????奧運圣火距離倫敦奧林匹克體育場越來越近，在那里，奧運圣火將在圣火盆中連續燃燒17天。“圣火盆”真是個美妙的字眼，回響著中世紀城堡、國王、魔法與巫術的余韻，對于倫敦奧運會來說，真是再合適不過。現在，我們很期待誰將最后一個跑進體育場，誰又將代表英國，在全球數十億觀眾面前點燃圣火（本人鄭重聲明，自從倫敦贏得奧運會主辦權那天起，我就打賭點燃圣火的將是羅杰斯?班尼斯特爵士。很明顯，倫敦那些業余的賭客現在終于同意我的觀點）。我們將拭目以待。奧運前期報道的大部分內容都是有關美國國家廣播環球公司（NBC Universal）將播出海量奧運節目，數量足以令人驚愕：通過美國全國廣播公司（NBC）、美國國家廣播環球公司有線電視網，以及在手機與平板電腦網絡上播放的視頻節目總計長達5,535小時；而在1996年亞特蘭大奧運會期間，該公司制作和播放的節目長度只有170小時，足足增加了3，156%。（是的，你沒看錯：就是3,156%。但似乎并沒有人覺得NBC對亞特蘭大奧運會的報道不夠充分。）

????不過，過去幾天，通過與康卡斯特（Comcast）/NBCU的體育記者發送郵件或者手機短信（通常只有一個字符）進行交流，我一直在考慮一個問題：NBC制片、節目制作和工程團隊的血管里到底流淌著多少腎上腺素和激情？

????對于運動員來說，奧運會只關乎個人成就，畢竟冷戰早已結束，金牌榜不過是一個毫無意義的幌子而已，但奧運會轉播卻是一項受到情緒驅動的團隊工作。

????而且這種情緒非常奇怪，因為不論是有意識或是下意識地，你的思維已經為這17天準備了至少兩年時間。

????還記得你經歷過最重要的求職面試嗎？現在想象一下，你有三年的時間來為這次面試做準備。臥室天花板上還懸掛著倒計時鐘，每晚都在提醒你。

????如果你在2012年的2月13日問NBC奧運記者，他們正在想什么，他們或許或說：“明天是情人節，我得給老公買點什么。”然而在他們內心深處，他們實際上可能在想：“距離倫敦奧運會還有165天。”（千真萬確！）

????這不僅因為他們辦公室里到處都懸掛著奧運倒計時鐘。其實，從接到奧運報道任務起，他們馬上就會學會了以365天為基礎開始倒計時。（過后回顧自己的職業生涯時，如果你曾參與過多屆奧運會，那么你可以從730開始倒計時。）

????從很多方面來看，與作為國家代表隊參加奧運會的經歷相比，報道奧運會的經歷更加緊張激烈。因為，在真正走上奧運會賽場之前，體育團隊并不確定自己是否有資格參賽。他們不會提前一年半就體會到那種焚心蝕骨的終極壓力。當然，比賽的過程同樣激烈，但很快就會過去——“如果我們贏得這場比賽，就能去超級碗了！”體育比賽是腎上腺素的一次激烈爆發（就像是大劑量的腎上腺素瞬間擊中了某樣東西）。而對于奧運記者來說，它卻是漫長的折磨，類似于打點滴。

????然后，奧運會終于開幕了。

????意外情況也接踵而至。

????意外大多發生在賽場上，但有時候場外也難幸免——比如未得到允許的默哀。其次，你正在“報道”奧運會，同時也是在“制作”奧運會，包裝奧運會。這背后涉及數以億計的利益沖突，不過這就是奧運報道團隊必須遵守的游戲規則。因此，隨著萬眾期待的明星的表演，新的體育明星被發掘出來（有時其實是被制造出來的），還有不可避免的爭議的爆發。無論是從技術層面，還是作為編輯的身份，你從頭到尾都只能寄望于自己的腎上腺素來幫助自己做出正確的決定。

