What is the NFL?
How common are NFL matches on TV?
What makes NFL drinking games a great choice?
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The NFL, or National Football League, is responsible for major football games on Sundays throughout the season. These games are very common and easy to find on TV, and they’re aired on most main networks as well as ESPN channels in many situations.
The NFL season begins in September and lasts until February. Throughout the season, fans get together and party, eat, and drink alcohol while the game is on.
For this reason, drinking games are a great way to unwind with your friends or family and watch the game at the same time. Read on to learn more about how to play a great NFL drinking game at your next viewing party.
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NFL Drinking Game Rules
When you’re planning an NFL drinking game, it’s a good idea to set a few drinking rules everyone is okay with following. You can print off a list of these rules and hand them out to everyone, or you can just tell everyone and hope your party guests will keep track of their own drinking correctly. Whether or not you choose to make this a more formal or more casual game, having a good idea of the rules beforehand can mean the difference between a forgettable and memorable party.
Read through the rules below and pick 7 or 8 for your drinking game. Remember that choosing too many will cause everyone to get drunk too quickly to get through the whole game, so choose wisely!
1. Take a shot for every touchdown. You can choose to do this for both sides if you want, or you can opt to drink when your team gets a touchdown only. Either way, you should specify which one you’re doing before the game begins, so there’s no chance for cheating when it comes to taking the right number of drinks!
2. Take two shots if a player does a touchdown dance. There may be some good-natured arguing over what counts as a “dance” for this rule.
3. Take a sip when a penalty flag is thrown. There are often a few of these throughout the game, so you may want to stick to sips instead of shots for this rule. Of course, you can change it to shots if you feel like you aren’t drinking enough.
4. Take a sip for every first down. Like penalty flags, this one happens often during the course of most games, so it’s a good idea to keep your drinking in check a little bit with this rule.
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5. Every time your team makes a big offensive play that works, take two shots. This should be a gain of at least 20 yards for it to count as a successful big play.
6. Every time your team makes a field goal, take three shots—one for each point scored. If your team tries for a field goal and misses it, take one shot anyway.
7. If a player on your team gets injured, take four shots. If the injury is a mild one, you don’t have to do anything else. However, if the player ends up being taken out of the gam because he is very seriously injured, chug your drink before the game resumes. Be cautious with this rule as it can lead to a lot of drinking fast.
8. If your team makes an unpredictable big play or does something otherwise truly outstanding, unprecedented, or very rare, chug your drink. It’s up to you and your friends to determine what counts, but most fans should have no trouble recognizing a move that is truly surprising or unexpected in some way.
9. Some fans put a rule in place throughout the season that involves drinking when the worst team in the NFL season makes a touchdown. You can keep this as a standing rule if you’ll be drinking often with the same group of friends throughout weekly NFL games.
10. Every time a coach challenges something, take a shot. Then, try to predict whether or not the challenge will be upheld or the original call will be kept in place. If you get it right, you can give a shot to someone else playing. If you get it wrong, then you have to take another shot.
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11. Every time you see a beer commercial, you should take a shot. If it happens to be a commercial for the type of beer you’re drinking, take two shots.
12. If someone in the room talks about their fantasy football team, take a sip (or a shot, if you prefer). This rule is even better if the person talking about their team isn’t in on it and doesn’t realize others are drinking because of their conversation.
13. If someone gets the ball and then fumbles it, take a sip. Depending on how the game is going, you might want to take a shot instead for this rule.
14. Of course, if your team wins the game, then it’s time to chug in celebration! Everyone playing the drinking game should participate in this if their team wins, and should at least finish their current drink for this rule.
15. Many fans who watch games together with the same people throughout the season put a “bathroom rule” in place. This means that if someone gets up to go to the bathroom and misses a drink, they have to drink twice the amount required when they get back.
- This rule requires two people to vouch for it, in order to prevent friends from forcing someone to drink extra when they don’t actually have to.
- The exception to this rule is, of course, if they are going to the bathroom because they are sick from drinking too much already—in which case they need to sit out the rest of the drinking game!
Conclusion
Pick your favorite rules from our list above and get together with your friends or family for an excellent drinking game. Remember to stock up on your favorite alcohol for the event, too—beer is a great choice for an NFL drinking game, since it’s often the go-to alcohol of choice for most tailgating parties and viewing parties too. You may also want to try something that can be enjoyed in shots, like tequila or rum, depending on the group of people you’ll be watching with.
With the right set of rules to help you get started, you’ll be more than ready to have a great drinking game experience from start to finish. But what are some of the best NFL events for parties and drinking games? Here are a few to keep in mind when planning your upcoming parties:
- Playoffs: These are important games each season that tend to get fans fired up fast.
- Super Bowl: Nothing beats a Super Bowl drinking game!
- First game of the season/last game of the season: These viewing parties can be a fun way to get in the football spirit while having a drinking game at the same time.
No matter what, make sure you always play and drink responsibly. Drinking games should be fun and should not cause anyone to get sick or end up in a dangerous situation.