Super Bowl weekend. Why is it called football? Basic terminology.

Dear colleagues:

This weekend the United States will hold a very American event; In fact, it is the most watched TV event in our country and for all practical purposes the day when the game is played is an unofficial holiday that happens to be more popular than most holidays on the official calendar.   I am referring to the Super Bowl: The national professional football championship game in the United States of America; and by the way, it is not football… at least not THAT football played in the rest of the world.  This incredibly popular sport in the United States is known abroad as “American football,” and even this designation seems troublesome to many who have watched a little American football and do not understand it very well.  Although it is mainly played holding a ball, the sport is known in the United States as football for two reasons:  (1) Because this American-born sport comes from “rugby football” (now rugby) that in many ways came from soccer (football outside the United States) and (2) Because it is football, but it is not British organized football, which at the time of the invention of American football was called “association football” and was later known by the second syllable of the word “association”:  “socc” which mutated into “soccer.”  You now understand where the name came from, but is it really football? For Americans it is. Keep in mind that all other popular team sports in the United States are played with your hands or a stick (baseball, basketball and ice hockey). The only sport in the United States where points can be scored by kicking the ball is (American) football. So you see, even though most of the time the ball is carried by hand or caught with your hands, there are times when a team scores or defends field position by kicking or punting the football.   Now, why is all this relevant to us as interpreters?   Because if you interpret from American English you are likely to run into speakers who will talk about the Super Bowl, football in general, or will use examples taken from this very popular sport in the U.S.

On Sunday, most Americans will gather in front of the TV set to watch the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks battle the American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos for the Vince Lombardi Trophy (official name of the trophy given to the team that wins the Super Bowl) which incidentally is a trophy in the shape of a football, not a bowl.  It is because the game was not named after a trophy, it was named after a tradition.  There are two football levels in the United States: college football played by amateur students, and professional football.  College football is older than pro-football and for many decades the different college champions were determined by playing invitational football games at the end of the college football season on New Year’s Day.  These games were called (and still are) “Bowls.”  You may have heard of the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and many others.  When a professional football game was created to determine the over-all champion between the champions of the American and National Conferences, it was just natural (and profitable) to call it the “Super Bowl.”

The game itself will be played in New Jersey (outside New York City) where the temperature is expected to be the lowest in Super Bowl history, and the two teams come from small media markets in the United States; however, there will be millions watching the match, and there will be hundreds of millions spent on TV commercials during the game.

Below I have included a basic glossary of English<>Spanish football terms that may be useful to you, particularly those of you who do escort, diplomatic, and conference interpreting from American English to Mexican Spanish.  “American” football is very popular in Mexico (where they have college football) Eventually, many of you will face situations where two people will discuss the Super Bowl; as you are interpreting somebody will tell a football story during a presentation; or you may end up at a TV or radio studio doing the simultaneous interpretation of a football game for your own or another foreign market.

The following glossary does not cover every term in football; it includes terms that are very common, and in cases where there were several translations of a football term I selected the term used in Mexico by the Mexican media that covers the sport.

 

ENGLISH	SPANISH
Football	Fútbol Americano
National   Football League	Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano
NFL	N-F-L (ene-efe-ele)
American   Football Conference	Conferencia Americana
National   Football Conference	Conferencia Nacional
Preseason	Pretemporada
Regular   season	Temporada regular
Playoffs	Postemporada
Wildcard	Equipo comodín
Standings	Tabla de posiciones
Field	Terreno de juego
End   zone	Zona de anotación/ diagonales
Locker   room	Vestidor
Super   Bowl	Súper Tazón
Pro   Bowl	Tazón Profesional/ Juego de estrellas
Uniform & Equipment	Uniforme y Equipo
Football	Balón/ Ovoide
Jersey	Jersey
Helmet	Casco
Facemask	Máscara
Chinstrap	Barbiquejo
Shoulder   pads	Hombreras
Thigh   pads	Musleras
Knee   pads	Rodilleras
Jockstrap	Suspensorio
Cleats	Tacos
Tee	Base
Fundamentals	Términos básicos
Starting   player	Titular
Backup   player	Reserva
Offense	Ofensiva
Defense	Defensiva
Special   teams	Equipos especiales
Kickoff	Patada/ saque
Punt	Despeje
Return	Devolución
Fair   catch	Recepción libre
Possession	Posesión del balón
Drive	Marcha/ avance
First   and ten	Primero y diez
First   and goal	Primero y gol
Line   of scrimmage	Línea de golpeo
Neutral   zone	Zona neutral
Snap	Centro
Long   snap	Centro largo/ centro al pateador
Huddle	Pelotón
Pocket	Bolsillo protector
Fumble	Balón libre
Turnover	Pérdida de balón
Takeaway	Robo
Giveaway	Entrega
Interception	Intercepción
Completion	Pase completo
Tackle	Tacleada/ derribada
Blitz	Carga
Pass   rush	Presión al mariscal de campo
Sack	Captura
Run/   carry	Acarreo
Pass	Pase
“I”   Formation	Formación “I”
Shotgun   Formation	Formación escopeta
“T”   Formation	Formación “T”
Wishbone   Formation	Formación wishbone
Goal   posts	Postes
Crossbar	Travesaño
Sidelines	Líneas laterales/ banca
Chain	Cadena
Out-of-bounds	Fuera del terreno
Head   Coach	Entrenador en jefe
Game   Officials	Jueces
Flag	Pañuelo
POSITIONS	POSICIONES
Center	Centro
Guard	Guardia
Offensive   Tackle	Tacleador ofensivo
Offensive   line	Línea ofensiva
End	Ala
Wide   Receiver	Receptor abierto
Tight   end	Ala cerrada
Running   Back	Corredor
Halfback	Corredor
Fullback	Corredor de poder
Quarterback	Mariscal de campo
Backfield	Cuadro defensivo
Defensive   end	Ala defensiva
Defensive   tackle	Tacleador defensivo
Nose   guard	Guardia nariz
Linebacker	Apoyador
Cornerback	Esquinero
Free   safety	Profundo libre
Strong   safety	Profundo fuerte
Place   kicker	Pateador
Punter	Pateador de despeje
Penalty	Castigo

Even if you are not a football fan, and even if you are not watching the big game on Sunday, I hope you find this glossary useful in the future.  Now I invite you to comment on football, sports interpretation in general, or maybe you would like to share a “sports interpretation anecdote” with all of us.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.