document_title: Social Security Trust Fund

question_text: who contributes money to the social security trust fund

text: Social Security Trust Fund

text: Structure[edit]

text: The  "Social Security Trust Fund" comprises two separate funds that hold federal government debt obligations related to what are traditionally thought of as Social Security benefits.  The larger of these funds is the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which holds in trust special interest-bearing federal government securities bought with surplus OASI payroll tax revenues.[8]  The second, smaller fund is the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund, which holds in trust more of the special interest-bearing federal government securities, bought with surplus DI payroll tax revenues.[9]

text: The trust funds are "off-budget" and treated separately in certain ways from other federal spending, and other trust funds of the federal government. From the U.S. Code:

text: EXCLUSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY FROM ALL BUDGETS

text:
Pub.L. 101–508, title XIII, Sec. 13301(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388-623, provided that:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the receipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of -
(1) the budget of the United States Government as submitted by the President,
(2) the congressional budget, or

text: (3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

text: The trust funds run surpluses in that the amount paid in by current workers is more than the amount paid out to current beneficiaries. These surpluses are given to the U.S. Treasury (and thus become part of the general federal budget) in exchange for special U.S. government securities, which are deposited into the trust funds. If the trust funds begin running deficits, meaning more in benefits are paid out than contributions paid in, the Social Security Administration is empowered to redeem the securities and use those funds to cover the deficit.

text: Governance[edit]

text: The Board of Trustees of the Trust Funds is composed of 6 members:[1][2]

text:
Secretary of the Treasury (the Managing Trustee),
Secretary of Labor,
Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Commissioner of Social Security, and
2 members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

text: The Board of Trustees holds the trust funds.[10] The Managing Trustee is responsible for investing the funds,[11] which has been delegated to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.[12]

text: History[edit]

text: The Social Security system is primarily a pay-as-you-go system, meaning that payments to current retirees come from current payments into the system.

text: In 1977, President Jimmy Carter and the 95th Congress increased the FICA tax to fund Social Security, phased in gradually into the 1980s.[13] In the early 1980s, financial projections of the Social Security Administration indicated near-term revenue from payroll taxes would not be sufficient to fully fund near-term benefits (thus raising the possibility of benefit cuts).  The federal government appointed the National Commission on Social Security Reform, headed by Alan Greenspan (who had not yet been named Chairman of the Federal Reserve), to investigate what additional changes to federal law were necessary to shore up the fiscal health of the Social Security program.[14] The Greenspan Commission projected that the system would be solvent for the entirety of its 75-year forecast period with certain recommendations.[14] The changes to federal law enacted in 1983 and signed by President Reagan [2] and pursuant to the recommendations of the Greenspan Commission advanced the time frame for previously scheduled payroll tax increases (though it raised slightly the payroll tax for the self-employed to equal the employer-employee rate), changed certain benefit calculations, and raised the retirement age to 67 by the year 2027.[15]  As of the end of calendar year 2010, the accumulated surplus in the Social Security Trust Fund stood at just over $2.6 trillion.[16]

text: Social Security benefits are paid from a combination of social security payroll taxes paid by current workers and interest income earned by the Social Security Trust Fund. According to the projections of the Social Security Administration, the Trust Fund will continue to show net growth until 2022[17] because the interest generated by its bonds and the revenue from payroll taxes exceeds the amount needed to pay benefits.  After 2022, without increases in Social Security taxes or cuts in benefits, the Fund is projected to decrease each year until being fully exhausted in 2034. At this point, if legislative action is not taken, the benefits would be reduced.[18]

text: Recent activity and financial status[edit]

text: The 2015 Trustees Report Press Release (which covered 2014 statistics) stated:

text:
"Income including interest to the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $884 billion in 2014.  ($756 billion in net contributions, $30 billion from taxation of benefits, $98 billion in interest, and less than $1 billion in reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury—almost exclusively resulting from the 2012 payroll tax legislation)
Total expenditures from the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $859 billion in 2014.
Non-interest income fell below program costs in 2010 for the first time since 1983.  Program costs are projected to exceed non-interest income throughout the remainder of the 75-year period.
The asset reserves of the combined OASDI Trust Funds increased by $25 billion in 2014 to a total of $2.79 trillion.
During 2014, an estimated 166 million people had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes.
Social Security paid benefits of $848 billion in calendar year 2014.  There were about 59 million beneficiaries at the end of the calendar year.
The cost of $6.1 billion to administer the program in 2014 was 0.7 percent of total expenditures.  However, because the dollar value of the expenditures is so large this percentage is actually very high.
The combined Trust Fund asset reserves earned interest at an effective annual rate of 3.6 percent in 2014."[19]

text: Some basic equations for understanding the fund balance include:

text:
Fund ending balance for a given year = Fund starting balance + program revenues + interest - program payouts
Program annual surplus (or deficit if negative) = program revenues + interest - program expenses
Program annual cash surplus (or deficit if negative) = program revenues - program expenses

text: "Program revenues" has several components, including payroll tax contributions, taxation of benefits, and an accounting entry to reflect recent payroll tax cuts during 2011 and 2012, to make the fund "whole" as if these tax cuts had not occurred. These all add to the program revenues.

text: During 2016, the initial balance as of January 1 was $2,780 billion. An additional $710 billion in payroll tax revenue and $87 billion in interest added to the Fund during 2016, while expenses of $776 billion were removed from the Fund, for a December 31, 2016 balance of $2,801 billion (i.e., $2,780 + $710 + $87 - $776 = $2,801).[20]

text: Recent attention[edit]

text: Under George W. Bush[edit]

text: On February 2, 2005, President George W. Bush made Social Security a prominent theme of his State of the Union Address. One consequence was increased public attention to the nature of the Social Security Trust Fund. Unlike a typical private pension plan, the Social Security Trust Fund does not hold any marketable assets to secure workers' paid-in contributions. Instead, it holds non-negotiable United States Treasury bonds and U.S. securities backed "by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government". The trust funds have been invested primarily in non-marketable Treasury debt, first, because the Social Security Act prohibits "prefunding" by investment in equities or corporate bonds and, second, because of a general desire to avoid large swings in the Treasuries market that would otherwise result if Social Security invested large sums of payroll tax receipts in marketable government bonds or redeemed these marketable government bonds to pay benefits.

text: The Office of Management and Budget has described the distinction as follows:

text: These [Trust Fund] balances are available to finance future benefit payments  and other Trust Fund expenditures – but only in a bookkeeping sense.... They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits or other expenditures. The existence of large Trust Fund balances, therefore, does not, by itself, have any impact on the Government's ability to pay benefits.

text: Other public officials have argued that the trust funds do have financial or moral[clarification needed] value, similar to the value of any other Treasury bill, note or bond. This confidence stems largely from the "full faith and credit" guarantee.  "If one believes that the trust fund assets are worthless," argued former Representative Bill Archer, then similar reasoning implies that "Americans who have bought EE savings bonds should go home and burn them because they're worthless because the money has already been spent."[21] At a Senate hearing in July 2001, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was asked whether the trust fund investments are "real" or merely an accounting device.  He responded, "The crucial question:  Are they ultimate claims on real resources?  And the answer is yes."[22]

text: Like other U.S. government debt obligations, the government bonds held by the trust funds are guaranteed by the "full faith and credit" of the U.S. government. To escape paying either principal or interest on the "special" bonds held by the trust funds, the government would have to default on these obligations. This cannot be done by executive order or by the Social Security Administration. Congress would have to pass legislation to repudiate these particular government bonds. This action by Congress could involve some political risk and, because it involves the financial security of older Americans, seems unlikely.[citation needed]

text: An alternative to repudiating these bonds would be for Congress to simply cap Social Security spending at a level below that which would require the bonds to be redeemed. Again, this would be politically risky, but would not require a "default" on the bonds.

text: From the point of view of the Social Security trust funds, the holdings of "special" government bonds are an investment that returned 5.5% to the trust funds in 2005.[23] The trust funds cannot resell these "special" government bonds on the secondary bond market, although the interest rate is determined based on market interest rates. Instead, the "specials" can be sold back to the government at face value, which is an advantage when interest rates are rising.

text: The week after his State of the Union speech, Bush downplayed the importance of the Trust Fund:

text: Some in our country think that Social Security is a trust fund – in other words, there's a pile of money being accumulated. That's just simply not true. The money – payroll taxes going into the Social Security are spent. They're spent on benefits and they're spent on government programs. There is no trust.[24]

text: These comments were criticized as "lay[ing] the groundwork for defaulting on almost two trillion dollars' worth of US Treasury bonds".[25]

text: However, even right-leaning politicians have been inconsistent with the language they use when referencing Social Security.  For example, Bush has referred to the system going "broke" in 2042. That date arises from the anticipated depletion of the Trust Fund, so Bush's language "seem[s] to suggest that there's something there that goes away in 2042."[26] Specifically, in 2042 and for many decades thereafter, the Social Security system can continue to pay benefits, but benefit payments will be constrained by the revenue base from the 12.4% FICA (Social Security payroll) tax on wages. According to the Social Security trustees, continuing payroll tax revenues at the rate of 12.4% will enable Social Security to pay about 74% of promised benefits during the 2040s, with this ratio falling to about 70% by the end of the forecast period in 2080.[27]

text: Under Barack Obama[edit]

text: In 2011 and 2012, the federal government temporarily extended the reduction in the employees' share of payroll taxes from 6.2% to 4.2% of compensation.[28] The resulting shortfall was appropriated from the general Government funds. This increased public debt, but did not advance the year of depletion of the Trust Fund.[29]

text: An economic perspective[edit]

text: Overview[edit]

text: The Trust Fund represents a legal obligation of the federal government to program beneficiaries. The government has borrowed nearly $2.8 trillion as of 2014 from the Trust Fund and used the money for other purposes. Under current law, when the program goes into an annual cash deficit, the government has to seek alternate funding beyond the payroll taxes dedicated to the program to cover the shortfall. This reduces the trust fund balance to the extent this occurs. The program deficits are expected to exhaust the fund by 2034. Thereafter, since Social Security is only authorized to pay beneficiaries what it collects in payroll taxes dedicated to the program, program payouts will fall by an estimated 21%.

