Game On!

薛凌橋

“Develop sports activities and build up citizens health！” Chairman Mao said in 1952 with the establishment of the All-China Federation of Sports. Now， with over 200 Olympic medals and experience hosting a Summer Games under its belt， its clear that Chinas enthusiasm toward sports continues to burn bright.

In attracting new audiences to sporting events， or increasing the enthusiasm of the old， sports commentators play an important role. Sports announcing in China started in February 1951， when journalist Zhang Zhi commentated on a basketball game between Shanghai and the Soviet Union on radio. The state-run China Central Television broadcast the nations first televised sports match with live commentary in 1958， and later set up a channel for sports broadcasts in the 1970s and 80s， sending sports journalists all over the world to interpret matches for audiences back home.

As sports broadcasting grew in popularity and professionalism， the style of commentary has evolved. Originally， only a single announcer provided analysis of the scores， but nowadays， multiple commentators may debate the performances of the athletes， give background information on the teams， and guide the audience through all the emotional ups and downs of each game.

Setting the mood

Before a match， it is important to elevate athletes morale， or 士氣 （sh#q#）， and build up audiences expectations. At this time， sports commentators often say of the team， “Go for the win！ All Chinese fans are on your side （為了勝利，全力以赴！所有中國球迷都是你們的后盾 W-ile sh-ngl#， qu1nl# y@ f&！ Su6y6u Zh4nggu5 qi%m！ d4ush# n@men de h7ud&n）！”

Audiences need to know what conditions this amazing line-up might be facing， which sports commentators will put under two categories. “External factors，” or 場外因素 （ch2ngw3i y～ns&）， refer to elements such as the weather on match day， slippery conditions on the ground， substitutes playing， top athletes from an opposing team， or even road traffic that delays the team bus.

Rainy weather is an external factor that may affect the players ability to pass the ball on the turf.

Y^ti`n sh～hu1 de ch2ngw3i y～ns& hu# y@ngxi2ng b0nch2ng b@s3i du#yu1nmen z3i l_y～nch2ng sh3ng de chu1nqi% f`hu～.

雨天濕滑的場外因素會影響本場比賽隊員們在綠茵場上的傳球發揮。

The opposite， “internal factors，” or 場內因素 （ch2ngn-i y～ns&）， are the advantages or disadvantages intrinsic to the team. The most common are injuries to key players， though any major or minor change to the team in the past year， such as a head coachs departure or tension between players， could rewrite the outcome of the match—or so commentators would have you believe：

The focus of the match is to see whether FC Barcelona can do the unexpected without Lionel Messi.

B0nch2ng b@s3i de y～ d3 k3ndi2n bi3n sh# k3nkan B`s3ilu5n3du# z3i M9ix～ qu8zh-n de q！ngku3ng xi3 n9ngf6u y6u y#w3i f`hu～.

本場比賽的一大看點便是看看巴塞羅那隊在梅西缺陣的情況下能否有意外發揮。

Drumming up suspense

With players lined up on both sides of the court， its time for sports commentators to start creating an atmosphere of conflict and confrontation. War metaphors are common when describing rivalries in and out of the stadium. Two long-time rival players or teams might be called each others 死敵 （s@d！）， or “deadly enemy，” and their match “a clash of passion （激情的碰撞 j～q！ng de p-ngzhu3ng）.”

Welcome to the North London Derby， watched by tens of thousands around the world. The two teams are Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur， who have been deadly enemies for a century， and will fight to defend their glory.

Hu`ny！ng d3ji` sh4uk3n zh- ch2ng w3nzh7ng zh^m& de B0il%nd$n D9b@， du#zh-n shu`ngf`ng sh# sh#j# s@d！ As8nn3 h9 Tu4t-n3m^r-c#du#， ji`ozh3n shu`ngf`ng ji`ng hu# qu1nl# y@ f& h3nw-i z#j@ de r5ngy&.

歡迎大家收看這場萬眾矚目的北倫敦德比，對陣雙方是世紀死敵阿森納和托特納姆熱刺隊， 交戰雙方將會全力以赴捍衛自己的榮譽。

However， its just as common for commentators to try to emphasize good sportsmanship as essential to sporting matches， or pepper their speeches with cliches：

On the pitch， its friendship first， competition second.

Z3i y&nd7ngch2ng sh3ng， y6uy# d#-y～， b@s3i d#--r.

在運動場上，友誼第一，比賽第二。

This is even more important in international sports， as sports rivalries can be bound up with politics：

Before the mighty Brazilian mens football team， the young men on the Chinese team should learn to be modest， study their opponents skills， and gain experience from the match.

Z3i qi1ngd3 de B`x～du# mi3nqi1n， Zh4nggu5du# de xi2ohu6zimen x$y3o xu9hu# f3ngd～ z～t3i， xu9hu# bi9r9n de ch1ngch&， t4nggu7 b@s3i j～l0i j～ngy3n.

