title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Beloved by nearly every character in the film, most of whom revere him as the town's most eligible bachelor, Decent Films film critic Steven D. Greydanus agreed that Gaston initially resembles "merely the ultimate dumb jock". Gaston's bodybuilder physique serves as a deliberate exaggeration upon "the stereotyped image of male beauty"; "The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook" author Jerry Griswold compared the character's appearance to actors Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, while the "Chicago Tribune"s Gene Siskel described him as a "Robert Goulet clone on steroids." "Tradigital Animate CC: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Animate" author Stephen Brooks likened Gaston's exaggerated facial expressions to the way in which people "give away their lies as they try to overcompensate." According to Elizabeth Bell, author of "From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture", Gaston "functions...to contrast to the Beast", whose personality ultimately helps make the Beast a more appealing hero despite the latter character's own flaws. While the Beast maintains "a heart of gold" despite being hideous in appearance, Gaston boasts a handsome exterior but remains "rotting on the inside"; the Beast risks becoming like Gaston on the inside if he fails to change his ways. Gaston represents "the difference between outward beauty and beauty of the soul," one of the film's central themes. The fact that Gaston's cruel nature is not mirrored by his handsome exterior "further emphasiz[es] the film's message about inner beauty." A visual reference to the Beast's "half-man, half-animal" appearance, Gaston's body is temporarily attached to a pig's head when he falls into a large mud puddle upon having his marriage proposal rejected by Belle. Ultimately, although Gaston mortally wounds the Beast, he is still unable to kill the human who continues to thrive within him. In the end, Gaston becomes the monster the Beast was originally depicted as, and his failure "to transform into a New Man" ultimately results in his own death. At the same time, Gaston's cowardice is demonstrated by his decision to stab the Beast in the back immediately after the reformed creature offers him a choice to walk away unharmed.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: From very early during the film, audiences are led to expect that Gaston's obsession with Belle will eventually drive him to battle the Beast, Belle's love interest and protector. Despite their obvious differences, Gaston and the Beast boast several similarities, namely their shared interest in Belle—Gaston's climactic fight with the Beast is driven by the fact that both characters are in love with the same person, albeit differently—exaggerated musculature, and respective goals motivated by their own insecurities. Additionally, both characters use Belle's loyalty to her father to manipulate her. The scene in which Gaston sits in his large chair in the village tavern is a reference to him and the Beast's similarities. Decorated with fur and horns, Gaston's chair resembles the Beast when viewed from behind. In his book "The Meanings of 'Beauty and the Beast': A Handbook", author Jerry Griswold observed that "given the dramatic contrast between Gaston and the Beast ... the title of the film may actually refer to them alone." In her book "Beyond Adaptation: Essays on Radical Transformations of Original Works", author Phyllis Frus observed that the villain's subtle, entirely non-physical transformation into a more demonic version of himself forces the character to suffer a "loss of humanity", in the end justifying his ultimate death. By the end of the film, Gaston has essentially traded places with the Beast, the latter of whom was originally depicted as the story's antagonist. Frus elaborated, "few viewers predict that" Gaston "will finish the film snarling like an animal ... before falling to his death", concluding that the character "does not need to magically turn into a beast at the end because, as a male, he is already 'beastly'."


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: "Beauty and the Beast" parodies the idea of excessive masculinity, a trait shared by both Gaston and the Beast. Obsessed with his own virility, Gaston shares several opinions associated with "the hyper-masculine male", boasting many "traditionally heroic" qualities and beliefs. Representing "everything that can go wrong in the heterosexual male" according to "The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook" author Jerry Griswold, Gaston is essentially a caricature of hypermasculinity; he proudly hunts, drinks, fights, spits, bullies and lies in addition to being shallow and ignorant, exuding what are considered to be some of the worst masculine traits. Gaston intimidates and threatens anyone opposed to his ideas, and actively attends male social gatherings via which he can exercise his "alpha male" status. Extremely egotistical, Gaston appears to pride himself as the greatest at any task he attempts. Stephen Hunter of "The Baltimore Sun" wrote, "at the foundation of [Gaston]'s personality is something that is merely hinted at in conventional star personas: an overweening vanity. He's in love with the face in the mirror, and the pathology of male vanity is a very '90s idea."