text:
Gross federal debt consists of debt held by the public and debt issued to government accounts (for example, the Social Security trust funds). The latter type of debt does not directly affect the economy and has no net effect on the budget.
— Congressional Budget Office[30]

tag: div

text: The trust fund is expected to peak in 2021 at approximately $3.0 trillion.[17] If the parts of the budget outside of Social Security are in deficit, which the Congressional Budget Office and multiple budget expert panels assume for the foreseeable future, there are several implications:

text:
Additional debt must be issued to investors to obtain the funding necessary to pay this obligation. This will increase "debt held by the public" while simultaneously reducing the "intragovernmental debt" represented by the trust fund.
CBO reported in 2015 that: "Continued growth in the debt might lead investors to doubt the government's willingness or ability to pay its obligations, which would require the government to pay much higher interest rates on its borrowing."[30]
Other parts of the budget may be modified, with higher taxes and lower expenditures in other areas to fund Social Security.[31]
Debate regarding whether the proper debt-to-GDP ratio for evaluating U.S. credit risk is the "debt held by the public" or "total debt" (i.e., debt held by the public plus intragovernmental debt) will be rendered moot, as the amounts will converge substantially.

text: On the other hand, if other parts of the budget are in surplus and program recipients can be paid from the general fund, then no additional debt need be issued. However, this scenario is highly unlikely.

text: Commentary[edit]

text: Some commentators believe that whether the trust fund is a fact or fiction comes down to whether the trust fund contributes to national savings or not.[32]  If $1 added to the fund increases national savings, or replaces borrowing from other lenders, by $1, the trust fund is real.  If $1 added to the fund does not replace other borrowing or otherwise increase national savings, the trust fund is not "real".  Some economic research argues that the trust funds have led to only a small to modest increase in national savings and that the bulk of the trust fund has been "spent".[32][33][34][35] Others suggest a more significant savings effect.[36]


document_title: List of national anthem performers at the Super Bowl

question_text: who sang the national anthem at the superbowl

root

text: Performances[edit]

text:
No.

Year

Venue

Performer(s)[1]

I

1967

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, California

The Pride of Arizona, Michigan Marching Band, and UCLA choir

II

1968

Orange Bowl, Miami

GSU Tiger Marching Band

III

1969

Lloyd Geisler of the Washington National Symphony Orchestra[2]  An NFL.com reference ([1]) states that Anita Bryant performed the anthem, but NBC's broadcast of game, available from the Paley Center for Media's collection, shows that Geisler performed it.

IV

1970

Tulane Stadium, New Orleans

Al Hirt

V

1971

Orange Bowl, Miami

Tommy Loy (trumpet)

VI

1972

Tulane Stadium, New Orleans

U.S. Air Force Academy Chorale

VII

1973

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Little Angels (children's choir) of Chicago's Holy Angels Church

VIII

1974

Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas

Charley Pride

IX

1975

Tulane Stadium, New Orleans

GSU Tiger Marching Band (2)

X

1976

Orange Bowl, Miami

Tom Sullivan

XI

1977

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

None (Vikki Carr sang "America the Beautiful")

XII

1978

Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans

Phyllis Kelly of Northeast Louisiana University

XIII

1979

Orange Bowl, Miami

The Colgate Thirteen

XIV

1980

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Cheryl Ladd

XV

1981

Superdome, New Orleans

Helen O'Connell

XVI

1982

Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan

Diana Ross

XVII

1983

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Leslie Easterbrook

XVIII

1984

Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Barry Manilow

XIX

1985

Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California

San Francisco Boys Chorus, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Piedmont Children's Chorus, and San Francisco Children's Chorus

XX

1986

Superdome, New Orleans

Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)

XXI

1987

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Neil Diamond

XXII

1988

Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego

Herb Alpert (trumpet)

XXIII

1989

Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami

Billy Joel

XXIV

1990

Superdome, New Orleans

Aaron Neville

XXV

1991

Tampa Stadium, Tampa

Whitney Houston with The Florida Orchestra directed by Jahja Ling

XXVI

1992

Metrodome, Minneapolis

Harry Connick, Jr.ASL (American Sign Language): Lori Hilary

XXVII

1993

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Garth BrooksASL: Marlee Matlin

XXVIII

1994

Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Natalie ColeASL: Courtney Keel Foley

XXIX

1995

Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami

Kathie Lee GiffordASL: Heather Whitestone

XXX

1996

Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Vanessa L. WilliamsASL: Mary Kim Titla

XXXI

1997

Superdome, New Orleans

Luther VandrossASL: Erika Rachael Schwarz

XXXII

1998

Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego

JewelASL: Phyllis Frelich

XXXIII

1999

Pro Player Stadium, Miami

CherASL: Speaking Hands

XXXIV

2000

Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Faith HillASL: Briarlake Elementary School Signing Choir

XXXV

2001

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa

Backstreet BoysAASL: Tom Cooney

XXXVI

2002

Superdome, New Orleans

Mariah CareyASL: Joe Narcisse

XXXVII

2003

Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego

Dixie ChicksASL: Janet Maxwell

XXXVIII

2004

Reliant Stadium, Houston

BeyoncéASL: Suzanna Christy

XXXIX

2005

Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Combined choirs of the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy (2), and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Army Herald TrumpetsASL: Wesley Tallent

XL

2006

Ford Field, Detroit

Aaron Neville (2) and Aretha Franklin,  Dr. John (piano accompaniment) ASL: Angela LaGuardia

XLI

2007

Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Billy Joel (2) ASL: Marlee Matlin (2)

XLII

2008

University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Jordin SparksASL: A Dreamer[3]

XLIII

2009

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Jennifer HudsonASL: Kristen Santos

XLIV

2010

Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens

Carrie UnderwoodASL: Kinesha Battles

XLV

2011

Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Christina AguileraASL: Candice Villesca[4]

XLVI

2012

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

Kelly Clarkson ASL: Rachel Mazique[5]

XLVII

2013

Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans

Alicia Keys[6] ASL: John Maucere[7]

XLVIII

2014

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Renée FlemingASL: Amber Zion

XLIX

2015

University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona[8]

Idina MenzelASL: Treshelle Edmond[9]

50

2016

Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

Lady GagaASL: Marlee Matlin (3)[10]

LI

2017

NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

Luke BryanASL: Kriston Lee Pumphery[11].

LII

2018

U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

PinkASL: Alexandria Wailes[12].

tag: table

text: Multiple and hometown performances[edit]

text: Acts that have performed three times:

tag: p

text: Marlee Matlin (ASL), (XXVII, XLI, and 50)

tag: ul

text: Acts that have performed two times:

text:
GSU Tiger Marching Band (II and IX)
Billy Joel (XXIII and XLI)
Aaron Neville (XXIV and XL)
U.S. Air Force Academy Chorale[13] (VI and XXXIX)

text: Singers that performed in or near their hometown metropolitan area:

text:
Beyoncé (XXXVIII, Houston)
Aretha Franklin (XL, Detroit)
Al Hirt (IV, New Orleans)
Aaron Neville (XXIV & XL, New Orleans)
Diana Ross (XVI, Detroit)
Jordin Sparks (XLII, Phoenix)

text: Notable performances[edit]

text: The performance by Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV in 1991, during the Gulf War, had been for many years regarded as one of the best renditions ever.[14][15][16][17][18][19] It was released as a single a few weeks later, appeared on the album Whitney: The Greatest Hits, and was re-released as a single in 2001 shortly after the September 11 attacks.

text: The 1992 performance marked the first time American Sign Language was used alongside the lead singer.

text: Faith Hill performed the anthem at Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.[20] It became popular in country radio. Following the September 11 attacks, her version entered the country singles chart at number 35, despite not being released as an official single, and reentered the same chart at number 49 in July 2002.[citation needed]

text: At Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, in an emotional and groundbreaking performance, soprano Renée Fleming became the first opera singer to perform the national anthem,[21] scoring the highest ratings for a Fox Network program in its history, and the second-highest ratings for any television program in history.

text: Controversies[edit]

text: Just days after Super Bowl XXV, a report surfaced that Whitney Houston lip synced her performance. It was confirmed that she was actually singing into a dead microphone, but the performance heard in the stadium and on television was prerecorded.[22][14][15]

text: Since 1993, the NFL has required performers to supply a backup track.[14] This came after Garth Brooks walked out of the stadium prior to his XXVII performance. Only 45 minutes before kickoff, he refused to take the stage, due to a dispute with NBC. Brooks requested that the network premiere his new music video "We Shall Be Free" during the pregame. The network chose not to air the video, due to content some felt was disturbing imagery. Brooks had also refused to pre-record the anthem, which meant the league had nothing to play if he left. Television producers spotted Jon Bon Jovi in the grandstands, and were prepared to use him as a replacement. After last-minute negotiations, NBC agreed to air a clip of the video during the broadcast of the game,[23] and Brooks was coaxed back into the stadium and sang.[19]

text: Following the "wardrobe malfunction" controversy during Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, all scheduled performers for Super Bowl XXXIX were chosen under heavy scrutiny.[24] Game organizers decided not to use a popular music vocalist.[25] The combined choirs of the U.S. Military Academy, the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets were invited to perform. This was the first time since the second inauguration of President Richard Nixon in 1973 that all four service academies sang together.[13][26]

text: Two days after Super Bowl XLIII, it was revealed that Jennifer Hudson also had lip synced.[14]

text: At the beginning of Super Bowl XLV, Christina Aguilera sang the lyrics incorrectly. Instead of singing "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming", the pop star sang "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming".[27][28] According to the New York Times, she also changed "gleaming" to "reaming".[29]

text: Other patriotic performances[edit]

text: The following Super Bowls featured other patriotic performances besides the national anthem. Since 2009, "America the Beautiful" is sung before the national anthem.[30]

text:
1969: Apollo 8 crew
1970: Apollo astronauts
1973: Apollo 17 crew

text:
1977: Vikki Carr (in place of the national anthem)
2001: Ray Charles
2002: Mary J. Blige, Marc Anthony and the Boston Pops Orchestra
2005: Alicia Keys and a tribute video to the recently deceased Ray Charles
2009: Faith Hill
2010: Queen Latifah
2011: Lea Michele
2012: Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert
2013: Jennifer Hudson with the Sandy Hook Elementary School Chorus[31][32]
2014: Queen Latifah with the New Jersey Youth Chorus
2015: John Legend [9]
2016: U.S. Armed Forces Chorus [33]
2017: Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones.[34]
2018: Leslie Odom Jr..[35].

