（Level 3）-Day_92 National Football League

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕

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词汇提示

1.franchises 特许经营权

2.monopoly 垄断

3.norms 规范

4.possession 占有

5.territory 领土

6.frontiers 边界

7.conquering 占领

8.devised 设计

9.stark 明显

10.crucial 至关重要的

11.conducive 有利于

12.leverage 影响力

13.legitimacy 合法性

14.merger 合并

15.enterprise 企业

16.tailor 定做

原文

National Football League

The NFL（National Football League）is one of the wealthiest and most powerful sports organizations in the world.

Many of the single franchises or teams are worth 200-300 million dollars each.

As such，each team should be thought of as a major corporation.

American-style football，of which the NFL maintains a complete monopoly over the elite professional ranks，has its roots in English rugby，which was played in U.S. Eastern colleges and universities in the nineteenth century.

However，rugby did not have features in keeping with American cultural norms.

So U.S. football arose out of norms consistent with American society，such as clearly measured possession of territory and the expansion of frontiers through conquering new land.

Walter Camp，a Yale player，devised the rules of the American game.

In 1880，he introduced“downs”into the game，or breaks so that teams could re-assess their position and prepare for the next attack.

This was in stark contrast to rugby's non-stop and more flowing play.

This move would years later be crucial to the sport's success.

With natural breaks in play，the game would be one conducive to American commercial television，which relies on advertisement breaks for the generation of revenue.

Equally important was the later inclusion of the forward pass in the game.

This made the game appear more offensive，and the famous“Hail Mary”long pass is to this day one of the most dramatic plays in sport.

Football's success as a dominant American sport（alongside baseball）was secured in the 1960s with some important contracts with television networks.

The ABC television network sponsored a rival “American Football League” to compete with other dominant National Foot League.

ABC television did not hide the fact that the rival league was created for the sole purpose or creating more leverage with advertisers.

After gaining greater legitimacy and earning more revenue，the up-start AFL was able to negotiate independently with other television networks and sign on big-name players.

The most notable was star quarterback Joe Namath.

With the AFL rising as a legitimate business competitor，the NFL and AFL negotiated a merger，resulting in the NFL league，as it is known to this day.

Since the merger，the NFL has maintained almost a complete monopoly over American professional football.

Football's success，then，has been a reflection of the ideals of American society and，more specifically，of American-style commercial enterprise.

The league's success has，in no small part，been due to the relationship between the media and the sport.

In a sense，football is a perfect example of a modern media-generated sport，successful linking American norms and values with a sport tailor-made for commercial profit.

翻译

国家橄榄球联盟

美国国家橄榄球联盟(NFL)是世界上最富有和最强大的体育组织之一。
许多单一的特许经营权或团队价值2 -3亿美元。
因此，每个团队都应该被看作是一个大公司。
由美国国家橄榄球联盟(NFL)在职业精英中保持着完全垄断地位的美式橄榄球，起源于19世纪在美国东部的大学和学院中进行的英式橄榄球。
然而，英式橄榄球并没有符合美国文化规范的特点。
因此，美国橄榄球源于与美国社会相一致的规范，比如明确衡量领土的占有和通过征服新土地来扩张疆域。
耶鲁大学的运动员沃尔特·坎普制定了美国橄榄球的比赛规则。
1880年，他在比赛中引入了“倒地”战术，即中场休息，以便球队重新评估自己的位置，为下一次进攻做好准备。
这与英式橄榄球的不间断和流畅形成了鲜明对比。
多年后，这一举措对这项运动的成功至关重要。
如果比赛中有自然的休息时间，那么这款比赛将有利于美国商业电视，因为它依靠广告休息时间来产生收入。
同样重要的是后来在比赛中引入了向前传球。
这使得比赛显得更具攻击性，而著名的“万福玛利亚”长传至今仍是体育运动中最具戏剧性的动作之一。
20世纪60年代，由于与电视网络签订了一些重要的合同，美式橄榄球(与棒球一起)成为了美国的一项主要运动，从而获得了成功。
美国广播公司(ABC)电视网赞助了竞争对手——美国橄榄球联盟(American Football League)，与另外占主导地位的美国国家橄榄球联盟(National Foot League)展开竞争。
美国广播公司并没有掩盖这样一个事实，即竞争对手联盟是为了一个目的而创立的，或者是为了增加与广告商之间的影响力。
在获得了更大的合法性和更多的收入后，新贵美国橄榄球联盟（AFL）能够与其他电视网络独立谈判，并与大牌球员签约。

其中最著名的是明星四分卫乔·纳马斯(Joe Namath)。
随着美国橄榄球联盟(AFL)逐渐成为一个合法的商业竞争对手，美国国家橄榄球联盟(NFL)和美国橄榄球联盟(AFL)达成了合并协议，从而形成了如今为人所知的美国橄榄球大联盟。
自合并以来，美国国家橄榄球联盟几乎保持了对美国职业橄榄球的完全垄断。
因此，橄榄球的成功反映了美国社会的理想，更具体地说，是美国式商业企业的理想。
联盟的成功在很大程度上要归功于媒体和体育之间的关系。
从某种意义上说，橄榄球是现代媒体创造创造的一个完美例子，它成功地将美国的规范和价值观与一项为商业利益量身定制的运动联系在一起。