VOA · Arts & Culture
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed4:542025-02-06public domain
The Arts & Culture beat covers music, film, museums, food, and traditions from the United States and around the world. The reports are short, vivid, and full of everyday descriptive language — great for learners who want vocabulary beyond textbooks.
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01This Sunday, February 9th, is not a holiday in the United States, but it might seem like one to Americans.
02Many will be attending parties to watch Super Bowl 59.
03The Super Bowl is the championship game of professional American football.
04The National Football League, or NFL, has 32 teams, mainly based in large cities across the U.S.
05The first professional league was formed in 1920, when representatives of four teams met in Canton, Ohio.
06The group first called itself the American Professional Football Association, but changed the name two years later to the National Football League.
07In 1960, Texas businessman Lamar Hunt pushed the effort to create the American Football League, or AFL.
08The two leagues competed with each other to sign top football players from universities around the country.
09In 1965, established NFL players began negotiating to play for the competing league.
10So, officials of the two leagues decided to work together.
11This agreement established a championship game between the two leagues.
12It was officially called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, but became known as the Super Bowl.
13The first Super Bowl was played in 1967 in Los Angeles, California.
14The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs.
15It was not a very exciting game.
16Many of the seats in the sports center were empty.
17That changed with the Super Bowl played two years later.
18Experts say the public finally accepted the new league when the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts.
19After that game, in 1969, officials of the two leagues decided to create a new National Football League.
20They divided the teams into two competing conferences, the American Conference, or AFC, and the National Conference, NFC.
21Each year, the conference champions play in the Super Bowl.
22Today, the Super Bowl is a major sporting event.
23Tens of thousands of people will be watching the game Sunday at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
24Tens of millions of other people around the world will be watching Super Bowl 59.
25They will be watching to see if the AFC Kansas City Chiefs or the NFC Philadelphia Eagles become the champions of American football.
26Both teams have had success in the big game.
27The Eagles are one-time NFL champions.
28They defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52.
29This Sunday will be the team's fifth NFL championship game appearance.
30The Kansas City Chiefs have played for the championship six times.
31They have won four times, including the last two Super Bowls.
32The Chiefs are the first team in NFL history to have a chance to win a third Super Bowl in a row.
33I'm Katie Weaver.
34I'm Katie Weaver.
35I'm Katie Weaver.
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