text: 2003: Céline Dion


document_title: The Skye Boat Song

question_text: who sings the theme song for the series outlander

text: The Skye Boat Song

text: Content[edit]

text: The text of the song gives an account of how Bonnie Prince Charlie, disguised as a serving maid, escaped in a small boat after the defeat of his Jacobite rising of 1745, with the aid of Flora MacDonald. The song draws on the motifs of Jacobitism although it was composed nearly a century and a half over the episode it describes.[1]

text: Origin[edit]

text: The lyrics were written by Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet, to an air collected in the 1870s by Anne Campbelle MacLeod (1855–1921), who became Lady Wilson by marriage to Sir James Wilson, KSCI (1853–1926), in 1888. The song was first published in Songs of the North by Boulton and MacLeod, London, 1884, a book that went into at least fourteen editions.[1] In later editions MacLeod's name was dropped and the ascription "Old Highland rowing measure arranged by Malcolm Lawson" was substituted. It was quickly taken up by other compilers, such as Laura Alexandrine Smith's Music of the Waters (published 1888). Lawson was the elder brother of artist Cecil Gordon Lawson.

text: According to Andrew Kuntz, a collector of folk music lore, MacLeod was on a trip to the isle of Skye and was being rowed over Loch Coruisk (Coire Uisg, the "Cauldron of Waters") when the rowers broke into a Gaelic rowing song Cuachag nan Craobh ("The Cuckoo in the Grove"). MacLeod set down what she remembered of the air, with the intention of using it later in a book she was to co-author with Boulton, who later added the section with the Jacobite associations. "As a piece of modern romantic literature with traditional links it succeeded perhaps too well, for soon people began "remembering" they had learned the song in their childhood, and that the words were 'old Gaelic lines'," Andrew Kuntz has observed.[2]

text: The song was not in any older books of Scottish songs, though it is in most miscellanies like The Fireside Book of Folk Songs. It is often sung as a lullaby, in a slow rocking 6/8 time.

text: Recording history and covers[edit]

text: It was extremely popular in its day, and from its first recording by Tom Bryce on April 29, 1899,[3] became a standard among Scottish folk and dance musicians. It was even more widely known from the 1960s onwards and has remained popular in mainstream music genres. It was performed to great acclaim and recorded by artist and social activist Paul Robeson in 1959 and 1960.[4]

text: Tom Jones recorded a version, which was arranged by Lee Lawson and Harold Boulton, on his debut album Along Came Jones in 1965. The same album, released in the U.S. as "It's Not Unusual" (and carrying only 12 of the original 16 tracks), did not give attribution for the arrangement but did characterize the song as "Trad.—2:57."[5]

text: Fans of Rangers FC in Glasgow used to sing a version of the song in praise of Danish player Kai Johansen (played 1965–70).

text: Among later renditions which became well known were Peter Nelson and The Castaways from New Zealand, who released a version in 1966, as did West Australian artist Glen Ingram. Both versions were in the Australian hit parade in 1966.

text: Esther & Abi Ofarim recorded the song in 1966 under the title "Bonnie Boat".[6]

text: Calum Kennedy included a version on Songs of Scotland and Ireland (Beltona 1971).

text: Rod Stewart recorded two versions of the song with The Atlantic Crossing Drum & Pipe Band during the sessions for Atlantic Crossing, between 1974 and 1975. They were given an official release on the deluxe re-release of the album in 2009.

text: This song can be heard at the beginning of "Who Stole the Bagpipes," the second episode in season one of the early 1980s British cartoon Dangermouse.

text: Roger Whittaker's duet version with Des O'Connor, released in 1986, combined O'Connor's vocals with Whittaker's whistling version, a part of his repertoire since at least the mid-1970s. The track was recorded at London's Holland Park Lansdowne Studios (fr) (now a high-end residential underground property) with session drummer Peter Boita along with all the high-profile studio session players of the day. The cellist Julian Lloyd Webber recorded an instrumental version of the song in 1986 on the album Encore! / Travels With My Cello Volume 2.

text: The Shadows played an instrumental version of the song on their 1987 album Simply Shadows.

text: Singer Tori Amos covered the song as part of a song trilogy entitled "Etienne Trilogy" on her debut album Y Kant Tori Read (1988).

text: Scottish singer, Barbara Dickson, recorded this song in 2006.

text: James Galway and The Chieftains recorded an instrumental version (which was used as background music for a Johnnie Walker commercial) in February 1990 at Studios 301, Sydney, Australia, released on the album Over the Sea to Skye - The Celtic Connection. There is also a version on The Corries "In Concert / Scottish Love Songs" album (Track 19).

text: Stellan Skarsgård's character plays this song on the cello in the 1992 film Wind.

text: Canadian Punk band, The Real McKenzies covered this song on their 1995 debut album The Real McKenzies.

text: Sir Michael Tippett originally included "Over the Sea to Skye" in his arrangements of Four Songs from the British Isles for unaccompanied four-part chorus in 1957, in response to a commission from North West German Radio, Bremen, for a festival of European folk song. But the amateur choir for which they were intended found the songs too difficult, and the first performance took place only in July 1958, given by the London Bach Group, conducted by John Minchinton, at Royaumont in France. The recently published volume of Tippett’s Selected Letters, edited by Thomas Schuttenhelm, includes a progress report on the Four Songs to the composer’s German publisher, dated 28 July 1957, in which he says that he proposes to replace "Over the Sea to Skye" because it is “too strictly held by a publisher here”. It was only rediscovered after Tippett’s death in the offices of his London publishers Schott’s; it was published at the end of 2002, and first performed the following July in Dublin.

text: Marc Gunn recorded this song for the 2013 album Scottish Songs of Drinking & Rebellion.

text: Bear McCreary adapted the song as the opening titles of the 2014 TV series Outlander, sung by Raya Yarbrough, changing the text of Robert Louis Stevenson's poem Sing Me a Song of a Lad That Is Gone (1892) to fit the story.[7][8][1]

text: Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who played the song repeatedly on his recorder in Episode 6, Scene 10 of "The Web of Fear" (broadcast 9 March 1968).[9][10]

text: It can also be heard playing background instrumental in several episodes of the American serial killer television series Dexter.

text: Lyrics[edit]

text: Original lyrics[edit]

text:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Skye Boat Song lyrics

text:
[Chorus:]
Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that's born to be King
Over the sea to Skye.

Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar,
Thunderclaps rend the air;
Baffled, our foes stand by the shore,
Follow they will not dare.

[Chorus]

Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep,
Ocean's a royal bed.
Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head.

[Chorus]

Many's the lad fought on that day,
Well the claymore could wield,
When the night came, silently lay
Dead on Culloden's field.

[Chorus]

Burned are their homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men;
Yet ere the sword cool in the sheath
Charlie will come again.

text: Stevenson's poem[edit]

text: Robert Louis Stevenson's 1892 poem, which has been sung to the tune, has the following text:[11]

text:
[Chorus:] Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,
Say, could that lad be I?
Merry of soul he sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.

Mull was astern, Rùm on the port,
Eigg on the starboard bow;
Glory of youth glowed in his soul;
Where is that glory now?

[Chorus]

Give me again all that was there,
Give me the sun that shone!
Give me the eyes, give me the soul,
Give me the lad that's gone!

[Chorus]

Billow and breeze, islands and seas,
Mountains of rain and sun,
All that was good, all that was fair,
All that was me is gone.

text: Other versions[edit]

text: There has also been a hymn adaptation of the tune, known as "Spirit of God Unseen as the Wind"; some of the lyrics vary.[12][13]

text: "The Skye Boat Song" has been parodied in song by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders on their comedy series French and Saunders.

text: A modified version of "The Skye Boat Song" is used as the theme music for the TV Series Outlander sung by Raya Yarbrough and arranged by Bear McCreary. Notably, the word "lad" used in the version by Robert Louis Stevenson is replaced by "lass" to reflect the story.


document_title: Britain's Next Top Model

question_text: who won britain and ireland top model 2017

text: Britain's Next Top Model

text: Premise[edit]

text: The series features a group of young female contestants who live together in a house for several weeks while taking part in challenges, photo shoots and meetings with members of the modelling industry. Normally, one poor-performing contestant is eliminated each week until the last contestant remaining is declared "Britain's Next Top Model" and receives a modelling contract along with other prizes.

text: In a BBC interview, Elle Macpherson contrasted the show with the U.S. version, describing BNTM as "Uniquely British, the sense of humour and the styling is very British... more hybrid backgrounds... and I think that is really examplatory [sic] of what's going on in the UK today".[5]

text: Format[edit]

text: Each series of Britain's Next Top Model features from ten to fourteen episodes and begins with twelve to fourteen contestants. Each episode, one contestant is eliminated, though in rare cases a double elimination or no elimination is given by consensus of the judging panel. Season 6 saw a live finale where the public chose the winner of the cycle. The series was narrated by Fearne Cotton. Due to maternity leave, Fearne did not fulfill this role for the ninth series. She was replaced by Dawn Porter.

text: Starting with the ninth series, the elimination process was changed. Multiple contestants were in danger of elimination every week, with the number of contestants in danger being lowered as the competition progressed.

text: Judges[edit]

text: The season nine panel consisted of Elle Macpherson, Tyson Beckford, and fashion designer, pop star, model, and former X Factor Judge Dannii Minogue. It was originally reported for series 8 that Grace Woodward would leaving the judging panel to be replaced by Kelly Osbourne and that both Charley Speed and Julien Macdonald would continue on the judging panel. However it was later announced that both Speed and Woodward were leaving the panel to be replaced by Tyson Beckford and Whitney Port.[6] Previous judges have included Lisa Butcher, Marie Helvin, Paula Hamilton, Huggy Ragnarsson, industry expert Jonathan Phang and fashion expert Gerry DeVeaux. Usually, an additional guest judge will sit in on the panel every week.

text: Hosting roles are indicated in bold.

text:
Judges
Cycles

1
(2005)
2
(2006)
3
(2007)
4
(2008)
5
(2009)
6
(2010)
7
(2011)
8
(2012)
9
(2013)
10
(2016)
11
(2017)
12
(2017)

Lisa Butcher
Head Judge

Marie Helvin
Main

Jonathan Phang
Main

Lisa Snowdon

Head Judge

Paula Hamilton

Main

Huggy Ragnarsson

Main

Gerry DeVeaux

Main

Louis Mariette

Main

Guest

Elle Macpherson

Head Judge

Julien Macdonald

Main

Charley Speed

Main

Grace Woodward

Main

Tyson Beckford

Guest
Main

Whitney Port

Main

Dannii Minogue

Main

Abbey Clancy

Contestant

Guest

Head Judge

Paul Sculfor

Guest

Head Judge

Hilary Alexander
Guest

Guest
Main

Nicky Johnston

Guest

Guest
Main

Max Rogers

Main

text: Requirements[edit]

text: According to the show's official site, anyone with the right to live or work in Britain is free to apply for the show, but must meet the height requirement of 5'8", and be between the ages of 18-23 at the time they try out for the show.[7] This is true for seasons 6-8. During the first casting episode of cycle 7, some producers stated that 'The requirements would be stricter' in order to accommodate models closer within the range of the real fashion world.

