SuperBowl Charades

American Football is a national past-time and it doesn't get any better than the Superbowl. When the Superbowl comes around, why not take the opportunity to tackle a few games with your youth while you score a few goals for the kingdom of God. This is the first, of several ideas to take advantage of all the Superbowl hype to reach out the youth!

Introduction
In this classic variation of charades participants must act out phrases or words in order for team members to guess the correct phrase. The essence of Charades is pantomimes: you must act out a word or phrase without speaking or making any sound effects. For a Superbowl Party you can use the names of teams or football terms as items for the charades game.

Teams
Ravens, Bills, Bengals, Browns, Broncos, Texans, Colts, Jaguars, Chiefs, Dolphins, Patriots, Jets, Raiders, Steelers, Chargers, Titans, Cardinals, Falcons, Panthers, Bears, Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Vikings, Saints, Giants, Eagles, 49ers, Seahawks, Rams, Buccaneers, Redskins

Terms
Backfield, Bench, Block, Blitz, Catch, Center, Champion, Cheerleader, Clipping, Clock, Coach, Coin toss, Conversion, Cornerback, Defense, Defensive line, Drive, End zone, Extra point, Facemask, Fans, Field, Field Goal, First Down, Flag, Flanker, Football, Football field, Formation, Free kick, Fumble, Game, Goal line, Goal post, Grounding, Guard, H-Back, Hail Mary, Half time, Halfback, Handoff, Hash mark, Helmet, Hike, Holder, Holding, Huddle, Inbounds, Injury, Interception, Kick, Kickoff, Knee pad, Linebacker, Lineman, Locker-room, Noseguard, Offense, Offensive line, Option, Offsides, Out-of-Bounds, Overtime, Pass, Pass interference, Penalty, Pile up, Placekicker, Play, Player, Playbook, Punt, Punter, Quarter, Quarterback, Recovery, Referee, Return (kickoff), Run, Running Back, Rushing, Sack, Safety, Score, Scramble, Scrimmage line, Season, Secondary, Shoulder pads, Sideline, Slotback, Snap, Sneak, Spectators, Spike, Split end, Starter, Superbowl, Sweep, Tackle, Tailback, Team, Tight ends, Time out, Touchback, Touchdown, Trap, Turnover, Water-boy, Wide receiver, Wingback, Winning Team, Yard line, Yardage

Game Description
Participants split into teams of 6 or more members and try to guess the Superbowl / American Football items from the person acting them out.

Game Materials
The key words / teams list

Game Preparation
You will need to create a list of items relating to American Football or the superbowl. Print them on slips of paper and put them in a bag to be drawn from when you play the game. In place of the half-time show and the possibility of "Wardrobe malfunctions"... have a Charades competition! How many items can your team guess during the halftime show?

Game Play

1. Divide players into two teams.
2. High die roll decides which team will play first.
3. The first team selects a person to mime the phrase; all other first team players are then the Guessers. The mime must rotate so that everyone is required to mime a clue before someone can go again.
4. Each time a new mime begins, he must draw a new name or phrase.
5. A timer is used... an hourglass can be used or a 2 minute timer. (The opposing team keeps track of the time limit.)
6. As one team mimes and guesses a name or phrase, the opposing team watches.
7. As the mime pantomimes the words his teammates start shouting out what they think is being portrayed. Players can guess as many times as they want. Guessing is NOT done in turn!
8. First, indicate to your team through motions (no words allowed) some indication of what you want to mime - a team, a football term, etc.
9. Indicate how many words are in the title by holding up the same number of fingers as words. You might also indicate which word you are miming first by holding up a finger for that word. Usually you put the number of fingers flat against your arm to indicate the number of syllables in a word.
10. Use clues along the way to guide the answers:
    • "sounds like" --cup your hand around your ear
    • "little word": bring your thumb and index fingers close together.
    • "Longer version of the word": pretend to stretch an elastic.
    • "Shorter version of the word": chop with your hand.
    • "close, keep guessing!": frantically wave hands to keep the guesses coming.
    • "Knows": Point to you nose to indicate that someone "knows" the word and is correct.
11. Continue until all the words in the phrase are correct.
12. If the Mime's team guesses correctly before the timer is emptied, the Mime's team gets one point and marks the score on a piece of paper. It is now the opposing team’s turn to mime and guess a new name or phrase from a new slip of paper.
13. If the Mime's team does not guess correctly before the timer is emptied, they do not win the point. The opposing team then gets ten seconds to make one guess to win the point. If the opposing team guesses correctly, they win the point and mark the score on a separate sheet of paper. It is then their turn to mime and guess a new name or phrase. If the opposing team does not guess correctly, no one wins the point. It is now the opposing team’s turn to mime and guess a new name or phrase.
14. Play alternates between teams with each phrase to be mimed.
15. At the end of game play or the end of your clues, the team with the most correct guesses wins!

Discussion

• How much do you know about football? Who's the football expert?
• Do you have to know everything about the game to enjoy the football game?
• Are there people who don't really care about football but get caught up in the excitement of the event? Why?
• Do you need to know everything about the team players to enjoy the game?
• What is it about the superbowl that gets people excited?
• Are you as excited about God as you are about the Superbowl? Why or why not?
• In what ways is the church (or this group) similar to a football team?
  (We are united as a team, we have a goal (the great commission), we work together to achieve a goal, there is opposition, sometimes unexpected things happen, sometimes we fumble in our tasks, sometimes we gain ground, while other times we lose ground, We have a coach (God), sometimes we have to defend against the opposition, time is short, there are people watching us (spectators), not everyone plays fair, there are penalties for mistakes, we must wear protective gear (armor of God), we have different positions on the team, there are people who are playing and there are people on the sidelines, we need a game plan, etc.)

Closing Application

• Are you part of the team (A Christian?) Why or why not?
• If you are, what is your position(role) in the team?
• Are you on the sidelines or playing the game?
• Are you a team player?
• Are you focused on the goal?
• What can you begin doing to help the team more effectively overcome the opposition and achieve the goals ahead?

Keep watch for more SuperBowl / American Football Ideas in the next couple of days!