It is about the breadth of a shoulder, the girth of a thigh, the tips of ten fingers, and the knuckles on one hand. It’s the thickness of the marker, the width of a chainlink, or the density of bone. It’s an arm’s length, a handful of jersey, and the tip of a toe.

It’s nearly the equivalent of a yard in the hands of an SEC receiver, (32.7” in 1/10^th of a second for those who run a 4.4 sec 40).  Flinch and it’s gone.  That is where the game is played at this level.

You have heard it said that football is a game of inches.  Simple math tells us that, of course.  Yet it is a part of a much deeper truth and foundation the higher you go in the game.  Football is about measure and moment, space and time.  And the faster it is played, the more these two dimensions become inseparable. 

It is about the breadth of a shoulder, the girth of a thigh, the tips of ten fingers, and the knuckles on one hand.  It’s the thickness of the yardstick, or the density of bone.  It’s an arm’s length, a handful of jersey, and the tip of a toe. 

Football’s other measure is the tenth of a second.  It is the difference between a gain and a loss, a catch and a pass breakup, a pass and a fumble, a brilliant play and a penalty, and sometimes a score for the defense or one for the offense. 

It’s nearly the equivalent of a yard in the hands of an SEC receiver, 32.7” in 1/10^th of a second for those who run a 4.4s 40.  Flinch and it’s gone.  That is where the game is played at this level.

Not just for the fast and the furious of the elite destined for pro careers, but for everyone from the kickers to the coaches and even the officials is this speed required. 

It is unlike any other sport in this aspect.  Football is 22 players, a handful of officials, and approximately a dozen coaches at full throttle every 25 seconds or so.  Each is trying to gain that inch or tenth advantage over their opponent and the game itself. 

Space and time are one.  Time is distance.  A yard = a tenth.  An inch can mean the length of the field or a new set of downs.  A tenth can be a career ending injury or a Heisman Trophy, a round advanced in the draft or a year in NFL Europe. 

It’s not any less complicated than that.  In fact, it is exponentially more complicated and yet infinitely more simple to grasp.  11 players in unison oppose the same.  A myriad of rules governs their movements and interactions.  Each is moving in concert to assert a rhythm and timing on those opposing them, as a team and individually, and at the same time shifting and reacting to subtle and/or drastic changes as they happen at speeds and proximities we can only compare to playing in traffic. 

The simple part resides right there.  That is precisely why we don’t play in traffic.  We respect the weight, speed, power and complexity of it while we are pedestrians.  And it is that basic acceptance that should be applied to the game of football in the SEC by spectators and commentators alike. 

But, because of our false impression that we could, can, would, and do master it, it’s the 4^th dimension and beyond that eludes most of our understanding.  It’s also the grasp of the fact that this game on this level, when the ball is snapped, is not played casually or by the undedicated that makes an enormous difference. 

When you get a stadium full of fans that understand this, you have another player on the field.  You silence the heckler and drown out the malcontent.  You turn the tide of games and seasons. 

Without that depth of and yet simple understanding all that can be had are moments of extreme emotion, feelings that don’t last and that are rarely fulfilling.  And sometimes the related outbursts and expressions can actually be damaging.

Accepting the intricacies of the game allows the spectator into and beyond that 4^th dimension that the players on the field rush in and out of.  There’s no other way to get there.  There’s no better way to experience it.   And nothing makes a better fan of the game than one who arrives at this conclusion.

Knowing what is being put into every inch and tenth of a second as well as what went into the grueling hours, weeks, and years to get them all to that point, respecting the effort, the sacrifice, and the determination is indispensable to being on the field with them.  It’s > the 4^th D. 

Reach for that understanding and one day you will have a love for the game and an intensity of experience you never imagined.  You will feel the brush of the pylon, the toes touching just in bounds, the force and balance of the big hit, the adrenaline rush of the back as he emerges into the open field, and know the moment the ball crosses the plain. 

It’s no small wonder and no small gift to you, though it’s measured in such small increments.

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