text: Exhibition[edit]

text: Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model Live was launched by Media 10 in October 2010 at ExCeL London.[8] The event was created to immerse members of the public into the Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model (BINTM) lifestyle. Bringing the TV series to life, the event gave every visitor the opportunity to experience the Top Model lifestyle for themselves. The show featured 45 minute catwalk shows, music performances from celebrities and an exhibition full of clothes and fashion accessories for the visitor to purchase. The 2011 Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model Live took place from 28–30 October at London ExCel.

text: Cycles[edit]

text:
Cycle
Premiere date
Winner
Runner-up
Other contestants in order of elimination
Number of contestants
International destination(s)

1
000000002005-09-14-000014 September 2005
Lucy Ratcliffe
Edwina Joseph
Marina Fallahi, Claire Hillier, Shauna Breen, Anne Kent (quit), Hayley Wilkins, Marisa Heath, Stephanie Jones, Naomi Teal, Tashi Brown, Jenilee Harris
12

Milan

Paris

2
000000002006-07-24-000024 July 2006
Lianna Fowler
Abigail Clancy
Yvette Stubbs, Nina Malone, Asha Hibbert, Lucy Flower, Sophia Price, Sam Gerrard, Tamar Higgs & Georgina Edewor-Thorley, Sarah Butler, Amber Niemann, Jasmia Robinson
13

Marrakesh

3
000000002007-07-02-00002 July 2007
Lauren McAvoy
Louise Watts
Dani Lawrence, Krystal Hancock, Abigail Galatia, Natalie Nwagbo, Holly Alexander, Carly Thompson, Sherece Campbell, Lucy Bennett, Stefanie Webber, Rebecca White
12

Rio de Janeiro

4
000000002008-04-21-000021 April 2008
Alex Evans
Catherine Thomas
Sophie Roberts, Musayeroh Barrie, Louise Heywood, Lauren Donaldson-Stanley, Lynzi Arnott, Lisa Fowler, Martha Braddell & Leanne Nagle, Aaron Hunt, Charlotte Denton, Rachael Cairns, Stefanie Wilson
14

Cape Town

5
000000002009-04-20-000020 April 2009
Mecia Simson
Sophie Sumner
Lisa-Ann Hillman, Lauren Wee, Kasey Wynter & Chloe Cummings, Madeleine Wheatley, Hayley Buchanan, Annaliese Dayes, Daisy Payne, Viola Szekely, Ashley Brown, Jade McSorley
13

Reykjavík

Buenos Aires

6
000000002010-07-05-00005 July 2010
Tiffany Pisani
Alisha White
Hannah Goodeve (quit), Rachelle Harry, Susan Loughnane, Harleen Kaur Nottay, Delita Cole, Amba Hudson-Skye, Nicola Wright, Kirsty Parsons, Olivia Oldham-Stevens, Amelia Thomas, Charlotte Holmes, Joy McLaren
14

Alicante

Hardanger

Kuala Lumpur

7
000000002011-07-04-00004 July 2011
Jade Thompson
Juste Juozapaityte
Kimberleigh Spreadbury & Joanne Northey, Ufuoma Itoje, Hannah Devane, Holly Higgins & Amy Woodman, Tanya Mihailovic & Stacey Haskins, Jessica Abidde, Imogen Leaver & Anastasija Bogatirjova
13

Dublin

Miami

8
000000002012-07-09-00009 July 2012
Letitia Herod
Emma Grattidge
Amelia Raven (quit), Emma Sharratt, Penelope Williamson, Tasmin Golding, Anne Winterburn, Kellie Forde, Jennifer Joint, Madeleine Taga, Roxanne O'Connor, Rissikat Oyebade, Lisa Madden, Anita Kaushik
14

Dubai

Paris

Toronto

9
000000002013-06-20-000020 June 2013
Lauren Lambert
Emma Ward & Sarah Kennedy
Christina Chalk, Danielle Sandhu, Jess Patterson, Abigail Johns, Laura Young, Emily Garner, Saffron Williams, Holly Carpenter, Angel Mbonu, Naomi Pelkiewicz, Sophie Ellson
14

Bridgetown

10
000000002016-01-14-000014 January 2016
Chloe Keenan
Angel Cole & Jessica Workman
Jasmine Hodge, Amreen Akhtar (quit), Alex Needham, Jenna McMahon, Megan Brunell & Georgia Butler, Billie Downes, Lexi Kelly, Bethan Sowerby
12

Zagreb

Ocho Rios

11
000000002017-03-16-000016 March 2017
Olivia Wardell
Jennifer Malengele
Anastasia Ellis, Abby Heaton, Victoria Clay, Eleanor Sippings (quit), Talulah-Eve Brown, Bianca Thomas, Chloe Lockley-Middleton, Simone Murphy, Tallulah Steed-Fassett, Alannah Beirne
12

Praia

12
000000002017-10-19-000019 October 2017
TBA
TBA
Still in the running:
Alisia Grant, Cirrah Webb, Efi Muntoni-Clements, Gabriella Jukes, Georgia Mason-Mottram, Ivy Watson, Kira MacLean, Louisa Northcote, Martha Miller, Ocean Lane, Shaunagh Slattery, Sophia Chawki, Tamsin Hough
13
TBA

text: America's Next Top Model: British Invasion[edit]

text: In 2012, it was announced that seven past contestants, they being Jasmia Robinson, Louise Watts, Catherine Thomas, Ashley Brown, Annaliese Dayes, Sophie Sumner, and Alisha White, would be appearing on cycle 18 of America's Next Top Model. Cycle 1 and cycle 7 were unrepresented. The returning contestants from Britain's Next Top Model and their placements for cycle 18 were:

text:
Previous season
Contestant
Original rank
Cycle 18 rank

Cycle 2
Jasmia Robinson
3rd
14th

Cycle 3
Louise Watts
Runner-up
12th (quit)

Cycle 5
Ashley Brown
4th
10th

Cycle 4
Catherine Thomas
Runner-up
6th

Cycle 6
Alisha White
Runner-up
4th (quit)

Cycle 5
Annaliese Dayes
7th
3rd

Cycle 5
Sophie Sumner
Runner-up
Winner

text: Juste Juozapaityte[edit]

text: In 2014, cycle 7 runner-up Juste Juozapaityte participated on Top Model po-russki's (the Russian adaptation of Top Model) fifth cycle, which included contestants from Russia and contestants from other countries with Russian roots. Juozapaityte, from London, was born in Lithuania and is of Russian descent.[9] She finished in second place to Zhenya Nekrasova of Kemerovo.

text: Sponsors[edit]

text: Since the tenth cycle, the show is sponsored by Cosmopolitan, Head & Shoulders and Sleek Cosmetics. Models 1 is a long-time sponsor for the winning model since the first series but now are no-longer sponsor to the show.[citation needed]


document_title: List of Major League Baseball record holders

question_text: most strikeouts for a pitcher in a season

text: Batting records (1876–present)[edit]

text: Career[edit]

text:
Record

Player

#

Refs

Highest batting average

Ty Cobb

.3664

Most singles

Pete Rose

3,215

[1]

Most doubles

Tris Speaker

792

[2]

Most triples

Sam Crawford

309

[3]

Most home runs

Barry Bonds

762

[4]

Most grand slams

Alex Rodriguez

25

Most home runs by a pitcher

Wes Ferrell

38

Most grand slams by a pitcher

Madison Bumgarner

3

Oldest player to hit first home run

Bartolo Colón

7004156890000000000♠42 years, 349 days old

[5]

Youngest player to hit a home run

Tommy Brown

7003646700000000000♠17 years, 257 days old

[6]

Most runs batted in

Hank Aaron

2,297

[7]

Most hits

Pete Rose

4,256

[8]

Most runs scored

Rickey Henderson

2,295

[9]

Highest on-base percentage

Ted Williams

.482

[10]

Most stolen bases

Rickey Henderson

1,406

[11]

Most steals of home

Ty Cobb

54

Highest slugging percentage

Babe Ruth

.690

[12]

Highest OPS

Babe Ruth

1.164

[13]

Most walks

Barry Bonds

2,558

[14]

Most intentional walks

Barry Bonds

688

[15]

Most strikeouts

Reggie Jackson

2,597

[16]

Most at-bats

Pete Rose

14,555

[17]

Most total bases

Hank Aaron

6,856

[18]

Most runs created

Barry Bonds

2,892

[19]

Most games played

Pete Rose

3,562

[20]

text: Single-Season[edit]

text:
Records

Player

#

Season

Refs

Games

Maury Wills

165

1962

Highest batting average

Hugh Duffy

.440

1894

[21]

Most singles

Ichiro Suzuki

225

2004

[22]

Most doubles

Earl Webb

67

1931

[23]

Most triples

Chief Wilson

36

1912

[24]

Most home runs

Barry Bonds

73

2001

Most runs batted in

Hack Wilson

191

1930

[25]

Most hits

Ichiro Suzuki

262

2004

[26]

Most runs scored

Billy Hamilton

192

1894

[27]

Highest on-base percentage

Barry Bonds

.609

2004

[28]

Most stolen bases[a]

Hugh NicolRickey Henderson

138130

18871982

[29]

Highest slugging percentage

Barry Bonds

.863

2001

[30]

Highest OPS

Barry Bonds

1.422

2004

[31]

Most walks

Barry Bonds

232

2004

[32]

Most strikeouts

Mark Reynolds

223

2009

Most extra base hits

Babe Ruth

119

1921

[33]

Fastest pitch thrown

Nolan Ryan

108.5 mph

1974

Most total bases

Babe Ruth

457

1921

[34]

Consecutive game hitting streak

Joe DiMaggio

56

1941

Most at-bats

Jimmy Rollins

716

2007

[35]

text: Pitching records (1876–present)[edit]

text: Career[edit]

text:
Record

Player

#

Most wins

Cy Young

511

Most losses

Cy Young

316

Lowest E.R.A.

