Americans Prepare for 'Super Bowl Sunday'

The Super Bowl is the most-watched American sporting event of the year. This American flag has been decorated with Wilson footballs. The company manufactures every football that is used by the NFL. (B. Allen/VOA)

This is What's Trending Today.

The Super Bowl is this Sunday. The game is the National Football League championship.

The Atlanta Falcons play the New England Patriots in Houston, Texas. The Patriots are based in the northeast state of Massachusetts; the Falcons are from the southeast state of Georgia.

The Patriots will try to win their fifth Super Bowl title. The Falcons are aiming to win for the first time.

Tom Brady helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl two years ago.

Tom Brady is the Patriots' quarterback. He is 39 years old and has been the Patriots' quarterback in the Super Bowl seven times.

Football fans have debated whether Brady should be considered the best quarterback of all time. If he wins on Sunday, that argument may end.

The Atlanta Falcons are a strong team, too. They are one of the most powerful offensive teams in the NFL. Atlanta scored the most points in the NFL this year.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) embraces Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) after the NFL football NFC championship game Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, in Atlanta.

The Falcons' quarterback, Matt Ryan, is also one of the best at his position. This season was the most successful of his career so far. He often throws the ball to teammate Julio Jones, one of the best receivers in the league.

Experts are predicting this year's Super Bowl to be a high-scoring game. They are predicting that the two teams could collectively score about 60 points.

But Super Bowl Sunday is not just a game day. It is also an all-day event. People plan parties around the game. Even people who do not pay any attention to football during the regular season watch the Super Bowl. Last year, almost 115 million people watched the game on television.

Some people are more interested in the commercials that play during the broadcast. Many are also interested in watching the halftime show. This year, Lady Gaga is performing. People are debating whether the singer will make a political statement during her performance.

Singer Tony Bennett is one of Lady Gaga's friends. He told fans that her show will be “spectacular.”

Google created graphics that show how much attention the Super Bowl gets each year. One showed that the Patriots were the most-searched team in all but four states. People in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama searched for news about the Falcons.

And, one of the other popular Google search terms this time of year is “Superb Owl.” That is a misspelling of Super Bowl.

Fans and experts have been talking about which team will win for two weeks. New England is expected to win by about three points. But it seems that many fans might be tired of seeing the Patriots win the Super Bowl.

In a public opinion study, 51 percent of those questioned said they thought Atlanta would win.

​Others have been talking about what they plan to eat during the game. Some popular food items include pizza, chicken wings, chips, and, of course, beer.

One person said she was asked if she was excited for the Super Bowl. She responded: “Ohh, you mean food day? Yes.”

Although the Super Bowl is a big deal in America, there are still plenty of people who do not plan to watch the game. One person tweeted that she will be watching tennis instead.

And that's What's Trending Today.

I'm Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thomspon was the editor.

Will you follow the Super Bowl this Sunday? Let us know in the comments section.

Words in This Story

receiver - n. a player who catches passes thrown by the quarterback

quarterback - n. a player who leads a team's attempts to score usually by passing the ball to other players

offensive - adj. of or relating to the way that players try to score against an opponent in a game or contest

collectively - adv. shared or done by a group of people : involving all members of a group

halftime - n. the period of rest between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half in games like football and basketball

spectacular - adj. causing wonder and admiration : very impressive

graphic - n. a picture, drawing, or graph used as a decoration or to make something (such as magazine article) easier to understand