It's a fine afternoon in the Mile High City. Behind四分卫佩顿·曼宁（Peyton Manning）的爆炸性进攻，丹佛野马队（Denver Broncos）积累了10-2的战绩。今天，他们将接待田纳西泰坦队，这是一个过去四场比赛中的三场。
泰坦队在游戏的前半小时进行了很好的战斗。半场结束前三秒钟，得分是田纳西21，丹佛17。进入野马队踢球手马特·普拉特（Matt Prater）。跑到丹佛46码线，他为自己的一生而准备自己。当紧张的人群屏住呼吸时，强大的脚踢在整个场地上飙升。
然后这个地方爆发了。球轻松地穿过田纳西州末端的黄色十字架。这是NFL历史上最长的射门得分，这是一个完美的64码（58.5米）的训练。野马队也许受到普拉特（Prater）的英雄主义者的鼓舞，继续在下半场粉碎泰坦队（Titans），从而赢得了季后赛席位。
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The game we've just described took place on Dec. 8, 2013. Five years later, Prater's 64-yarder still holds the all-time distance record. Although his accomplishment has never been bested, jaw-dropping football kicks are nothing new in the Rocky Mountains.
五个中的三个NFL有史以来最长的射门得分是在丹佛英里高的体育场中实现的。野马队伟大的杰森·埃拉姆（Jason Elam）在1998年在那里钉了63码（57.6米），这一壮举与塞巴斯蒂安·贾尼科夫斯基（Sebastian Janikowski）相提并论，当时他的奥克兰突袭者（Oakland Raiders）13年后来到了镇上。
But to hear some sports fans告诉它, those three kicks should have asterisks attached. The official elevation of Colorado's capital is exactly 1 mile (1,609 meters) above sea level. No other NFL city sitsanywhere closeto that altitude; the runner-up is Glendale, Arizona, which looms a little over1,000 feet（304米）海平面以上。
Denver's elevation affects the sporting events up there. When a football is kicked at a Broncos home game, it's apt to cover more distance than it would in lower elevations like San Diego. This doesn't just affect three-point field goals; kickoffs tend to go farther as well.
内布拉斯加州大学教授的书《足球物理学，游戏科学》Timothy Gay在2001年或2002赛季，来自迈阿密海豚队和新英格兰爱国者队（Miami Dolphins）和新英格兰爱国者队（Miami Dolphins）和新英格兰爱国者队（New England Patriots）的八个不同城市（基本上）坐在海平面上的八个不同团队的人数在2001年或2002赛季都在丹佛（Denver）进行。
他发现，在那两年中，低海拔城镇的来访者在去丹佛时享有很多数字。在科罗拉多州，他们的开球平均行驶了70.1码（64米）。回到各自的本地田，平均开球距离下降到62.8码（57.4米）。
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To understand those crazy numbers, we'll need to talk about air density. Pretend you've got a jet pack. If you were to take off at sea level and travel through Earth's atmosphere in a straight vertical line, the density of the air around you wouldget lower随着海拔高度的增加。这是由于普遍的定律：随着两个对象之间的距离，引力that they exert on each other lessens.
空气分子不是豁免。那些靠近地球的中心的人更强烈地感受到了地球的重力。在海平面或以下，重力吸引力包装分子紧紧在一起。大气中所有分子的重量确实降低了占据低海拔的分子。因此，空气本身变得越来越密集。
在英里高的城市，空气只有大约82％与海平面一样密集。因此，丹佛向天空踢的球将遇到比迈阿密更少的空气分子。这很重要，因为空气分子会产生阻力。
拖is a force that pushes against solid bodies as they travel through fluids or gasses. A punted or kicked football will run headlong into a steady barrage of air molecules. Their combined drag will slow it down, sometimes dramatically. But remember, in low density air, molecules are fewer and farther between. Therefore, footballs can — and often do — encounter less drag in Denver.
Yet kicking on the Broncos' home turf won't guarantee success for kickers or punters. Altitude reduces air density (and by extension, drag), but cold weather increases it. And boy, can Colorado get chilly.
A 2011 survey ofNFL统计记录found that in outdoor games played at temperatures of 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) or lower, field goal accuracy drops by 1.7 percent, while the average punt length is about 1 yard (0.91 meters) shorter than normal. (These findings hold true throughout the league.)
因此，马特·普拉特（Matt Prater14华氏度(-10 degrees Celsius) at the time.
Whatever the weather, kicking specialists need to be on guard against complacency. Denver's reputation as the mecca of ultra-long field goals is well-established across the league. According to Patriots greatStephen Gostkowski，那英里高的神秘感可以欺骗来访者高估他们的能力。
如有疑问，始终在谨慎的一边“空气”。
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