Ed Walsh

1.82

Most no-hitters

Nolan Ryan

7

Most strikeouts

Nolan Ryan

5,714

Most shutouts

Walter Johnson

110

Most pickoffs

Steve Carlton

144

Most innings pitched

Cy Young

7,354⅔

Most hit batsmen

Gus Weyhing

278

Most home runs allowed

Jamie Moyer

522

Most complete games

Cy Young

749

Lowest WHIP

Addie Joss

.968

Most saves

Mariano Rivera

652

Highest win–loss percentage

Spud Chandler

71.7%

Most games

Jesse Orosco

1,252

Most consecutive scoreless innings pitched

Orel Hershiser

59[b]

text: Live-ball era (1920–present)[edit]

text: (if different from overall records)

text:
Record

Player

#

Most wins

Warren Spahn

363

Most losses

Nolan Ryan

292

Lowest earned-run average

Bob Gibson

2.91

Most shutouts

Warren Spahn

63

Most innings pitched

Phil Niekro

5,404⅓

Most complete games

Warren Spahn

382

Lowest WHIP

Mariano Rivera

1.000

text: Single season[edit]

text:
Record

Player

#

Season

Most wins

Old Hoss Radbourn

58

1884

Most losses

John Coleman

48

1883

Lowest E.R.A.

Tim Keefe

0.86

1880

Most strikeouts

Matt Kilroy

513

1886

Most shutouts

George BradleyPete Alexander

16

18761916

Most innings pitched

Will White

680

1879

Most complete games

Will White

75

1879

Lowest WHIP

Pedro Martínez

.7373

2000

Most saves

Francisco Rodríguez

62

2008

Highest win/loss percentage

Roy Face

94.7%

1959

Most hits allowed

John Coleman

772

1883

Most earned runs allowed

John Coleman

291

1883

text: Live-ball era (1920–present)[edit]

text: (if different from all-time records)

text:
Record

Player

#

Season

Most wins

Jim Bagby, Sr.Lefty GroveDenny McLain

31

192019311968

Most losses

Paul Derringer

27

1933

Most strikeouts

Nolan Ryan

383

1973

Most shutouts

Bob Gibson

13

1968

Most innings pitched

Wilbur Wood

376.2

1972

Most complete games

Bob Feller

36

1946

Most hits allowed

George Uhle

378

1923

Most earned runs allowed

Bobo Newsom

186

1938

text: Hitting records: single game (1876–present)[edit]

text:
Most hits in a nine-inning game: 7 by Wilbert Robinson, June 10, 1892, and Rennie Stennett, September 16, 1975.
Most hits in an extra-inning game: 9, Johnny Burnett, July 10, 1932.[36]
Most total bases in a nine-inning game: 19 (4 home runs, a double and a single), Shawn Green, May 23, 2002.

text: Pitching records: single game (1876–present)[edit]

text:
Most home runs allowed: 7, Charlie Sweeney, June 12, 1886
Most strikeouts: 21, Tom Cheney, September 12, 1962 (16 innings)
Most strikeouts in a nine-inning game: 20 by Kerry Wood, Roger Clemens (twice), and Max Scherzer [c]
Most consecutive home runs allowed: 4 by Paul Foytack, July 31, 1963, Chase Wright, April 22, 2007, Dave Bush, August 11, 2010, and Michael Blazek, July 27, 2017
Oldest pitcher to win a game: Jamie Moyer, age 49 years, 151 days, May 16, 2012

text: Catcher records: career[edit]

text:
Most runners caught stealing: 810, Gary Carter[38]
Most stolen bases allowed: 1,498, Gary Carter[39]
Most stolen-base attempts: 2,308, Gary Carter
Highest caught-stealing %: 57.40%, Roy Campanella[40]
Most pickoffs: 81, Iván Rodríguez[41]
Most games caught: 2,427, Iván Rodríguez

text: Most caught no hitters: 4, Jason Varitek, May 19, 2008 and Carlos Ruiz, July 25, 2015.

text: Note: Pre-1950 stolen-base data is incomplete; career leaders shown from 1950 to present.

text: Catcher records: single season[edit]

text:
Most runners caught stealing: Jody Davis, 89 (1986)[43]
Most stolen bases allowed: Mike Piazza, 155 (1996)[44]
Highest caught-stealing %: Mike LaValliere, 72.73% (1993)[45]
Most no-hitters caught: 2, Carlos Ruiz (2010) and Wilson Ramos (2015) (List of Major League Baseball no-hitters)

text: Both of Ruiz's no-hitters were by Roy Halladay; the second was in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, Halladay's first career postseason start. Both of Ramos' no-hitters were by Max Scherzer.

text: In 1914, Yankees catcher Les Nunamaker threw out three runners in the same inning.[46]

text: Other records[edit]

text:
Most World Series wins (as a manager): 7, Casey Stengel, Joe McCarthy
Most pennants won: 10, Casey Stengel, John McGraw
Most World Series appearances (as a manager): 10, Casey Stengel
Most World Series appearances (as a team): 40, New York Yankees
Most World Series titles (as a team): 27, New York Yankees
Most regular season wins (as a team): 116, Seattle Mariners (2001), Chicago Cubs (1907)
Most MVP Awards won: 7, Barry Bonds
Most Grand Slams By a Pitcher in One Season: Tony Cloninger, Madison Bumgarner, 2
Most Consecutive Games Played: 2,632, Cal Ripken, Jr.


document_title: John Connor

question_text: who played john connor's mother in terminator

question_tokens: who played john connor 's mother in terminator

text: John Connor

text: Terminator film series[edit]

text: In the narrative of his fictional universe, John Connor is a messianic figure (born on 28 February 1985) who will lead the Resistance to defeat an empire of robotic Terminators amassed by Skynet (the rogue military supercomputer) following Judgment Day (a cybernetic revolt doomsday event). When his mother, Sarah Connor, became the target of a time travelling Terminator unit (T-800 (Model 101)) in the first film The Terminator, John sent resistance fighter Kyle Reese to protect her, knowing Kyle and Sarah would later conceive John himself. With foreknowledge from his parents, John fends off Terminator assassination attempts in the second and third films before Judgment Day. In the fourth film, John fights with the Resistance in a post-apocalyptic setting after Skynet has taken over. As the series' central plot heavily involves the concept of time travel, the story of the character is often non-linear and portrays many possible outcomes, for example Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles continue from the ending of Terminator 2 but are depicted as taking place in alternate timelines,[3][4] while in Terminator Genisys (2015) revisits and changes the events of 1984's The Terminator.

text: The Terminator[edit]

text: In The Terminator, John is mentioned and is the basis of the film. The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is attempting to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) because she will be his mother, but does not make a physical appearance. However, at the end of the film, Sarah is shown to be pregnant with John.

text: Terminator 2: Judgment Day[edit]

text: John makes his first true appearance in Terminator 2: Judgment Day which takes place in 1995, played by Edward Furlong. He was a 10-year-old juvenile delinquent living with foster parents (Jenette Goldstein and Xander Berkeley) while his mother (Hamilton) was at a hospital for the mentally insane. Though he is informed of his destiny of his future conflict with Skynet, young John is skeptical of his mother's claims of his fate as humanity's leader. One day, while in an arcade with a friend, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) and the T-800 (Schwarzenegger) - a reprogrammed android sent by John's future self, fight over him. This starts a chase sequence where the T-800 and John try to lose the T-1000; this event validates John's mother's warning to him about Skynet. Later that night, his mother breaks out and he and the T-800 go to save her, and the three escape. John teaches The Terminator how to be like a human; teaching him sayings like "hasta la vista, baby!." He forms an emotional bond with the Terminator, coming to regard it as a father figure, and does not want the Terminator to destroy himself at the end of the film, despite the Terminator's warning that allowing him to continue existing creates the risk that his chip could be used to recreate Skynet at some future date. John Connor is briefly seen at the beginning of the film in a flash-forward as an adult, played by Michael Edwards. Dalton Abbot (Linda Hamilton's son), also played John as a toddler in a dream sequence.

text: Alternate ending[edit]

text: The alternate ending for Terminator 2: Judgment Day depicts Sarah Connor alive and well on August 29, 2029. John Connor has become a U.S. senator and father to a daughter in a world where Skynet was never able to start its war on humanity. While Sarah states that Judgment Day has been averted, John accepts that he still has a destiny to make a difference, which is what motivates him to pursue his political career. In contrast to his alternate self from the beginning of the film, John, despite still struggles to improve people's lives in the new timeline, he leads a happier life due to not carrying the responsibility and burden of the weight of the world.

text: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines[edit]

text: In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which takes place in 2004, John Connor, portrayed by Nick Stahl, is now a young adult. John has been living off-the-grid after the events of the second film, even as the original Judgment Day deadline on August 29, 1997 came to pass without incident. His mother eventually developed terminal leukemia and died. In the film, John crosses paths with Katherine "Kate" Brewster (Claire Danes), a former classmate from when he was living with his foster parents. He is attacked by a T-X Terminator (Kristanna Loken), which was sent from the future. Unlike its predecessors, the T-X's objective was to terminate his future officers as secondary targets because John's location was unknown. When it encounters John it changes its priority to focus entirely on him and Kate. A protector T-850 (Schwarzenegger), who is a doppelgänger of John's previous protector, is also sent back in time to protect him, explaining that Judgment Day had only been delayed to July 25, 2004, which happens to be only hours away. The T-850 also states that it was not sent from the future by John, but by Kate in 2033, who is his future wife and second-in-command - John had actually been killed by that very Terminator on July 4, 2032, as Skynet believed it to be the most suitable for such a mission due to John's emotional attachment to its model. Although John and Kate spend much of the film trying to halt the launching of Skynet, they are misled to believe Skynet's core is in an underground facility, only to find themselves locked and protected in a secure bunker as the first nuclear assault is launched on the United States as a result of Skynet's manipulations; Lieutenant General Robert Brewster, who was Skynet's creator and Kate's father, mislead them to the bunker in order to assure Kate's protection, and Skynet is pure software and has already spread to every server worldwide therefore impossible to shutdown. It is via the radios in this bunker that John begins to broadcast messages to lay the groundwork to help survivors and organize the Resistance.