????這就是全國廣播公司每個人正在考慮的問題。

????這就是他們的奧運會。

????本文作者道格拉斯?埃爾頓?華沙為《財富》雜志（Fortune）撰稿人，廣泛涉足媒體與娛樂領域。曾在美國廣播公司（ABC）新聞頻道、美國廣播公司體育頻道、ESPN和美國全國廣播公司體育與奧運會頻道擔任制片人。

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????As the Olympic flame is carried closer and closer to its 17-day perch inside the cauldron at London's Olympic Stadium -- "cauldron," what a great word, with its echo of medieval castles, kings, magic and sorcery it's just perfect for an Olympics in England -- we wait to see who the final runner into the stadium will be, and who has been chosen to light the flame and represent Great Britain in front of a global audience of over a billion people (for the record, my money has been on Sir Roger Bannister since the day London won the Games, and apparently the London bookies are finally beginning to see it my way). And we watch. Much of the pre-Olympic coverage about NBCUniversal (CMCSA) by the media has been about the tonnage of programming that will be pumped out over the air. It's a staggering amount: 5,535 hours of video via NBC, the NBCU cable networks, and over the web onto mobile phones and tablet; a rise of over 3,156% compared to the 170 hours that were produced and delivered for the 1996 Atlanta Games. (Yeah, you read that right: 3,156%. And it's not like anyone felt the Atlanta Games were under-covered.)

????But what I've been thinking about over the past couple of days, as I've talked (briefly) and emailed or txt msg'd (usually just a graph) with Comcast/NBCU Sports staffers, is the amount of adrenaline and emotion that is pumping through the veins of the NBC production, programming and engineering teams.

????For the athletes, the Olympics is really about individual achievement -- now that the Cold War is over, the medal standings are a meaningless gimmick -- but for the broadcast group the Olympics is a team effort driven by emotion.

????And it's a strange sort of emotion because your mind, both consciously and subconsciously, has been planning for these 17 days for at least two years.

????Remember the most important job interview you ever had? Now imagine you had three years to prepare for it, and there was a countdown clock on your bedroom ceiling that you stared at every night.

????On February 13, 2012 if you had asked an NBC Olympics staffer what they were thinking about, they might have told you, "I need to get my husband something for Valentines Day," but deep down they actually would be thinking: "There's only 165 more days before the London Games." (Honest.)

????And that's not just because they keep countdown calendars hanging around the office. It's just that when you work on the Olympics you quickly learn to count backwards in base 365. (Later on in life, as you look back at your career, if you've done multiple Games you count in base 730.)

????In many ways it's a more intense experience than playing on a national championship sports team, because sports teams aren't certain that they'll be playing for the championship until they get there. They don't feel the ultimate pressure gnawing at them a year and a half in advance. For sports teams the experience is intense, but it's quick—"We win this game and we go to the Super Bowl!"—it's one big shot of adrenaline (adrenaline, adrenaline, adrenaline, hit something). But for an Olympic staffer, it's a slow drip.

????And then the Games start.

????And then the unexpected happens.

????Mostly it happens between the lines on the field of play, but inevitably something happens outside them—like a moment of silence that isn't allowed (or, worse, the one thing no one really wants to think about, the ultimate moment of silence, like '72). Then you're "covering" the Games, but you're also "producing" and packaging them, too—it's a multibillion conflict of interest, but that's how the game of the Games is played when you're on the broadcast team. So, as the expected stars perform, and as some new stars get discovered (or sometimes manufactured), and as the inevitable controversies erupt...the whole time you're hoping your adrenaline helps you make the right decisions, technically and editorially.

????That's what everyone at NBC is thinking about right now.

????That's life in the Olympic cauldron.

????Douglas Alden Warshaw is a contributing writer for Fortune covering media and entertainment. He's been a producer at ABC News, ABC Sports, ESPN and NBC Sports & Olympics.