FOR THE WEEK OF JAN. 27, 2014

Super Bowl brings Seahawks-Broncos showdown outdoors in winter weather

When the Seattle Seahawks play the Denver Broncos next Sunday, it’ll be the first outdoor Super Bowl in a wintry state. The stadium is in East Rutherford, N.J., where the temperature on Feb. 2 – game day – once reached minus eight degrees. Avid football fans may not mind feeling frosty, a sports columnist suggests. "They could play the Super Bowl on the North Pole and people would still watch it," Jeff Seidel writes in the Detroit Free Press.

The rival starting quarterbacks are Peyton Manning of Denver, the NFL’s biggest star, and Russell Wilson for Seattle. Each team has a 15-3 record this season. The championship game is among the world’s most-watched sporting events, drawing more than 108 million viewers last year. Not all are hard-core football fans. Some come mainly for the ads, while others this time look forward to halftime shows by Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The massive global TV audience Sunday evening makes the game a huge deal for advertisers, who pay an average of $4 million for a half-minute commercial. Imaginative new ads make their debut during each year’s game and have become a cultural phenomenon of their own. Competition between sponsors to air memorable ads that go viral is almost as fierce as the on-field rivalry. Film actress Scarlett Johansson appears in her first Super Bowl spot on behalf of SodaStream, which makes home beverage mixer-dispensers. Nestle will promote a new Butterfinger peanut butter cup that boldly takes on Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. M&M's, Doritos and Cheerios also have commercials during the CBS broadcast.

Seahawks quarterback says: "It's like every game, even though it’s a championship game and all of that. The game doesn't change." – Russell Wilson

Sportswriter says: "This Super Bowl will be a boon to weather forecasters across the nation." – Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press

Blogger posts: "Kudos go to the folks in charge of arranging halftime entertainment; they hit it out of the park this year." – Brian Mazique at bleacherreport.com

Front Page Talking Points Archive

Common Core State Standard
SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.