The One with the Football

Last updated
"The One with the Football"
Friends episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 9
Directed by Kevin S. Bright
Written byIra Ungerleider
Production code465259
Original air dateNovember 21, 1996 (1996-11-21) [1]
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The One with the Giant Poking Device"
Next 
"The One Where Rachel Quits"
Friends season 3
List of episodes

"The One with the Football" is the ninth episode of Friends ' third season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on November 21, 1996. [1]

Contents

Plot

The girls are cooking Thanksgiving dinner, while the guys watch football. When the girls complain that the guys are not helping, they start discussing the game. Joey suggests the gang play a game of football in the park. Rachel and Phoebe think this is a great idea – even though neither of them have ever played football before. Chandler refuses at first, since he is still distraught over his breakup with Janice. Joey points out that Chandler has not wanted to do anything since the breakup, and this will be an excellent way to start getting over her. Monica and Ross initially refuse too – they had been banned from playing football by their parents. Every year, they used to have a touch football game called the "Geller Bowl". During Geller Bowl VI, Monica broke Ross's nose – thus spurring the banishment, and their father throwing the "trophy" in a lake. They finally decide one game could not hurt, and go to the park to play.

Monica and Ross name themselves team captains – Monica picks Joey and Phoebe; Ross picks Chandler and Rachel, who was upset that she was picked last. Then, she gets upset because Ross keeps telling her to "go long." It does not take long for the Geller siblings' rivalry to come out, and they spend the game at war with each other. Monica reveals that she fished the "Geller Cup" – a Troll doll nailed to a 2x4 – out of the lake while Ross was taken to the emergency room. They decide to play for the "Cup", and Rachel gets even more upset when Ross "trades" her to Monica's team for Joey.

Joey and Chandler meet a pretty Dutch girl named Margha, who is in the park because her roommate is having sex with a businessman. They spend the game competing for her affections. Ross, sick of their fighting, asks her to pick one. She picks Chandler, after it is revealed that Joey does not know where Dutch people come from, but rescinds her choice when Chandler starts gloating.

During the last play of the game, Monica throws it to Rachel – who almost scores a touchdown. Once the gang realizes the ball is still in play, Monica and Ross dive for the ball and refuse to let go. They end up staying there most of the night, while the rest of the gang goes back to the apartment to enjoy dinner. Rachel and Phoebe had so much fun playing football, they wonder if there is a league they can join in their free time away from work. Meanwhile, Ross and Monica briefly stop their fight to admire the snowfall but eventually, continue on their fight again.

Production

The football scenes were challenging to film on the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank due to their setting in a New York City park. The initial plan was to actually shoot the scenes outdoors, but lighting and sound issues made this unworkable. Production designer John Shaffner was forced to set up a second indoor stage in a short time period, placing apartment buildings on both sides of the park and using upside-down carpet padding as the "ground" to maintain the outdoor illusion. Shaffner took the unusual step of creating a full color model of the set to show producers how it could be shot. [2] Director Kevin S. Bright, who considers the episode to be one of his favorites, notes that the live studio audience was actually moved from one stage to the other during filming. [3]

Reception

Related Research Articles

"The One with the Thumb" is the third episode of Friends' first season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 6, 1994. This episode sees Chandler pick up his old smoking addiction, a habit that the rest of the group finds hard to get him to break. Only Alan, the new boyfriend of Monica, can convince Chandler to drop the habit. The gang falls in love with Alan, but Monica does not see a future with him and the two break up, much to the disappointment of the friends. Meanwhile, Phoebe struggles to get rid of all the free money she is receiving, including $7,000 from a soda company when she finds a severed thumb in her drink. She uses the money to pay Chandler to stop smoking.

"The One with the Monkey" is the tenth episode of the NBC television series Friends. It is the tenth episode of the show's first season and was broadcast on December 15, 1994. This episode marks the first appearance of Marcel, a monkey that Ross adopts to keep him company. Phoebe meets scientist David, though their relationship is short-lived, when David gets a grant to work in Minsk. The gang all make a no-date pact for their New Year's Eve party, though all of them save for Ross end up breaking it, with undesired consequences.

"The One with Unagi" is the seventeenth episode of Friends' sixth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on February 24, 2000.

"The One with Ross's New Girlfriend" is the first episode of Friends' second season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on September 21, 1995.

"The One with Russ" is the tenth episode of Friends' second season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on January 4, 1996.

"The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding" is the twenty-fourth and final episode of Friends' second season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on May 16, 1996.

"The One with the Flashback" is the sixth episode of Friends' third season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 31, 1996.

"The One with the Jellyfish" is the first episode of Friends' fourth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on September 25, 1997.

"The One at the Beach" is the twenty-fifth and final episode of the third season of the American television sitcom Friends. It premiered on the NBC in the United States on May 15, 1997.

"The One with the Cat" is the second episode of Friends' fourth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 2, 1997.

"The One Where Everybody Finds Out" is the fourteenth episode of Friends' fifth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on February 11, 1999. In the episode, Phoebe Buffay discovers that Monica Geller and Chandler Bing are secretly dating, and decides to "mess" with them by pretending to flirt with Chandler. Meanwhile, Ross Geller learns that "Ugly Naked Guy" is subletting his apartment and applies for it. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, with Ross witnessing Monica and Chandler having sex through a window, which would be resolved in the next episode.

"The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss" is the first episode of Friends' tenth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on September 25, 2003.

"The One with Joey's Big Break" is the twenty-second episode of Friends' fifth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on May 13, 1999.

"The One in Vegas" is a double length episode of Friends' fifth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on May 20, 1999, as the finale of season five.

"The One with Phoebe's Wedding" is the twelfth episode in the tenth and final season of the American sitcom Friends. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on February 12, 2004.

"The One with Monica's Thunder" is the first episode of Friends' seventh season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 12, 2000.

"The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song" is the seventh episode of Friends' ninth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on November 14, 2002.

"The One with All the Candy" is the ninth episode of Friends' seventh season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on December 7, 2000.

"The One in Barbados" is a double length episode of Friends, the final episode of the ninth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on May 15, 2003.

"The One After 'I Do'" is the first episode of Friends' eight season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on September 27, 2001.

References

  1. 1 2 "Friends – TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
  2. Kinane, Ruth (20 November 2018). "Here's how the Friends production designer turned a stage into an NYC park for 'The One With the Football'". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  3. Ryan, Suzanne C. (7 December 2006). "Friendly art of funny". The Age.
  4. Clark, Champ (July 23, 2018). "The One With the Football (Season 3, Episode 9) – 20 Funniest Episodes of 'Friends'". Purple Clover.
  5. "The 25 best Friends episodes ever (because we know you're watching on Netflix. Yes, even You)". gamesradar. 21 May 2021.
  6. "The definitive ranking of all 236 Friends episodes". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  7. Ashurst, Sam (1 January 2018). "Every single Friends episode – Ranked". Digital Spy.