Spanish Translation Blog

El Super Tazón: Our very own Spanish Super Bowl

Last weekend was Super Bowl Sunday, when millions of Americans glued their eyes to their TVs to watch the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks to become the Super Bowl 49 champions. I could talk about the neck-to-neck race that seemed to be consistent throughout every second of the game, but that would take more than just one blog to accomplish, as the game was a fierce battle, with even a fight taking place.

One thing that called my attention was that, while we were all in the same household, we were divided in two groups, those watching it in English in one room and those watching it in Spanish in another room. And that got me thinking, and later on doing some research. As it turns out, The NFL has seen a tremendous growth in the Spanish-speaking audience that witnesses this yearly event. I’m not only talking about those who have either migrated to the U.S. or are born in the U.S. to Hispanic parents.

Out of 54 million Hispanics in the U.S., 25 million were tuned to the Super Bowl and identify themselves as NFL fans. Also, Mexico is now the NFL’s second most attentive market. A prime example of what migration and intercultural relations can do. Super Bowl Sunday, which has been an American tradition to many, has witnessed and adapted to the cultural change that has been brought upon by the migration and intertwining of the cultures. Every NFL game is transmitted in both English and Spanish, and during the Super Bowl, even commercials have started to target both markets. This is an approach that, like many other sport leagues in the U.S., the NFL has adopted, and it has proven to both, bring the cultures together, and be very lucrative in the process. I wonder if hockey will be next, if they haven’t started doing it already, which now my curiosity will cause me to do some research and find an answer.