Home vs. Away
Football is a game played between two teams. A team is always classified as either the home team or the away team. Each classification comes with a specific set of advantages in a football game.
The Home Team
The home team is the team that owns the playing surface. As a result, they have something called home field advantage.
Home Field Advantage
Home field advantage is not unique to just football. In fact, it is a common term used across all types of sports. It is a mental edge that a team or individual has over the opponent.
This mental edge exists because:
- The team has had prior experience on the playing surface.
- The team has a higher number of fans in attendance.
The Away Team
The away team is the team that is visiting. They do not own the playing surface. They have the disadvantage of playing on the opposing team's field.
The Coin Toss
The away team is given the choice to call 'heads' or 'tails' at the start of the football game for the coin toss.
Neutral Ground
Sometimes if both teams are playing on neutral ground they are both considered away teams. Which team gets to flip the coin toss? In this case, the referee chooses.