The Rise of the NFL

欢迎收听《聚焦》。

Welcome to Spotlight.

我是罗杰·巴西克。

I'm Roger Basick.

我是宝拉·德维斯。

And I'm Paula Devis.

《聚焦》采用一种独特的英语广播方式。

Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.

无论你住在世界哪个角落，都更容易听懂。

It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.

2026年2月，国家橄榄球联盟举办了第六十届超级碗比赛。

In February 2026, the National Football League, NFL, held its sixtieth Super Bowl.

超级碗是美式橄榄球的冠军赛。

The Super Bowl is the championship game of American football.

西雅图海鹰队以29比13战胜了新英格兰爱国者队。

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29 to 13.

但真正的赢家其实是NFL。

But the real winner was the NFL.

美国有超过一亿三千万人观看了这场比赛。

Over 130,000,000 people in The United States watched the game.

今天在《焦点》节目中，我们来看看NFL是如何成为美国最受欢迎的运动的。

On today's spotlight, we look at how the NFL became the most popular sport in America.

我们会探讨它对美国社会乃至全世界带来的影响。

We'll see what changes it has brought to American society and to the rest of the world.

美式橄榄球源自足球和橄榄球这两种欧洲足球运动的结合。

American football was created as a combination of soccer and rugby, two European football games.

足球和橄榄球最初都是以踢球为主的运动。

Both soccer and rugby began as kicking games.

因为美式橄榄球也保留了踢球的元素，美国人就把自己的这项运动也叫做足球。

Since American football used kicking like European football games, Americans also called their game football.

在欧洲足球中，传球是指一名球员用脚把球踢给队友。

Passing in European football is when one player kicks the ball with their feet to another player on their team.

传球直到多年后才成为美式橄榄球的一部分。

Passing did not become a part of American football until years later.

球员们开始用手把球扔给队友。

Players began throwing the ball to teammates with their hands.

NFL成立于1920年，当时只有14支球队。

The NFL began in 1920 with only 14 teams.

像俄亥俄州的坎顿和伊利诺伊州的迪凯特这样的城市，是最初的球队所在地。

Cities like Canton, Ohio and Decatur, Illinois were home to the original teams.

那时候，橄榄球只在本地有点人气。

Football had only local popularity.

离吸引全国关注还差得远呢。

It was a long way from capturing the nation's attention.

到了20世纪60年代，橄榄球越来越受欢迎了。

By the nineteen sixties, football was becoming a more popular sport.

其他城市都想组建球队，但NFL并不想扩张。

Other cities wanted football teams, but the NFL did not want to expand.

于是，一群商人创办了一个新的联盟。

So a group of businessmen started a new league.

这个联盟叫美国橄榄球联盟，简称AFL。

It was called the American Football League or AFL.

几年后，NFL的负责人和AFL一支球队——堪萨斯城酋长队的老板——见了面。

After several years, the head of the NFL and the owner of one of the AFL's teams, the Kansas City Chiefs, had a meeting.

他们决定在每个赛季结束时，让两个联盟的冠军球队打一场对决。

They decided to hold a game between the champions of each league at the end of the football season.

他们把这场比赛叫做超级碗。

They called the game the Super Bowl.

第一届超级碗在1967年举行。

They held the first Super Bowl in 1967.

1970年，AFL正式并入NFL。

In 1970, the AFL joined the NFL.

几年后，NFL分成了两个部分。

A few years later, the NFL split into two parts.

从那以后，每个分区的冠军会在赛季末争夺超级碗。

From then on, the winners of each part played in the Super Bowl at the end of the football season.

这两个分区之间的竞争推动了橄榄球的流行。

The competition between the two parts helped to increase football's popularity.

看橄榄球的人越多，它就越深入融入美国的文化。

The more people watched football, the more it became a part of America's culture.

全美各地的小镇，每逢周五晚上都会举办高中橄榄球赛，成了固定节目。

High school football games on Friday nights became weekly events in towns across the country.

大学橄榄球也大受欢迎，能容纳十一万人的球场场场爆满。

College football achieved great popularity, selling out games in stadiums with 110,000 seats.

大学毕业生把对母校球队的热爱传给了下一代。

Graduates of colleges passed down their love for their school's football team to their children.