text: Terminator Salvation[edit]

text: In Terminator Salvation, which is set fourteen years later in the year 2018, John Connor, portrayed by Christian Bale, is now an older, battle-experienced, Resistance soldier married to Kate Brewster (Bryce Dallas Howard), who serves as a medic and is now pregnant with his child. Kate also assists command with her husband's Tech-Com unit. Since Judgment Day, John has been broadcasting radio messages to both the Resistance forces and surviving refugees in an effort to maintain morale and hope. The story features a new character named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), and a younger Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin). John starts as one of the many foot soldiers who make up the Resistance movement based in California. Despite having extensive prior knowledge of the machines and Skynet's capabilities, John is largely dismissed by General Hugh Ashdown (Michael Ironside) who runs the resistance organization. He considers Connor a delusional false prophet at best and a dangerous liability to their operations at worst. Nonetheless, there are pockets of people within the Resistance who have come to believe in John's experiences and judgment based on their own first hand experiences serving with him. In addition, the majority of the Resistance is gradually losing faith towards the Resistance Command due to Ashdown's ruthless and vicious tactics that cost many of his own soldiers and civilians' lives. Later on, towards the middle of the film, John learns that Kyle Reese has been placed in a detention center by Skynet which is aware of Kyle's future role as John's father, classifying Kyle as its primary target and John as its secondary objective even over the current leaders of the resistance- and sets out to rescue him, with Marcus Wright leading him to the base. Upon arrival, John faces off with a T-800 crafted in the image of the android unit that he and his family have encountered previously. John is hurt during his encounter with the T-800 and receives multiple cuts to the face, mirroring the same scars seen on John's face in the opening scene of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Marcus helps him destroy the T-800, but due to injury, John's heart is too badly damaged and Marcus offers his own to John. In addition, after the Resistance Command is caught into Skynet's trap, John and his subordinates takeover the authority of its forces with no opposition. John's ending statement is that though this battle has been won, the war is far from over.

text: Terminator Genisys[edit]

text: John Connor is portrayed by Jason Clarke in the fifth installment, Terminator Genisys. In an alternate timeline, following a confrontation with a T-5000 (Matt Smith) on the seemingly final day of the war, just as Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) is being sent back to save Sarah (Emilia Clarke), John is forcibly transformed into a nanocyte cyborg, the T-3000, the process changing his allegiance from the resistance to Skynet and becomes sociopathic. Skynet then sends the T-3000 back in time to ensure its creation in the altered timeline- now 'believing' that the future requires man and machine to come together like he has – in a parallel change with the Terminator from The Terminator to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. After being converted he travels back in time to 2014 and joins Cyberdyne to help create a new version of Skynet after the destruction of the original Terminator prevented its chip being used, working with Miles and Danny Dyson to perfect the development of the new Genisys system, turning Skynet into a massive digital network rather than a single computer system like it was originally. Three years later, despite his superior physical strength, he was later destroyed by "The Guardian" Terminator (Schwarzenegger)- a T-800 reprogrammed and sent into the past by an unknown party to protect Sarah Connor- when both of them were trapped inside a prototype time machine; with the machine just capable of generating the electromagnetic energy that prevented non-living tissue travelling through time without actually generating a temporal portal, Connor is ripped apart while trapped at the heart of the machine after earlier battle-damage disrupted his ability to maintain his organic shell, while the 'Guardian' is thrown out of the machine and falls into a nearby pool of poly-mimetic alloy, allowing its CPU and what remained of its endoskeleton to be absorbed by the metal and convert it into a nano-android similar to the T-1000. It is ambiguous as to whether a version of John Connor will exist in the altered timeline, with John himself stating that his existence is a paradox that is no longer tied to Sarah and Kyle conceiving him (though this view may be attributed to his semi-insanity after his transformation).

text: Production background[edit]

text: The T-3000's sole mission is to protect and ensure the ultimate survival of Skynet, which seeks to eliminate the human race with its global machine network. The T-3000 describes itself as neither machine nor human; rather, it is a hybrid nanotechnological cyborg.[5] Producer David Ellison explains that the title Terminator Genisys "[is] in reference to genesis, which is in reference to the singularity and the man-machine hybrid that John Connor ends up being."[6]

text: The on-screen representation of the T-3000 was made by British effects company Double Negative. Footage combines Jason Clarke filmed on set, keyframed animation, and motion capture. Supervisor Peter Bebb said that the company tried to design the T-3000 like a computer would do it, focusing on design and battle efficiency, "form follows function". Given it is a Terminator built out of a human, the result is "a pure robot that sits under flesh structure", still retaining an overall human shape. The mechanical cells tried to resemble the material on stealth aircraft, with a result described as "more matte than metal", resembling a slightly iridescent ceramic carbon.[7][8]

text: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles[edit]

text:
John Connor

Terminator:
The Sarah Connor Chronicles character

Thomas Dekker as John Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

First appearance
"Pilot"

Last appearance
"Born to Run"

Created by
James Cameron
Josh Friedman

Portrayed by
Thomas Dekker
John De Vito

Information

Aliases
John Reese
John Baum

Gender
Male

Occupation
High school student

Family
Kyle Reese
(father)
Sarah Connor
(mother)
Derek Reese
(paternal uncle)
Cameron
(guardian, confidant)

Status
Alive

text: Thomas Dekker portrays John Connor in the parallel universe television series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. John is Sarah's son and the future leader of the human resistance. He is only fifteen years old at the beginning of the show, turning sixteen in the season one finale, and seventeen throughout season two, although it isn't mentioned. As the series progresses, John struggles with his feelings for Cameron, who is a Terminator. John De Vito plays a young John Connor in two episodes "Queen's Gambit" and "To the Lighthouse".

text: Casting and production background[edit]

text: Dekker was cast after Headey secured the role of Sarah Connor.[9] Regarding the Terminator films, Dekker says "They are like my favorite films when I was younger. So it's very ironic that I'm getting to do this. And I know for the younger generation and for myself, John was equally important to me as Sarah was, and I know a lot of the people that I hear from really, really care about John".[10] Dekker describes his character as "a continuation of Eddie Furlong's character" but "he's in a darker, more mature place now".

text: The show tells the story of the Connors in alternate timeline from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.[3] It branches off from the shared back story of Terminator 2, and according to consulting producer James Middleton "is [a new] version of T3."[11]

text: Premise[edit]

text: At the beginning of the series in 1999, John and Sarah try to settle down to normal lives after the events of the second film, but they are in fear of being captured for blowing up Cyberdyne during the events of the second film. While at school, John is attacked by a Terminator posing as a teacher, and is protected by a reprogrammed Terminator named "Cameron". John learns that Judgment Day has not been prevented, only postponed to April 21, 2011. John does not want to run anymore and asks Sarah to stop Skynet from being created. Cameron uses time dilation technology (built by "The Engineer" from the future) to send all three of them to 2007, just before Skynet is created, so that they can stop it.

text: Settling down in 2007, John enrolls in Campo de Cahuenga High School under the name of John Baum, after author L. Frank Baum who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a book that Sarah says was John's favorite when he was younger, where he is friends with his fellow students Morris and Riley Dawson. He becomes acquainted with his father's older brother, Derek Reese, who is also a resistance fighter sent back in time to help them. This version of John is shown to be a highly skilled computer hacker (a nod from Terminator 2), even being able to hack into a Terminator's CPU in order to read the information it contains, as well as easily hacking into the LAPD database. He claims that he could hack a computer system 'in (his) sleep'. He is also proficient in chess, lock-picking, self-defense, and weaponry, all of which were part of his training during his childhood. The relationship dynamic between John and Cameron is different than with the "Uncle Bob" T-800 by virtue of her size/gender, with some degree of sexual tension. He also develops a relationship with Riley Dawson, a high school classmate, who, unknown to him, is also from the future and working with Jesse Flores, a resistance fighter and lover of Derek Reese. Jesse's plan was for John to become infatuated with Riley, making her a threat to John's security. This would force Cameron to kill Riley, thereby alienating John from her. Apparently, after Judgment Day, rumors abound of an unnatural relationship between the two that affects John's tactical decision making, and some are unsettled that he has appointed a Terminator as one of his lieutenants.

text: Video games[edit]

text: Terminator Salvation[edit]

text: In the video game Terminator Salvation, which is set two years before the events of the film. In 2016, John Connor (voiced by Gideon Emery) and Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) are on a mission to rescue a man named David Weston (Sean Cory Cooper), until they team up with Angie Salter (Rose McGowan) and Barnes (Common) to fight the machines.

text: Attraction[edit]

text: T2 3-D: Battle Across Time[edit]

text: Edward Furlong reprises his role from Terminator 2 in this Universal Studios attraction. Set six years after the events of the second film, John and Sarah once again attempt to prevent Judgment Day by infiltrating Cyberdyne to prevent the completion of Skynet. They interrupt Kimberley Duncan's presentation of the T-70 Terminators and attempt to evacuate the facility, but the T-1000 arrives and nearly terminates them. However, the T-800 arrives from the future and saves them. The T-800 and John then travel to the future while Sarah stays behind. In the future, they journey across the post apocalyptic landscape, towards Skynet, and are chased by various machines. Eventually, John and the T-800 reach Skynet, housed inside a giant, glowing pyramid. They descend to Skynet Central Core where they face off the T-1000000, a giant liquid-metal spider-like Terminator that guards the CPU. As they run out of time, the T-800 sends John back to the present. After John makes his return, the T-800 destroys itself, the T-1000000, and Skynet in a massive explosion. Back in the present, John and Sarah are reunited.

text: Literature[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2015)

text: Comic books[edit]

text: With the success of T2, John Connor would appear in the non-canon Terminator/Superman crossover Superman vs. The Terminator: Death to the Future, where DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics teamed Sarah and John Connor up with the Man of Steel in an adventure that pitted Superman up against not only Skynet, but also against his old rival The Cyborg. In this adventure, while trying to protect Sarah and young John, Superman is pulled into the future - the resistance had attempted to recover a Terminator that Skynet had sent back earlier but the machine targeted Superman by mistake, and is then able to help the older John, as well as an older John Henry Irons (AKA Steel) take down Skynet once and for all. Meanwhile, back in the past Cyborg makes a deal with Skynet - leaving a message in a Terminator's skull about Superman's weaknesses and subsequently allying himself with a T-X sent back from the future to assist him, while Supergirl, Superboy, and even Lex Luthor continue to protect Sarah and young John from wave after wave of Terminator cyborgs, the later models being specifically upgraded to cope with the Superman family. The story concludes with Superman having aided the resistance in destroying Skynet by detonating an EMP in Earth's atmosphere powerful enough to shut down Earth's machines before returning to the past, where the Cyborg is defeated and all Terminator components disposed of in the sun. However, at the end of the comic it is revealed that Lex Luthor has multiple parts of other Terminators. He was continuing to research them since he never was able to capture a fully functional Terminator. This leads the reader to believe that Luthor played a hand in Skynet's creation in the future.


document_title: Overwatch League

question_text: how much does an overwatch league team cost

text: Overwatch League

text: Format[edit]

text: The Overwatch League is owned by Blizzard Entertainment, and run under the Major League Gaming organization (which is also owned by Blizzard's parent company, Activision-Blizzard).[1] The Overwatch League plays out similar to most North American professional sports leagues, in which all teams play scheduled games against other teams to vie for position in the season's playoffs, rather than the approach of team promotion and relegation more commonly used in other eSports leagues.[2] The League currently features twelve teams.

