2007年VOA标准英语-Historic Superbowl Shatters Racial Barrier in A

By Brian Padden
Washington, D.C.
06 February 2007
 
watch Racial Barrier report

The Superbowl is not only the championship final of the National Football League in the United States, it is also the country's most watched sporting event of the year.   This year, history was made when Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts became the first African-American coach to win the big game.  There was never any doubt this racial barrier would be broken because -- also for the first time -- the head coaches from both teams were African-Americans.  VOA's Brian Padden reports on the significance of this historic¹ achievement beyond the world of sports.

 
Colts' coach Tony Dungy reacts after 4th quarter touchdown, 4 Feb. 2007
Beyond the thrill of victory for Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy...

Beyond the agony of defeat for Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith...

They are both now part of history.  They are the first African-American coaches to reach the Superbowl. And Tony Dungy is the first African-American coach to win it.

"The Lord gave me the opportunity, Lovie and I, and we're able to take advantage of it,” said Dungy after the game. “But we're certainly not the best, certainly not the most qualified², and I know there are some other guys that could have done it, given the chance.  So, I just felt good that I was the first one to be able to do it and kind of represent those guys that paved³ the way for me." 

 
Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith talks to reporters during news conference in Miami, 28 Jan 2007 
This is progress in a country where major professional sports were segregated⁴ along racial lines until 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball.  Civil rights advocates say sports figures such as Robinson and boxer⁵ Mohammad Ali long ago proved that African-American athletes can compete with anyone on the field of play.  

In fact, this year 70 percent of the players in the National Football League were black.   But the coaches in American football today are still predominately white.  Last year only 22 percent of the coaches in the NFL were African-American.  

To address this discrepancy⁶ the league in 2003 instituted a new rule requiring owners to interview minority candidates for all head coaching jobs.  Both Lovey Smith and Tony Dungy say they benefited from this rule.  They also benefited from participating in a profession that cares only about winning, says race relations expert Michael Wenger with the Joint⁷ Center for Political and Economic Studies.

"Owners of sports teams want, have come to the point of wanting, whoever it is can make them a winning team.  So in that sense it is probably easier than other institutions in society," said Wenger.

At the historically black Howard University in Washington D.C., political science professor Alvin Thornton says the important example that Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith are setting is one of leadership.

"They are part of the management, the intellectual brain trust of these teams. And so clearly, not that it had to be, but these guys have dispelled⁸ the notion⁹ that the only contribution that a black male can make in this sense is to run the football, is to catch the football."

And professor Thornton says he hopes that young African-American men who emulate¹⁰ great sports athletes will see these thinkers and leaders as role models.

1 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

2 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

3 paved   

v.铺( pave的过去式和过去分词 )；为…铺平道路

参考例句：

• a paved area near the back door 后门旁一块石板地
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

5 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

6 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 dispelled   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。
• The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 notion   

n.概念，意念，看法

参考例句：

• One common Chinese notion is that the elders ought to be respected.中国人共有的一种观念是长者应受到尊敬。
• He had a sudden notion to visit all his relatives.他心血来潮，突然想去拜访他所有的亲戚。

10 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。