On the sidelines of NFL football games, there’s a guy who holds a stake marking the start of the drive (where the offense first gained possession). I think the stake as “O” or “X” at the top, I forget which. It doesn’t move until the next change of possession.
Does this stake serve any purpose for the officials? If not, why do they pay somebody just to hold that stake, I’m sure the stat guys and broadcasters could keep track of that up in the booth without paying for somebody to stand on the field !
The stake serves to mark the line at which the possession commenced on. If the play ends and the ball carrier is 10 yards ahead of this point… it’s time for the next down to start.
As to exactly WHY they don’t just write it down… maybe the officials don’t care to be bothered with remembering if it was on the 11 or 12 yard line, and thus the crew holding the stake becomes a de facto addition to the referees.
I can also imagine it makes it easier for the fans at the stadium to remember precisely how many yards their favorite team must gain in order to make the next down.
When I played highschool football and attended varsity games as a JV player, I’d sometimes be called upon to go and worth the stake crew along with a few guys. This was in exchange for free admission to the game, and if the field was going to be really muddy, and I didn’t have cheap pants on, it tended to discourage me from going to the game.
Thanks for remembering my thread! But I never got an answer, and now the thread has fallen off the edge of the SD’s Flat Earth Bulletin Board !
I gave up six weeks ago, after posting to SD, writing to NFL teams, chain gang officials, companies that make the chain sets, etc. Everybody said, "Hey Brad, let me know when you find out the answer because I’ve always wondered about that myself! "
Eventually, I run into somebody on the SD who leads me in the right direction ! That’s sort of the whole spirit of the Straight Dope: to find answers that aren’t already published, and may be difficult to research. (Of course I do have to weed out a lot of uninformed “guesses”). I respect the SDers who preface their comments by saying “Wild Guess” or words to that effect, because it gives me one more theory.
On this Post, somebody thought that the guy who holds the Start of Possession stake, is an “apprentice”, who is learning his trade on the “Chain Gang”. Perhaps?
Just in case it ever helps, I found a picture of the marker you’re talking about. From a place that sells them no less, in case you ever want your own.
I’m starting to think there may be no higher purpose to these things than “just because.” Maybe there is a situation involving a loose ball and series of fumbles where it would be helpful to have a reminder of who was originally in possession and what direction they were advancing, sort of like the possession arrow in basketball.
Wild Guess: It used to be important, because in the 1950’s or 1940’s or earlier, they had to keep track of it because, I don’t know, it made a difference somehow. Maybe the spot of an ensuing kickoff depended on where they started. Or they only kept track of length of scoring drives, so they didn’t write down where a drive started unless the drive resulted in a score.
Drive starts at Stake O, you need to get to Stake X for a first down. The chain between is 10 yards.
3rd and 3, Ricky Williams goes around the right side, gaining what looks like 3 yards, but runs into the unfortunate 65 yr old, 115 lb. Keeper of Stake X and bounces him 3 rows into the stands. Stake X goes flying as well.
Since the Keeper of Stake O has remained in his spot, out of harms way, they can revive (or replace) the Keeper of Stake X, retrieve Stake X, and measure for a first down.
In the NFL, the “Start of Drive” stake has an “X” at top. A guy holds it on the “opposite” side of the field from the “Main Chain Gang” (stakes which have "O"s at the top) and the Line of Scrimmage Stake (which has the Down Number at the top).
The “X” stake stays at the yardline where the offense FIRST gained possession on the current drive, even if they’ve achieved several successive first downs. Example: the offense gains possession on their own 18. The “X” stake guy stands on that 18, as the offense marches downfield over the course of a dozen plays, and 3 suceeding first downs. And that poor guy with the “X” stake is STILL STANDING THERE, some 60-70 yards away from the ACTION! And the Home Team is PAYING him to stand there!
I like Casey1505’s “Wipeout” theory, but the “X” stake is of no use for a “backup” measurement. (BTW: The chain gang does have a backup system for the line of scrimmage and chain stakes).
Maybe they do it just as an FYI convenience to the fans, but it seems so unnecessary. It’s more important to keep track of stats like number of timeouts left, etc,. etc.
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And thanks to “racekarls” picture, although that stake has an arrow at the top - not like the “X” of the NFL.
Here’s another picture from a manufacturer: http://www.gilmangear.com/
(Click on Products/Football/Gridiron Pro Set)
And “Gilman” doesn’t know if there’s any reason for it.
If the guys holding either end of the first down markers have to drop the chains (which happens a lot), they are quite easy to reposition as their is a clip on the chain at one of the yard lines. So all you have to do is put that marked link at the appropriate yard line (the clip usually has a dial where you indicate which line it is) and then you stretch out the chain in both directions from there.
Yes - that’s the backup system I was referring to for measurements. But back to the OP -> When does the “X” stake (start-of-drive) get used in a measurement or ball placement?