在強大的巴西隊面前，中國隊的小伙子們需要學會放低姿態，學習別人的長處，通過比賽積累經驗。

Fight on！

Sporting events are scenes of huge passion， with fans shouting and whistling to celebrate goals or scores. Sports commentators must try to maintain their enthusiasm， but cannot forget that their main job is to explicate the match for the masses. Commentators often phrase technical information about the game with humorous or expressive words to increase the audiences enjoyment：

Penalty kick！ Penalty kick！ Penalty kick！ And Fabio Grosso has done it！ What an extraordinary left back for the Italians; he has inherited the glory of Italian football！ Fabio Grosso alone represents the long and glorious tradition of Italian football. But at this moment， all of his teammates are on his side！

Di2nqi%！ Di2nqi%！ Di2nqi%！ G8lu5su6 l#g4ng la！ W0id3 de Y#d3l# zu6h7uw-i， t` j#ch9ng le Y#d3l# de gu`ngr5ng chu1nt6ng！ G8lu5su6 y！ g- r9n， t` d3ibi2o le Y#d3l# y4uji^ de gu`ngr5ng chu1nt6ng！ Zh- y！ k-， t` b% sh# y！ g- r9n z3i zh3nd7u！

點球！點球！點球！格羅索立功啦！偉大的意大利左后衛，他繼承了意大利的光榮傳統！格羅索一個人，他代表了意大利悠久的光榮傳統！這一刻，他不是一個人在戰斗！

Well-known announcers often have a style of commentary that they are famous for. Han Qiaosheng， a broadcaster who began working in 1978， is renowned for his bold style， often shouting his comments on a bad performance by one player or an excellent tackle by another. In the last decade， commentators like Duan Xuan and He Wei have been more focused on providing rational analysis， but are still remembered for some personality quirks—He Wei， in particular， has been crowned as “The Poet” by football fans for his use of metaphors：

If we say that the German football team was on the edge of a cliff before this game， now we can say they have fallen off， with only one hand clinging on to the cliffs side.

R%gu6 shu4 zh- ch2ng b@s3i zh～qi1n D9gu5du# h1i z3i xu1ny1 bi`n dehu3， n3me xi3nz3i y@j～ng di3oxi3 le xu1ny1， t`men de y# zh～ sh6u h1i p`n z3i xu1ny1 sh3ng.

如果說這場比賽之前德國隊還在懸崖邊的話，那么現在德國隊已經掉下了懸崖，他們的一只手還攀在懸崖上。

Commentators must also walk a fine line between pandering to sports fanatics and avoiding bias. While fans may want passionate comments about key decisions on the pitch， like penalties or freekicks， neutral viewers may find it unprofessional if the commentator praises certain players too much.

Though the Chinese Womens Volleyball Team won in the final， our rival Serbia also played well. Their strength and teamwork were excellent， and they probably just needed better luck.

B0nch2ng b@s3i Zh4nggu5 n）p1i su～r1n y！ng le， d3n du#sh6u S3i0rw9iy3 de f`hu～ y0 zh！d9 ch8ngz3n， l#li3ng p-ih9 d4u h0n b%cu7， zh@sh# sh`o qi3n y&nqi.

本場比賽中國女排雖然贏了，但對手塞爾維亞的發揮也值得稱贊，力量配合都很不錯，只是稍欠運氣。

Parting Words

Sports commentators work isnt over when the scores are out： they must summarize the match， revisit the highlights， and even express their outlooks toward the two sides.

As a result of this match， the Korean team has entered the group stage of the tournament， while the Chinese team is almost certainly out. We sincerely congratulate the advancement of the Korean team and hope the Chinese team will have better results in the future.

B0nch2ng b@s3i h7u， H1ngu5du# y@j～ng t！qi1n ch$xi3n， 9r Zh4nggu5du# ch$xi3n j@n c%n l@l&n sh3ng de k0n9ng. Z3i zh&h- H1ngu5du# j#nj！ de t5ngsh！， w6men y0 x～w3ng Zh4nggu5du# z3i w-il1i n9ng y6u g-ng ch$s- de f`hu～.

本場比賽后，韓國隊已經提前出線，而中國隊出線僅存理論上的可能。在祝賀韓國隊晉級的同時，我們也希望中國隊在未來能有更出色的發揮。

A good conclusion by a sports commentator can leave the audience with lingering memories. Though only one team or player can win， everyone deserves respect and encouragement on the field， as the CCTV Sports channel said of the loss of the Dutch football team to Argentina in the 2014 World Cup：

Orange is a splendid color that represents happiness. Its also the warmest among the warm colors. Though the orange-clad Netherlands team couldnt win the championship， their dreams live on. Remember， real men wear orange！

Ch9ngs- sh# hu`nku3i hu5p4 de gu`nghu～ s-c2i， sh# nu2ns-x# zh4ng zu# w8nnu2n de y1ns-， g0i r9n y@ zhu`ngy1n、z$ngu# h9 sh9nm# de g2nju9. J～nti`n ch9ngy～ j$ntu1n H9l1ndu# y～ji& m9i n9ng b2itu4 “w%mi2n” de gu`nghu1n， b%gu7 t`men de m-ngxi2ng h1i z3i j#x&. J#zh&， zh8nzh-ng de n1nr9n chu`n ch9ngy～！

橙色是歡快活潑的光輝色彩，是暖色系中最溫暖的顏色，給人以莊嚴、尊貴和神秘的感覺。今天橙衣軍團荷蘭隊依舊沒能擺脫“無冕”的光環，不過他們的夢想還在繼續。記住，真正的男人穿橙衣！