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Front Page Talking Points

FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 01, 2016

Super Bowl 50: A veteran quarterback (Peyton Manning) and a young star (Cam Newton) face off Sunday

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1.gifRead a Super Bowl advance article and tell why it's interesting or what you learn.

2.gifLook for coverage of the commercials, such as preview teasers or online voting for viewer-submitted spots. Are you eager to see a certain ad?

3.gifIf you're a fan, read about who's favored or factors that could be important. Do you agree?

The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers play this season's biggest football game next Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco. Levi's Stadium is the site of Super Bowl 50, the golden edition of an American tradition. It's a spectacle that’s about more than sports, with some viewers tuning in at least partly for the halftime show by Coldplay, or to see buzz-worthy new commercials, or because they'll be at parties with friends and family. Last year's global TV audience was estimated at 114 million.

The opposing quarterbacks are Peyton Manning for the Broncos and Cam Newton for the Panthers – the first time two No. 1 NFL draft picks face off in the Super Bowl. At age 39, Manning (drafted in 1998) is the oldest quarterback to start in the big game. Netwon, drafted in 2011, is 26. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, who was on a Super Bowl-winning team in 1985 (Chicago), hasn’t led a team into the season finale before. Neither has Broncos top coach Greg Kubiak, who was in three Super Bowls as a player (never as a winner).

Besides Coldplay, non-athletic starts during the CBS telecast on Feb. 7 will include Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler in a Skittles commercial, Lil Wayne in a lodging rental website pitch, and comedy actors Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen in a beer ad. The e-commerce giant Amazon will have its first-ever Super Bowl ad in a year when a single 30-second spot costs up to $5 million. Sunday's massive global TV audience makes the game a huge deal for advertisers. Each year, some of the imaginative new ads become a cultural phenomenon, so competition among sponsors is almost as fierce as the on-field rivalry.

President Obama says: "It's a great story for Peyton Manning to be, towards the end of his career, in a Super Bowl again. . . . The defense that the Broncos have is unbelievable, but Carolina looks tough. This is going to be a close one."

More TV cameras: CBS Sports will use 70 video cameras during the game, up from 40 last Super Bowl. It's also introducing "Eye Vision 360" -- replay technology that can freeze any moment and revolve around the play to show it from any player's angle, thanks to 36 cameras strung together along the stadium's top deck.

Halftime show: "All 70,000 people who will be there will hopefully be participating in the show." – Rob Paine, executive producer

Front Page Talking Points is written by Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2024

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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.