sports in America 英美文化课件.ppt

Sports in America Watching or attending sports events is an important part of the lives of many Americans. What are some of these sports, and how they affect the lives of people? Football Many Americans attend the “tailgate” party for the football game. For those many other thousands not actually attending the game, a party nonetheless is held in front of a TV set. There are now twenty four teams divided into two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Professional sports in America is entertainment, especially football. Interest in professional football suddenly increased with the advent of color television. Football The largest stadium today is the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan with a capacity of a little over 80 000 seats, and the smallest is the Oakland Coliseum in California seating just 50 000 people. Many stadiums today have a large screen visible from the seating area and capable of displaying a television picture. In addition to professional football, most colleges and universities have a varsity football team, with additional personnel in a marching band and a squad of cheerleaders, whose task is to lead the spectators in cheering for their team. One reason football is so popular in America may be that the game combines teamwork with individual prowess in a rough, contact competition. How the Game Is Played The two opposing teams place eleven players on the field at one time. The team having possession of the football is the offense whose object is to advance the ball over the defense’s goal line. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four attempts (called downs) otherwise the defensive team gains possession of the ball and thus becomes the offense. If the offense believes it will fail to make the requisite ten yards, it will usually kick the ball on the fourth down, so that when the defense takes possession it will be that much farther back from their desired goal. This kick is called a