text: In its inaugural season, a series of pre-season games were played in December 2017, regular season games planned from January to June 2018, and then a playoff for the championship scheduled for July 2018. All games in the first season will take place at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, with capacity for 450 spectators.[3]

text: For the first season, the main season is made up of four 5-week long stages, with three matches played four days a week (Wednesday through Saturday) and a ten-day break between stages. Each team will play 40 normal matches during the season; 20 against teams in their division, and 20 from outside their division. At the end of each stage is a playoff based on the teams' performances in that stage for a solitary winner of that stage for a prize of $125,000.[4] Teams are also paid out based on their overall standings at the end of regular season play, ranging from US$25,000 to US$300,000 within the first season.

text: The post-season is based on teams' performance across all regular games across all stages of the season. The top team of each division get an automatic bye into the post-season, while the top four teams across both divisions have a play-off match before facing off in the semi-finals and finals. The winning team will receive $1 million, and with the total prize pool across all stages and finals totaling $3.5 million.[4]

text: Player eligibility and benefits[edit]

text: While Overwatch is played in teams of six, League teams can have up to six additional players that can be swapped between matches.[5] A team's membership is locked at the start of the season, with a mid-season signing period allows teams to bring in new players or trade players between teams.[5] Currently, the League is not region-locked, so teams can use players of any nationality to fill their ranks, as long as the team ownership is based in that city or region. For example, the London Spitfire at the onset of the first season was entirely made up of South Korean players. The only restriction on players is to be of at least 18 years old and ability to travel internationally.[6]

text: Overwatch League players, while on a team's contract, are paid an annual salary. In the first year, a player's salary was a minimum of US$50,000 set by the League. Additionally, the League offers players with health and retirement benefits, as well as housing and training support. Blizzard required team owners to provide the signed players with bonuses representing at least 50% of the team's winnings and revenue.[7] Players can negotiate for larger amounts with their team's owners and larger portion of the bonus revenue-sharing from tournament winnings and other income. For example, Jay "sinatraa" Won secured the League's highest salary of US$150,000 for his spot on the San Francisco Shock, along with a 50% share of the team's bonuses.[8]

text: Players are expected to follow a code of conduct set by Blizzard while playing and representing the League, and may face suspension and fines for violating these, in addition to any penalties the team itself may impose.[9] A noted incident shortly after the League's launch saw Dallas Fuel's Félix "xQc" Lengyel suspended by the League for four games and fined US$2,000 for making comments about another player that were deemed homophobic; the Dallas Fuel further suspended him for the remainder of the first Stage of play.[10] Following additional conduct violations in the second stage that led to further suspension, xQc was let go by the Fuel.[11] Players, as part of their benefits, receive media training to help with speaking to the press and public about their roles, an issue that has been a problem in previous organized eSport systems.[12]

text: Overwatch Open and Overwatch Contenders[edit]

text: Professional teams in the League are given the opportunity to scout for new players through two additional competitive leagues run by Blizzard.

text: The "Overwatch Open" division, first started in June 2017, allows amateur teams pulled from the best players in the game's normal competitive mode (those that qualify at the end of the game's competitive season into top two tiers) to compete in a structured season and post-season format with intra-regional matches. Players that complete all non-playoff games for their team can earn a small amount of credit to Blizzard's digital storefront, while regional winning teams can earn higher prize payouts. The Open division is played across seven different regions: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, Latin American Spanish Speaking Countries, Brazil, Australia/New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.[13]

text: Teams can then move up from the Open Division into the Overwatch Contenders league, considered a minor league to the Overwatch League. The Contenders League was used to bring existing regional tournaments (Overwatch Apex for South Korea, Overwatch Premier Series for China, and Overwatch Pacific Championship for other Asian-Pacific countries) under the same banner and expand out to other regions, specifically adding North America and European series to bring a total of five regions. Teams that participate can be amateur or sponsored teams, and the tournament's structure is similar to the Overwatch World Cup events, including a structured cash-payout for highest-placing teams in each region.[14] The 2018 Contenders season will see the addition of two new regions, Australia and South America. Further, within 2018, the top eight teams from the Open division within each region will be invited to a Contenders Trials, to take place in a promotion-relegation tournament at the end of a Contenders season for the chance to compete in the next Contenders season.[15]

text: Rules[edit]

text: Overwatch is a six-versus-six team-based first-person shooter video game. Broadly, the goal is to work with team members to eliminate or repel opponents while attacking, defending, or competing for an objective. Players select from the game's roster of more than 25 heroes, each with their own pre-designed set of weapons and skill kits, though each player on a team must play a unique hero. A player can switch to an available hero if they are eliminated prior to respawning, or if they return to their current spawn point, which allows for teams to adjust their composition dynamically based on the current situation.

text: Within League play, a regular season match features two teams (one selected as the home team, the other as the visiting team) playing at least four games, with each game featuring a predetermined map type, following the same gameplay format as with normal competitive mode in Overwatch. The League uses only both Control maps, played on a best-of-three rounds, and Assault, Escort, and Hybrid maps, with each team having at least one chance as the attacking team. The pool of specific maps from the standard Overwatch rotation are determined at the start of each Stage, allowing the teams to determine their player lineups and strategy while also changing the season's metagame.[16] A team may call in substitutes for players only between games. The team that won the most games wins the match. If teams are tied after four games, a tiebreaker game played on a Control map (which cannot end in a tie) is used to break the tie and determine the match winner. League standings are based primarily on the overall match win/loss record, but ties are broken based on the total game win/loss record; as such, all four games in a match are played even if one team has already secured three wins for the match. Any further ties for tournament placement are broken based first on the head-to-head game win/loss record, then head-to-head match count.

text: Overwatch League games are played on a custom server controlled by Blizzard; this server is also available to League players for practice skirmishes between games. This version of the game will receive similar updates to the main commercial game, adding new maps and heroes, and altering the various hero abilities based on testing within the Public Test Servers. However, these updates will not be applied immediately as they are for the commercial game, but instead no more frequent than once every six weeks, effectively between the stages of each season, a natural placement according to Nanzer. For example, a late January 2018 patch, which had significant effects on characters like Mercy and thus had potential to upset the metagame, was not applied to the League server until mid-February, at the start of the second stage.[17][18] For matches, each player is provided with an identical desktop computer, monitor, and noise-cancelling headphones to play on to eliminate any handicaps related to computational or graphics processing, but players may use their preferred keyboard and mouse.[19]

text: History[edit]

text: Concept[edit]

text: Overwatch's development started around 2013, near the same time that eSports and spectator-driven video gaming were starting to gain wide popularity due to accessibility of live streaming platforms.[19] However, the game's development was not dedicated towards eSports; according to the lead producer Jeff Kaplan, "it's dangerous to be overly committed to eSport too early in the lifespan of the game" based on past experiences Blizzard had had in eSports, and instead planned any eSports-related goals by observing the game's player community.[20] During Overwatch's beta period, between late 2015 and mid-2016, Blizzard observed that players were already forming ad hoc competitions and tournaments for the game. According to Nanzer, who was Blizzard's global director of research and consumer insights prior to taking on the League's commissioner role, Blizzard considered the potential if they were the ones in charge of setting up these competitions. Nanzer stated: "If we structure a league the right way and put the right investment behind it, we can actually monetize it in a way that’s not too dissimilar from traditional sports."[19] Building from this insight, Blizzard started crafting the basis for the Overwatch League.[19] Part of this included adding competitive features into the main Overwatch game, such as ranked player where skilled players would be able to climb a rankings ladder, allowing them to be noticed by eSport team organizers.[1] In October 2016, Bobby Kotick, CEO of Blizzard's parent company Activision Blizzard, first mentioned the Overwatch League, describing how viewership of user-generated eSports content was around 100 million, exceeding viewership for the professional NFL and NBA games, and saw the potential to provide "professional content" through the Overwatch League to tap into that viewership.[21]

text: The Overwatch League was formally announced at the November 2016 Blizzcon.[2][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] The announcement stated that the League would feature franchised teams that will hire Overwatch gamers to compete in live arenas and via video streaming. Teams would provide competitors with salaries and benefits and would help "cultivate team and player development".[29][2] Rather than following the format of other eSports that use relegation and promotion as in the League of Legends Championship Series, Blizzard wanted to follow the American model used in more traditional physical sports.[2][30] Kotick believed that "nothing like this has ever really been done before" in eSports.[2][29]

text: For Blizzard, the costs of running the League would be offset by traditional revenue streams that professional sports league have, such as promotion and advertisement, and physical League merchandise. Kotick also said that due to the digital nature of the eSport, Blizzard can also obtain revenue from virtual League items to fans, and additional sales of Overwatch and other games, and they are able to include more lucrative "over-the-top advertising opportunities that wouldn't exist in traditional sports".[31] Kotick said, just prior to the start of the inaugural season, "It's a ways before you're going to see certain revenue streams, but we're already seeing a lot of traction and enthusiasm from fans."[31]

text: Buildout[edit]

text: Blizzard sought out potential team owners, aiming to include teams that were localized to a geographic area. Blizzard believed having such local teams would spark more interest in eSports from spectators and potential sponsors through new activities around supporting their team.[29] A first meeting for prospective team owners was held at Blizzcon 2016 after League's announcement, with New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft, and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke among the attendees.[29] During the formulative period, Blizzard hired Steve Bornstein, former president of ABC Sports and CEO of NFL Network, to serve as the company's eSports chair, with particular emphasis on the broadcast and presentation of games played in the Overwatch League.[19]

text: Blizzard anticipated the Overwatch League will have a seven-figure payoff for the winning team at the end of a season.[30] The first, shortened season of the League was expected to start in Q3 2017, with full seasons starting in 2018, with the League having half-year long seasonal breaks starting in Q4 of that year.[30] Prior to starting the League, Blizzard planned to run a "combine," where players are invited to try out for guaranteed team contracts.[32]

text: Little information about the League came out of Blizzard following the initial November 2016 announcement, leading to some speculation that the League was having trouble. However, during this time, Blizzard was working behind-the-scenes to engage potential team owners, wanting to hold back as to provide large comprehensive announcements rather than trickles of information.[33] In May 2017, ESPN reported that the League had been having difficulties in signing franchises, which ESPN ascribed to two issues. The first was the high base cost of starting a franchise, starting at $20 million with higher costs in more urban markets like New York City and Los Angeles, and much higher than other eSports league buy-ins. Second, there would be no revenue sharing until 2021, making recovery of the franchise costs difficult.[34] These difficulties lead to a delay for the start of the first season. According to ESPN, once the Kraft Group agreed to support a Boston-based team (later named the Boston Uprising), this had a snowball effect towards establishing of six other teams.[35]

