are rare and are usually only enforced in the most egregious cases, such as serious injuries or blatant pass interference. Most games use the honor system

Honor system

An honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. Something that operates under the rule of the "honor system" is usually something that does not have strictly enforced rules governing its principles...

 in lieu of a referee and/or an officiating crew.

Variations

Several other games involving a football are also played in streets and backyards.

Kill The Carrier (also known occasionally as "bull in the ring", "Muckle","Throw Back", "Loco", "Throw-Up Tackle", "Throw it up Football", "Pig Slaughter", "Crush The Carrier", "Pick'em up Bust'em", "Rumble Fumble", "Kill The Pill", or "Smear the Queer" ) is an every man for himself free for all. The concept is simple. One player throws the football backwards, away from the acting 'endzone'. Whoever catches the ball tries not to get tackled as he heads towards the endzone. If he is tackled, he has to give up the ball. All players without the ball try to tackle the player with the ball and get the ball for themselves. There are no winners and no rules and the game can continue ad infinitum.

There are also games like Jump off (also known as Jackpot), in which there is one thrower on each side and they throw the ball anywhere they like; the receiver with the most catches wins. Similarly, the game "500" involves one thrower throwing to several receivers. In this game, the thrower will assign point values for each catch; the first receiver to reach 500 points wins.

Ball is a rendition of Kill the Carrier developed in Rossville, Illinois

Rossville, Illinois

Rossville is a village in Ross Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the 'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 1,217 at the 2000 census, and 1,147 in 2009.-History:...

. The ball is spiked at the ground from one endzone while the players stand in a circle. A scrap for the ball ensues. The player to recover the ball first then darts for the opposite endzone while everyone else attempts to tackle him. Once he is brought down he must try to get back up and continue while the other players attempt to strip the ball for themselves. Once a touchdown is scored the player typically yells BALL!!! to prove that he has scored. that player now spikes into the circle and the game continues.

Leagues

Organized sandlot football has been around since as early as 1908; in that year, a circuit was launched in Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

 after the city banned high school football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 in its schools. The circuit produced a team known as the Rochester Jeffersons

Rochester Jeffersons

The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century , the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing...

, who later joined the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 as a charter member in 1920, as well as several other teams that lasted into the 1930s.

Street football is usually played as a pick-up game and has very little organization. The largest and most successful organized league for no pads, tackle football is TownBeef. It was formed in 2006 in New Jersey, USA and has since grown to include more than 30 teams. It has also branched off to form leagues in Florida and Pennsylvania. The exact rules vary from state to state.

In video games

Street football has been used as the basis for two very different video games. EA Sports

EA Sports

EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...

's NFL Street

NFL Street

NFL Street received good reviews upon release. It received a 7.75 from Game Informer, and a 9.2 from IGN. The game also received 4 stars out of 5 from GameSpy, saying that "Pick-up football was never this exciting." Additionally, Gamespot gave it a rating of 7.9, saying "If you've been eagerly...

is a rules-light version of football played by NFL stars, similar to the Blitz series

NFL Blitz

NFL Blitz is a series of American football themed video games by Midway featuring the teams of the National Football League. It began as a 1997 arcade game but was eventually ported to home consoles and spawned several sequels...

 created by Midway Games. Atari

Atari

Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...

's Backyard Football

Backyard Football

Backyard Football is a series of video games for various systems. Currently all the games in the series have been developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari...

series, on the other hand, is a more kid-friendly game where the players are child versions of NFL stars.