MTSU Versus Illinois Can Be Heard In Chinese. Wait, what?

Have you ever watched a game of soccer on the Univision channel, despite not understanding virtually any of the commentary? Have you noticed how it turns out to be much more enjoyable than you would have ever expected?

Boy, do I have an experience for you then. The University of Illinois has started a weekly football radio broadcast completely in Mandarin Chinese for the 2015 season. Chinese students Liaohan He and Yekai Lu, also known as David and Bruce, broadcast the Illinois versus Kent State game completely in Chinese, the first known occurrence in college football history.

I know what you are thinking, why Chinese? Surprisingly, Illinois has an international student population of over 10,000 students that includes over 5,200 Chinese students.

But, why should I care? If you are an Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders fan, you should care. The Blue Raiders are heading to Champaign to face the Illini this Saturday in a Conference USA versus Big Ten matchup. The game will be broadcast in English, as well as in Mandarin Chinese.

Imagine the chance to hear MTSU score a touchdown or pull off an upset in a completely different language. By the way, touchdown is Da zhen. Touchback is.... touchback. Okay, not every football term will perfectly translate to English.

This sounds interesting. Where can I hear this broadcast? The Illinois football website will host the Mandarin Chinese broadcast.  The game is also being broadcast on ESPN News and the WatchESPN App. Join me in watching the game, but turning down the sound and clicking on the Mandarin Chinese radio broadcast. MTSU faces Illinois at 3:00 P.M. in Memorial Stadium. Spend a Saturday afternoon with me, David, and Bruce in listening to a Mandarin Chinese radio broadcast of an American game.

Click here to listen to the MTSU versus Illinois game radio broadcast in Mandarin Chinese.