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston is Disney's most chauvinistic villain to-date, although this trait is approached with humor, making him at times a comic relief character early on, unlike Disney's previous villains. According to "Yahoo! Movies"' Will Perkins, Gaston believes that "he's God's gift to women and the world." Referred to as a personification of misogyny, Gaston is accustomed to acquiring anything he desires, and believes he deserves to marry Belle only because she is considered to be the most beautiful girl in his hometown, and thus "the best." According to "Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church" author Kenda Creasy Dean, the character "only understands love as self-fulfillment, which allows him to perpetrate domination, viciousness and violence" in pursuit of it. Greg Garrett, author of "The Gospel According to Hollywood", determined that Gaston serves as "a reminder that what the world loves is not worth emulating". Determined to win Belle as a trophy wife, Gaston never attains her; the character's ego is sorely bruised when his vision of a provincial life is threatened by Belle's rejection, only augmenting his determination to marry her at whatever cost, and bringing his insecurities to the forefront for the first time. Gaston fails to understand Belle's passion for reading. Gaston effectively uses his charm, good looks and a fabricated image of the Beast to rally the entire village against his opponent, demonstrating his ability to convince others that he is a gentleman despite never actually having shown concern for anyone other than himself; only Belle remains unfazed by Gaston's facade and uncovers his true nature, further highlighting the heroine's strength and independence. Opposed to the idea of women reading, Gaston believes that he'll be able to "cure" Belle of her thirst for intellect after marrying her, although at the same time these same passions appear to heighten his interest in her. The film makes sure that Gaston's opinions about women are viewed as little more than "boorish"; Woolverton wanted Gaston to teach young boys "how not to treat women."


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: As a strong leader, Gaston is able to convince a large following to do as he commands and trigger conformity and bigotry in others, although he remains incapable of implementing such ideas on his own. Richard Corliss of "Time" observed that the character's "bigotry, for wanting to marry Belle because she's the prettiest girl in town...corrodes into malevolence when he consigns Belle's eccentric father to an asylum and leads the ignorant villagers on a torches-and-pitchforks crusade," which has been compared to scenes from the horror film "Frankenstein" (1931). Brett Seegmiller of Medium compared Gaston's leadership skills to those of German politician Adolf Hitler because he combines "a call to action with the command to follow him ... after he's whetted our appetites for some action." Additionally, author Jerry Griswold wrote in his book "The Meanings of "Beauty and the Beast": A Handbook" that Gaston's hypermasculinity potentially "amounts to a resistance to his own homosexuality" (after all, he is in love with himself), comparing him to Lester Burnham's homophobic neighbor in the film "American Beauty" (1999). Toying with gender expectations, Gaston's masculinity is depicted as ridiculous, while Belle becomes drawn to the Beast's "gentle vulnerability". The Beast gifting Belle a library further emphasizes the differences between the two male characters because Gaston frowns upon reading, accusing the activity of giving women ideas and allowing them to think for themselves as opposed to solely bearing children. Ultimately, Gaston and the Beast embody bad and good masculinity, respectively; the characters are used "to play the New Age sensitive man off against the macho man," according to "Ways of Being Male: Representing Masculinities in Children's Literature" author John Stephens.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: As noted in the film, Gaston consumes five dozen (60) eggs every day. As a result, Gaston has grown very large and developed a lean and muscular frame. Gaston’s height and weight are 6’5” 285lbs respectively.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston debuted in "Beauty and the Beast" as an arrogant hunter who is determined to marry Belle, whom he considers to be the village's most beautiful woman. However, she refuses his proposal when he throws a wedding party without her prior knowledge. Belle is the only one in town who actually dislikes Gaston for the person he is inside. Thoroughly humiliated, he sulks, but when her father Maurice shows up saying that she has been captured by a hideous Beast, he comes up with the idea of having him thrown into an insane asylum, unless Belle agrees to marry him. His blackmail plan fails when Belle proves the Beast does exist, and she says that he is her friend, and that he is a better person than Gaston. He becomes jealous, snaps, and decides to gather a band of villagers to kill the Beast, playing off their fears that the Beast might wreak havoc on their village. In the ensuing fight, he shoots the Beast with an arrow and beats him down, taunting him about his appearance, and still refusing to believe that Belle will not marry him. The Beast has no heart to fight until he sees that Belle came back for him, at which point he easily overpowers Gaston and intends to kill him. However, when Gaston begs for his life, the Beast decides to be the better man and have mercy, and climbs back up to Belle. Ungrateful and unrepentant, Gaston stabs the Beast in the back when he sees him embracing Belle, but loses his balance when the Beast swings his arm backwards at him; consequently, Gaston falls to his death.