Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 366: Bright Winter
"Dear audience members, welcome to join us."

"We are now at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, bringing you the second matchup of the second round of the 2017 NFL playoffs."

"In a game that just ended, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated last season's NFC champion Atlanta Falcons and advanced to the NFC finals first."

"It was a very close and difficult game, but the Philadelphia Eagles defense stepped up and played a key role to get the win."

"'10:15'. The score was unexpected. We didn't witness a big offensive battle. The defense became the protagonist. It was undoubtedly a surprise. We don't know how the next game will go."

At this moment, the TV station that is broadcasting the game live across the United States is not the familiar ESPN, but CBS.

Since Goodell took over as the president of the NFL, the broadcasting rights of the games have been truly developed and the market value of the NFL has been pushed to a new height. Take the 2017 season as an example.

Monday Night Football, ESPN.

Thursday night games on CBS, NBC and NFLN (NFL Network); also on Amazon.

Sunday Night Game, CBS.

The other games on Sunday's matchday were jointly bought out by CBS and Fox.

It's clear at a glance.

Because the cost of broadcasting rights is so expensive, all the major TV stations are sitting in a row to eat the fruits of their labor like dividing a cake, with everyone working together happily.

This season, the NFL's annual revenue in North America from broadcasting rights alone exceeded 2.67 billion U.S. dollars.

In the same season, NBA broadcasting rights revenue was only one-third of this figure.

The above is just the regular season. When it comes to the playoffs, it will be a completely different story.

Wild Card Game, ESPN and ABC.

Divisional round, CBS.

Conference game, CBS.

Super Bowl, NBC.

Four rounds of playoffs, four TV stations, it’s still a scene of friendly cooperation.

This is obviously not very friendly to the fans, but it doesn’t matter. The NFL has learned from the NCAA and set up its own TV platform, NFLN. As long as you subscribe to the membership, you can watch the game.

Last week, the spotlight belonged to ESPN.

This week, CBS takes over the playoff race.

For this game, Jim Nantz, a legendary CBS sports commentator with more than 30 years of commentary experience, took on the responsibility of live broadcasting.

Partnering with Nantz on the commentary is former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

As a player, Romo's career is legendary.

In 2003, Romo participated in the draft, but unfortunately no team picked him and he became an undrafted rookie. After joining the Dallas Cowboys, he had a wonderful experience. Since becoming the team's starting quarterback in the 2004 season, he has never lost the job again, which is a great wonder.

Team owner Jerry Jones appreciates Romo very much. No matter how the outside world criticizes him, he always gives Romo absolute support.

In his thirteen seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Romo led the team to the playoffs four times and was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame with countless records, undoubtedly leaving his mark.

In the 2016 season, Romo lost his starting position for the first time in his career and did not start a game for the team until the end of the regular season.

After the season, Romo announced his retirement.

As a player, Romo has never been the best, but he can never be ignored. His indecisive, soft and easily pushed down playing style at critical moments has been criticized. He can observe, plan and pass the ball, but his habit of being soft at critical moments has become a lifelong shackle.

In March 2017, after announcing his retirement, Romo served as a commentator for CBS as a hobby, but unexpectedly became popular. First, his humor, easy-to-use jokes, numerous tidbits, and harmless jokes immediately caught the audience's ears.

Secondly, the in-depth and easy-to-understand explanations allow fans to easily understand the intricacies of tactics and add to the flavor of the game.

Third, professionalism——

Like "Paul the Octopus", Romo has maximized his quarterback skills, accurately analyzing and predicting the game. He can even call out the team's next tactics in advance, like a prophecy.

During the live broadcast, Romo accurately predicted the direction of the next game more than once or twice, making him like a prophet, which immediately sparked heated discussions on social networks.

In just one season, Romo made several strong appearances and unexpectedly won popularity as a commentator that was unimaginable in his professional career.

In fact, Romo, 37 years old, is no longer young, but he is undoubtedly a young and handsome guy in the commentary world. He is handsome and fresh, and is definitely in high demand.

CBS immediately gave Romo a contract.

This season, Romo and Nantz have become old partners and have won numerous praises for CBS's football live broadcasts; tonight, they will continue to commentate on the divisional games.

"Tonight, the Kansas City Chiefs will visit Foxborough to challenge the New England Patriots, the No. 1 seed in the AFC. There is no doubt that this will be a focus game."

"It's a little surprising that the temperature in Foxburg has risen strongly today. The sky is cloudless, the view is clear, and the temperature is 24 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 4 degrees Celsius)."

"One of the focuses before the game was that the cold weather in Foxburg would definitely be an unknown factor, but now it seems that the Kansas City Chiefs have received good news?"

Nantz skillfully and naturally cut into the game and threw out a focal topic -

Judging from the temperature and the starry sky, the weather is good. The heavy snow and rain that people worried about did not occur, which is a positive sign.

Romo took over the topic with ease.

"If we talk about temperature alone, I believe it won't be a difficult problem for Kansas."

"While Kansas City is not as likely to experience heavy snow as Buffalo and Green Bay, it is possible to see temperatures in Kansas City in January below 30 degrees Fahrenheit."

"But the difference between Kansas City and Foxburg is that the former is a physical attack, and the latter is a magical attack."

"What do you mean?"

"In Foxburg, the cold penetrated into the bones like humidity. No coat or gloves could stop it. Just sitting on the sidelines for a while, the body quickly cooled down."

"Also, the worst part of Foxburg is the unpredictable strong winds. Not to mention the visiting team, even the home team cannot avoid the impact of strong winds."

"The wind direction in Foxburg is unpredictable. No one can control it and no one can resist it. Sometimes, it is fine one second and suddenly it becomes strong the next second, but it calms down again the next second. The capricious wind is always a problem in Foxburg in January."

As a quarterback who just retired, Romo is undoubtedly the most qualified to speak. He has played in both Kansas City and Foxburg, and he also knows clearly that September and January are completely different environments, not to mention the uncertainties brought about by the playoff stage.

"From now on, the weather is not bad, but the Kansas City Chiefs still need to be vigilant. After all, this young team still lacks the ability to respond to unexpected situations."

"I just noticed."

"Young players like Levi, Hunter, Hill, etc. took off their down jackets and hats during warm-up, but after a short period of adaptation, they still put on gloves."

"The weather in Foxburg not only has a direct impact on the accuracy of the pass, but also has varying degrees of impact on receiving the ball, holding the ball, etc."

blah blah blah.

In the live broadcast room, Romo was conveying his feelings about the game through his personal experience.

On the court, the players are experiencing the cold wave attack from Foxburg firsthand.

Levi looked down at his knees. He could now feel a cold current flowing through them. Every cell in his body felt the invasion of moisture without any protection. Was this normal?
(End of this chapter)