支持本地大学橄榄球队成了一种传统。

Support of the local college football team became a tradition.

大学橄榄球解说员基思·杰克逊说过：你走进一个大学橄榄球城市，会看到祖孙三代人坐在一起看球。

Keith Jackson, a college football broadcaster, said, you go into a college football town, and you will find three generations of a family sitting together.

顶尖的大学球员随后被选入NFL。

The best college players were then drafted into the NFL.

大学球员的球迷们继续在NFL中关注他们。

Fans of college players continued to follow them in the NFL.

NFL还限制了每支球队在球员身上的支出总额。

The NFL also limited the amount of money each team could spend on players.

这样一来，每支球队都有机会签下最好的球员。

This gave each team a chance to hire the best players.

这让各队在竞争中有了平等的机会。

It gave these teams an equal chance of competing.

互联网推动了NFL的发展。

The Internet helped the NFL grow.

互联网让全球的观众都能关注NFL比赛。

The Internet allowed viewers around the globe to follow the NFL.

NFL每个赛季都在伦敦、柏林和墨西哥城等城市举办比赛，以扩大影响力。

The NFL held games each season in cities like London, Berlin, and Mexico City to grow its league.

在九十年代，NFL还调整或新增了一些规则，目的是增加得分机会。

During the nineteen nineties and February, the NFL also changed or created rules to encourage scoring.

这些改动让比赛变得更刺激了。

These changes made the game more exciting.

观众都喜欢看节奏更快、更热闹的比赛。

Fans liked to watch games with more action.

来自马萨诸塞州的简·安德森，一位四个孩子的母亲兼教堂管风琴手，说：我喜欢看传球。

Jean Anderson, a mother of four and a church organist who lived in Massachusetts, said, I like the passing.

看球员能不能接住球，特别有意思。

It's fun to see if they can catch the ball.

你永远猜不到下一秒会发生什么。

You never know what will happen.

橄榄球既有足球那种紧张的氛围，得分却要高得多。

Football had the tension of a close soccer match but with much more scoring.

从八九十年代到2011年，超级碗的平均观众人数从八千万增长到九千万，最后达到了一亿一千一百万。

The average number of viewers who watched the Super Bowl went from 80 to 90,000,000 during the nineteen eighties and nineteen nineties to 111,000,000 by 2011.

NFL还很明智地推动了幻想橄榄球的发展。

The NFL was also wise to encourage fantasy football.

幻想橄榄球是一种球迷从NFL所有球队中挑选特定球员的游戏。

Fantasy football is a game where fans pick certain players from all the different teams in the NFL.

球迷会一直选球员，直到组成一支完整的队伍。

A fan chooses players until the team is complete.

这支虚拟队伍会和其他幻想球队在联赛中对决。

The fan's imaginary team competes against other teams in the fantasy football league.

球迷的积分取决于自己选的球员在真实比赛中的表现。

The fan collects points based on how his or her team's players perform in NFL games.

这样一来，球迷就能持续关注整个NFL，而不仅仅是一支球队。

This allows fans to stay interested in the whole NFL, not just one team.

幻想橄榄球吸引了很多原本不太关注橄榄球的人。

Fantasy football appeals to many people who never followed football closely.

来自德克萨斯州沃斯堡的咨询师布莱恩·巴特勒说，我以前根本不会看NFL。

Brian Butler, a counselor from Fort Worth, Texas, said, I never used to watch the NFL.

我以前根本提不起兴趣。

It didn't really interest me.

但后来我加入了幻想橄榄球联盟，开始关注整个联盟的球员。

But then I joined a fantasy football league and started paying attention to players all over the league.

这些因素共同让橄榄球成为美国最受欢迎的运动。

All these factors led to the NFL becoming the most popular sport in America.

每个星期天、星期一和星期四，都有精彩比赛在电视上直播。

Exciting games were broadcast on television each Sunday, Monday, and Thursday.

球迷们都盼着看自己支持的球队能不能打进超级碗。

Fans could not wait to see if their favorite team could make it to the Super Bowl.

球员们一次次上演精彩的冲跑和传球。

Players made amazing runs and throws.

比赛总是紧张激烈，结局扣人心弦。

There were close games with great finishes.

