Rules
In addition to those practical purposes, gradually, some rules have evolved that are unique to the final two minutes of each half and overtime. There is no special event at the ends of the first and third quarters, aside from swapping end zones, so there is no two-minute warning then, only at the halves.
The two-minute warning in the fourth quarter is an important milestone in the game for a team that is in the lead and looking to run out the clock. If the leading team has the ball on first down with less than two minutes to go in the game and the opposing team has no timeouts remaining, the quarterback can often safely end the game by "taking a knee" three times in a row without risking injuries or turnovers. This is because at the end of each play, the offensive team can take up to 40 seconds to start running the next play.
Read more about this topic: Two-minute Warning
Famous quotes containing the word rules:
“Here was a place where nothing was crystallized. There were no traditions, no customs, no college songs .... There were no rules and regulations. All would have to be thought of, planned, built up, created—what a magnificent opportunity!”
—Mabel Smith Douglass (1877–1933)
“Can rules or tutors educate
The semigod whom we await?
He must be musical,
Tremulous, impressional,
Alive to gentle influence
Of landscape and of sky
And tender to the spirit-touch
Of man’s or maiden’s eye.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Never invite to dinner: those who won’t decide until the last minute; those who come more than half an hour late; those who want to bring along two or three friends; drunks; monologists; those who stay until three o’clock in the morning; those who think that conversation means having an argument; those who take a high moral tone; those who are stupid, ugly, or dull. Enforcement of these rules will enable one to eat alone every night in comfort.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)