0 Example:
There are four main team sports in America, Basketball, Baseball , Hockey and Football.
1 When talking about sports in US we have to be careful not to mistake ………………… with ………………… .
2 All the main sports are popular because ………………… don’t overlap and each is played at a different time of the year.
3 The NFL is played ………………… .
4 When talking about the Super Bowl the reporters say that apart from the game, fans really enjoy the ………………… , held between the second and third quarter of the match.
5 Advertisers pay extraordinary amounts of money for Super Bowl ………………… .
6 Baseball is the sport that attracts the most ………………… because the competition takes longer.
7 One of the reporters, who’s also a singer, couldn't start her ………………… in Michigan until the Stanley Cup finals were over.
8 Watching a game creates a ………………… that brings families and friends together and unites the country.
M - Let me tell you one thing that I noticed about team sports in the States: there are four main team sports. Not one but F o u r !
C – Yes, Basketball, Baseball , Hockey and Football.
M – And when you mention Football you don’t mean European Football that is soccer to Americans, do you?
C – No, soccer has grown in The States, but it still doesn’t carry the fan base it holds in the rest of the world.
M – So 4 team sports that have an incredible number of fans.
C – That’s possible because the championships are played throughout the year, so the sporting seasons don’t overlap each other much, giving each sport its own season. For example Major League Baseball runs roughly April through October, while American Football the NFL (National Football League) is played September through January.
M – …..ending with America’s biggest TV sport event.
C – Yes, the famous Super Bowl ! Everyone watches the Super Bowl game and of course the Half Time show! Friends and family gather in pubs or at home to watch. Great food is prepared. Rivalries intensify. Truthfully it’s mainly about food and breaking your friend’s balls on facebook. It’s a lot of fun.
M – Well Maybe you should tell our listeners about the The Half Time Show …
C – It’s a concert, a performance given during the break between the second and third quarter of the game. Great performances, artists like Bruce Springsteen, U2, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson… This year we saw The Black Eved Peas Usher and Slash from my personal favorite Guns and Roses.
The Super Bowl is always an exciting event. The TV commercials are famous too. Advertisers pay extraordinary amounts of money for Super Bowl air time. Last year 30 seconds of advertising time was expected to cost 2.6 million US dollars.
You know, we may say that in general football attracts more television viewers than baseball, although baseball attracts significantly more ticket sales due to its much longer schedule.
M – And there are also Basketball and Hockey, as well. (NHL) National Hockey League runs October though April and the NBA National Basketball Association November through April.
C – Hockey is more popular in the colder climates of the northern United States such as New England and in the Midwest. And our neighbors in Canada are crazy about Hockey!
M – I can tell you for sure that Hockey is very popular in Michigan, I was there a couple of years ago during the Stanley Cup finals and I was supposed to perform a live concert, because you know I’m a singer, well, that night I had to wait for the match to be over before the music could start, because everyone was glued to the TV screen!
C – Awesome!! Isn’t that what sport is about? Supporting your favorite team . Going crazy when they win or lose? Wearing those T-shirts proudly, cheering on your heroes and supporting them when they’re down. It’s a great atmosphere. It really brings family and friends together, and it even unites countries.
KEY:
1 football (with) soccer
2 the (sporting) seasons
3 September through January
4 half-time show
5 air time
6 ticket sales
7 (live) concert
8 great atmosphere