每年的超级碗都是全国收视率最高的节目。

Every year, the Super Bowl was the country's highest rated broadcast.

看橄榄球比赛在感恩节期间变得特别流行。

Watching football games became popular during American Thanksgiving celebrations.

感恩节是美国和加拿大共同庆祝的节日，纪念早期殖民者与原住民共享丰收餐的往事。

Thanksgiving is a national holiday in America and Canada remembering the colonial Pilgrim's Harvest meal with Native Americans.

每年感恩节当天，NFL都会播出两三场比赛。

The NFL broadcasts two or three games on Thanksgiving Day.

整个北美地区的家庭都会在餐前餐后聚在一起看这些比赛。

Families across North America gathered before and after meals to watch these games.

每年二月的超级碗，简直就像一个非正式的节日。

The Super Bowl each February is an unofficial holiday.

办一场超级碗派对，规模可以跟圣诞节或跨年夜派对相媲美。

A Super Bowl party can be as big as an event like a Christmas or a New Year's Eve party.

橄榄球已经成了美国的一种传统，而NFL至今仍是最受欢迎的联赛。

Football became an American tradition, and the NFL is still its most popular league.

但这种传统真的健康吗？

But was it a healthy tradition?

每周播三场NFL比赛，是不是太多了？

Were three days a week too many to show NFL games?

大学橄榄球比赛通常安排在周六播出。

College football games were broadcast on Saturday.

秋季的每个星期五，高中比赛都会举行。

High school games were held every Friday during the fall.

差不多半年时间里，每周有五天都在踢球或看球。

Five days a week were devoted to football for almost half a year.

这一切会不会太过头了？

Was it all too much?

对球迷来说，答案当然是否定的。

For football fans, the answer was no.

大家为本地球队加油，反而拉近了邻里之间的距离。

It brought communities closer together by cheering on their local team.

科罗拉多州斯特拉顿的高中橄榄球教练杰西·麦康奈尔说，全镇的人都会来看我们比赛。

In Stratton, Colorado, high school football coach Jesse McConnell said, the whole town comes to watch our team.

他们在加油站也能碰到他们。

They see them at the gas station.

总会上前问孩子们赛季进行得怎么样。

They're always asking the kids how the season is going.

足球让家庭因为支持职业队和大学队而更紧密地聚在一起。

Football helped families unite over professional and college football teams.

它让人们暂时摆脱了工作中的压力。

It gave people a break from the daily pressures they faced at work.

这是一种全家人都能享受的娱乐方式。

It was fun entertainment the whole family could enjoy.

NFL的持续发展证明了一件事：在美国以及世界其他地方，

And the continued growth of the NFL proved one thing to be true about America and the rest of the world.

人们都迫不及待地等着下一场比赛。

It couldn't wait for the next game.

你喜欢看足球比赛吗？

Do you like to watch football games?

你自己玩过美式橄榄球吗？

Have you ever played American football yourself?

欢迎在我们的网站 www.spotlightenglish.com 留下你的评论。

You can leave a comment on our website at www.spotlightenglish.com.

你也可以在 YouTube、Facebook、TikTok、Instagram 和 X 上找到我们。

You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X.

通过我们的免费官方 Spotlight English 应用，你可以直接把节目推送到你的安卓或苹果设备上。

You can also get Spotlight episodes delivered directly to your Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

本集的作者是彼得·安德森。

The writer of this episode was Peter Anderson.

本集的制作人是尾崎道夫。

The producer was Michio Ozaki.

你听到的配音来自美国和英国。

The voices you heard were from The United States and The United Kingdom.

所有引述内容都经过改编，并由 Spotlight 团队配音。

All quotes were adapted for this episode and voiced by Spotlight.

本集内容完全未使用任何人工智能。

No AI or artificial intelligence was used in this episode.

Spotlight 的每一集都由真人创作、配音和制作，只为真实的听众服务，无论你身在世界哪个角落。

Spotlight episodes are written, voiced, and produced by real people for real people, no matter where in the world they live.

本集标题是《NFL的崛起》。

This episode is called the rise of the NFL.

希望你下次还能和我们一起收听 Spotlight 的新节目。

We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight episode.

再见。

Goodbye.