VOA标准英语2014--America's Biggest Sporting Event Attracts World Media 美国最大的体育盛会吸引全球媒体

 

America's Biggest Sporting Event Attracts World Media 美国最大的体育盛会吸引全球媒体

NEW YORK — America’s biggest sporting event - the Super Bowl - has a major global following. Viewers around the world will tune¹ in to American football’s championship game this Sunday to watch the Denver Broncos face the Seattle Seahawks.

It’s the first outdoor, cold weather Super Bowl in NFL history - this year held at MetLife stadium in New Jersey², just outside New York City. There was quite a frenzy³ Wednesday at Media Day in Newark, New Jersey.

The Super Bowl is the biggest media event in all of American sports, but it's not only domestic fans who clamor for coverage⁴ of the big game.

"Super Bowl is a great event for us internationally, something that is known around the world. Even if people aren’t NFL fans, they know about Super Bowl," said David Tossell of NFL International. "Super Bowl is a great chance for us to, it’s really the showpiece for what the NFL is and gives us a chance to reach a whole new audience around the world."

Global focus

The New Jersey stadium has been packed with media from around the world leading up to the game, which will be broadcast to more than 200 countries. More than 500 international broadcasters are registered to cover the event. Several told VOA that the Super Bowl attracts big audiences in their countries.

“We have good ratings and in Moscow the sports bars, all sports bars are full,” said Dmitri Khaitovsky, a Russian sports commentator⁵.

“In England and all over Europe the game of American football, which is what they call it, has been played for decades. It’s just now there’s more of an attention and emphasis by the NFL in doing games in Wembley Stadium," said Cecil Martin, of Sky TV in England.

"In Mexico, the [Pittsburgh] Steelers, the [Dallas] Cowboys, also the Denver Broncos, the 49ers-San Francisco, now the four or five teams have very much popularity in our country," said Luis Garcia of Mexican TV.

Manning big in Japan

It’s not just teams that are well-known. Many NFL superstars are well-known in other countries. Peyton Manning, quarterback of the Denver Broncos, has many fans in Japan.

"He’s pretty big. He’s pretty famous. We are pretty interested in how he does against the Seahawks,” said Yuki Makino of NHK Television in Japan.

With an estimated one billion fans worldwide watching the Super Bowl, the NFL just might be poised⁶ to expand its franchise⁷ to other parts of the globe.  

 

“There’s obviously a lot of discussion whether we would have a franchise in London," said Tossell. "The commissioner⁸ himself has spoken about that and said that if we continue to do well in the U.K. it is something to be looked at."

1 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

6 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

7 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。