text: The first seven teams were revealed in July 2017, and additional teams announced in the months following.[36] With its first twelve teams set by mid-December, Blizzard announced that its first season will run from January to June 2018, with a pre-season in December 2017 and a championship tournament in July 2018.[37] A possible thirteenth team, backed by Wes Edens, had been in discussions but missed the deadline for Season 1.[38]

text: Blizzard announced in September 2017 it had acquired a former facility used by The Tonight Show at The Burbank Studios in Burbank, California which it converted into the "Blizzard Arena", an eSports venue which was initially used for both the Overwatch Contenders and the Overwatch League games, and eventually planned for use by other Blizzard eSports.[39] Having a dedicated arena was seen to help establish the Overwatch League as a more orchestrated event compared to other eSports tournaments, and to better connects players with their fans.[40] Blizzard operated the first Overwatch Contenders in the Blizzard Arena in October 2017 as a means to test the facility's capabilities and make modifications to improve both the players' and audiences' experience in time for the pre-season of the Overwatch League in December 2017.[40]

text: In July 2017, it was discovered that the Major League Baseball association had issued a trademark dispute for the logo that Blizzard registered for the League, stating in their complaint to the United States Patent and Trademark Office that they felt Blizzard's logo was too similar to their own and may cause confusion.[41] However, no further filings were made by Major League Baseball within the required dispute period, indicating that either the association had decided to drop the dispute, or that the association and the Overwatch League came to an undisclosed understanding to allow the League to continue to use the logo.[42]

text: Launch[edit]

text: To support spectating on broadcast and streaming media, Blizzard has implemented cosmetic modifications to the game. Each of the teams have been given a unique color scheme, and character skins with those colors and team names/logos have been added for these matches.[43] Players of Overwatch outside of the League will be able to purchase a character's team skin using tokens, a special in-game currency, added to the game a day before the launch of the first regular season, that will require real-world funds to purchase, but which assures that teams get a portion of the revenue of their team's skins.[44][45] Later, at the start of the second stage for the first season, Blizzard offered players tokens for watching the live broadcast of the games through any of the official channels.[46]

text: Blizzard has also worked to create an AI-based cameraman that can follow the action of the game as well as select key instant replays.[43] During regular season matches, Blizzard employs a team of about 80 to 100 people to manage the game and its broadcast; this includes on-screen hosts and interviewers, play-by-play announcers or "shoutcasters", "overseers" who use the AI cameraman and monitor a match from several different angles to present the best view for audiences, and broadcasting and technical support.[19] Among those Blizzard has brought on to shoutcast matches include Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, Matt "Mr. X" Morello, and Mitchell "Uber" Leslie.[47] Blizzard released a special Overwatch League app in early January 2018, just prior to the start of the first season, to provide schedules, results, highlights, and other details about the League's progress.[48]

text: During the first season's pre-season, the games were only streamed through Blizzard's website and through its subsidiary Major League Gaming. Just prior to the launch of the regular season, Blizzard and Twitch established a two-year deal for Twitch to be the sole third-party stream broadcaster for the Overwatch League in the world, excluding China. Twitch will provide these streams in English, French, and Korean, and will incentivize viewers to watch these streams with in-game items for Overwatch.[49] The deal was reported to be worth at least $90 million.[50]

text: Future growth[edit]

text: Blizzard plans to expand its geographic reach to have more teams, and establish worldwide stadiums and implement home/away team formats with teams travelling between these locations, similar to professional leagues; this approach is not expected to be used until the third season of the League.[37] The permanent nature of teams with the Overwatch League, compared to promotion & relegation formats, would give opportunity for team owners to find additional revenue models by running their own stadiums and the merchandising opportunities for these, according to Morhaime.[12] By February 2018, after the conclusion of the first Stage of the inaugural season, ESPN reported that the revenue projections for the League has exceeded its expectations, with some insiders claiming that the League's revenue was four times greater than initially planned; this was in part through its Twitch streaming deal and new advertisers like Toyota and T-Mobile that came on board a few weeks into the League play. Blizzard plans to begin shopping for investors for new teams in March 2018, but because of the higher projections, Blizzard has stated that the franchise fee for new teams in Season 2 will be higher than US$20 million, with some reports giving figures between US$35 to 60 million.[38] While ESPN stated that it should be easy for Blizzard to obtain new American teams, investors for teams from Europe will be more difficult as they tend to look for security and history for investments. ESPN also identified that South Korean investors will not likely be invited, given that their products lack a global distribution, while many of the main Chinese investors already have possible conflicts of interests with other eSports leagues.[38] During its investor calls during May 2018, Blizzard's parent company Activision Blizzard stated that it planning for six new teams for the second season, with two or three based in Europe, and with the new franchise fee raised to US$50 million.[51] By May, Blizzard confirmed that there would be six new teams for the second season, two from North America, two from southeast Asia, and two from Europe and the Middle East.[52]

text: While the first season saw all players under contract, Blizzard does not rule out the potential for players to form trade unions or to otherwise become free agents; Nanzer says that such decisions would be left to players.[9]

text: Teams[edit]

text: Twelve teams, each based in a global city, will compete in the League's inaugural 2018 season. They are divided into two divisions: the Pacific Division with the teams on the American West Coast and Asia-based teams, and the Atlantic Division, with the American East Coast and European teams.[53][4]

text:
Division[54][4]
Team[55]
City
Owner

Pacific Division
Dallas Fuel
 Dallas
Team Envy[56]

Los Angeles Gladiators
 Los Angeles
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, owner of Arsenal F.C., the Los Angeles Rams, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche[57]

Los Angeles Valiant
 Los Angeles
Immortals[58]

San Francisco Shock
 San Francisco
NRG eSports[58]

Seoul Dynasty
 Seoul
Gen-G, formerly KSV eSports, a San Francisco-based group led by Kevin Chou[58] of North American video game company Kabam[57]

Shanghai Dragons
 Shanghai
NetEase, Chinese internet company and Blizzard regional partner[58]

Atlantic Division
Boston Uprising
 Boston
Kraft Group,[59] owner of the New England Patriots[58]

Florida Mayhem
 Miami–Orlando
Misfits[58]

Houston Outlaws
 Houston
Infinite Esports & Entertainment, the parent of OpTic Gaming[56]

London Spitfire
 London
Cloud9[60]

New York Excelsior
 New York City
Sterling VC, the venture capital sister company of the New York Mets[58]

Philadelphia Fusion
 Philadelphia
Comcast Spectacor, owner of the Philadelphia Flyers[56]

text: Seasons[edit]

text: 2018 season[edit]

text: Pre-season play for the inaugural season began on December 6, 2017. The official season began January 10 and will continue through the finals in July 2018. Teams played at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, though Blizzard hopes that teams will eventually travel to compete in each other's home cities in future seasons.[56] Intel and HP were the league's first sponsors, in multiyear agreements including the provision of HP gaming computers and Intel processors.[61] After the first week, Blizzard announced that Toyota was a sponsor, with the car company providing support and running contests for viewers, in exchange for advertising space during matches and in Blizzard Arena.[62]

text: After the second week of play, Blizzard made a change to the order of maps played in a match based on player and viewer feedback. Originally, the four games were played in order of Escort, Assault, Control, and Hybrid. During the first two weeks, some matches had entered 2-1 into the final Hybrid map, but due to the nature of this map type, it is very easy to achieve ties compared to the other map types, which significantly reduces the chances of the losing team entering this last map of being able to tie the match; this also makes for unexciting conclusion to a match for viewers. Starting in the season's 3rd week, Blizzard swapped the Escort and Hybrid map order, with Escort maps less likely to end in a tie and to make for more tense finales.[63]

text: Viewership of the first night of play through the English broadcast of Twitch reached over 415,000 viewers, while never dropping below 285,000 once play started, exceeding typical Twitch viewership numbers; additional viewers not included in this include those watching the other language broadcasts on Twitch, and MLG's own streaming media.[64] Blizzard reported that over the first week, over 10 million viewers across all streaming formats watched League play, and that the Blizzard Arena was sold-out all four days of the week.[65] According to Kevin Chou, the CEO of KSV Esports which manages the Seoul Dynasty, the owners had considered consistent viewership over 50,000 during regular system to be a success for their investments.[66]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Some commentators observed that of the more than 100 players selected for teams for the first season, none of them were female.[67][68] Some noted the absence of Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon, a teenage South Korean female player who is recognized as one of the highest-skilled Zarya players and who was the first female to play in the Overwatch APEX league.[69] During the press day event prior to the start of the season, teams acknowledged they had considered signing on Geguri but noted issues with such an action. The Houston Outlaws said that there would have been a language barrier issue with her potential teammates, and complications related to co-ed housing for teams. The team also claimed that if they had brought her on board, there would have been issues from external commentators about whether it was a press stunt or an otherwise legitimate reason, and the nature of this legitimacy would shadow her career. Other teams like the London Spitfire and the New York Excelsior had looked to Geguri as a free agent but in the end desired to work from an established set of players that had already worked in leagues in the past. Team owners recognized that they want to make the player roster more diverse, but this in part requires making the community around Overwatch less toxic and more inviting.[69] Nanzer also said he would like to see further diversity in players in the League, but was aware that there are cultures where there is a social stigma against professional video game players that can be a barrier to achieve this.[9] By mid-February, during the Season 1 free agency window, Geguri was signed on by the Shanghai Dragons, making her the first female player in the League.[70]

text: Additional concerns were raised following several League-issued fines and suspensions issued against a number of players based on their conduct. Journalists found that some players carried over the toxic nature from their days as YouTube or Twitch broadcasters, in which players would often routinely ridicule their opponents; many of the fines and suspensions follow from similar behavior displayed at the League level. The Overwatch player base outside of the League has also had issues of toxicity, which Blizzard has been trying to handle through better reporting tools. In addition to requiring the League players to follow the code of conduct, Blizzard is also watching how these players behavior on off-League broadcasts, and will fine players if they engage in toxic or inappropriate behavior even if not part of a League session.[71][11][72] Some of this poor behavior had concerned at least one of the League's sponsors, HP Inc., since the behavior becomes associated with their brand, though such problems were not unique to eSports, according to HP product manager John Ludwig.[73]