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston has appeared in the television series "Disney's House of Mouse", and was voiced again by White. The character also makes sporadic appearances in "Sing Me a Story with Belle", mostly acting as a comedic foil, always stating "No one (insert action) like Gaston!" while walking by, rudely interrupting people's conversations and this phrase is frequently used as rip-offs by other characters.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston appears in the 2017 live-action remake, played by Luke Evans. In an interview with "Empire", Evans said that Gaston would retain his hunter background, yet would also be a former soldier in the French Royal Army. He also implied that this version of Gaston is darker than the original. In the film, Gaston plays out the same role as in the animated film, though with a few differences. A Captain in the light cavalry, Gaston is a hero to the village, but he is bored with his peaceful life after returning from the war. Gaston pursues Belle, determined to marry her, as she is the most beautiful girl in the village and thus the only one good enough for him. He also finds her independence to be a thrilling challenge, and shows disdain for the Bimbettes who constantly fawn over him purely because of his appearance. When the headmaster and Clothilde catch Belle teaching a girl how to read, they rouse some of the villagers into destroying the laundry invention she made which LeFou informs Gaston about. Gaston breaks up the activity as Pére Robert helps Belle pick up her laundry. While unaware on how this transaction towards Belle started, Gaston scolds the villagers for behaving like this and orders them to go home immediately. At one point, Gaston mentions in a discussion to Belle that the headmaster did not like him at first. He accosts her at her home, subtly offering his hand in marriage for when Maurice dies, but she turns him down. Gaston sulks in the tavern until LeFou cheers him up with a song. Maurice appears, claiming that Belle has been imprisoned by the Beast. While Gaston does not believe in the Beast, he offers to help Maurice in order to find out where Belle has gone.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Unfortunately, the way to the castle is blocked, and Gaston loses his temper with Maurice, revealing that he is violent, rough, and demanding. LeFou tries to calm him down, but it is too late; his true nature is revealed and Maurice tells Gaston that he will never let him marry Belle, so Gaston ties him to a tree, leaving him to the wolves. He hopes by doing this, it would coerce Belle into marrying him, as he tells LeFou that after Maurice dies there will be no one to take care of Belle except for him. Maurice later accuses Gaston of his crime, but Gaston fools the people into thinking Maurice is mad and arranges for him to be locked up in the asylum. He privately offers to put a stop to it if he lets him marry Belle, but Maurice still refuses. When Belle turns up and proves the Beast's existence with a magic mirror, Gaston's jealousy drives him to rally the people to storm the castle and kill the Beast, but not before he orders Tom, Dick, and Stanley to lock Belle alongside her father to prevent her from warning the Beast. He confronts the Beast alone and shoots him in the back, claiming Belle sent him. However, Belle appears and the Beast fights back, holding Gaston over a chasm; Gaston begs for mercy and is spared. Instead of leaving, Gaston stands on a nearby stone bridge and shoots the Beast again, twice, this time fatally. As a result of the Beast's life fading, the castle begins to crumble and the bridge where Gaston is standing breaks into pieces, sending Gaston falling to his death. Unlike in the animated film, Gaston's demise is shown on screen.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Evans will reprise his role in an upcoming "Beauty and the Beast" spin-off/prequel series for Disney+.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: A live-action version of Gaston appears in two episodes of the fantasy television series "Once Upon a Time", in which he is first portrayed by Sage Brocklebank and later by Wes Brown. The first was in the first season, where he was Belle's fiancé and attempted to save Belle from Rumplestiltskin, but got transfigured into a rose. The second time was in the fifth season, where he befriended Belle. He was depicted in a lighter manner compared to the original movie, where it is implied that his love for Belle was genuine.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston appears in the Broadway musical adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast", which premiered at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 18, 1994. The role was originated by actor Burke Moses, who received a nomination for a Drama Desk Award and won a Theatre World Award. Besides the songs "Belle", "Gaston", and "The Mob Song" (which are from the Disney film), Gaston performs "Me" (in which he selfishly proposes to Belle), "Gaston (Reprise)" (which was expanded to have Gaston and Lefou sing about his wicked plan, with Gaston also admitting he "won't feel the least bit remorseful" so long as it works), and "Maison de Lunes" (in which he recruits the asylum owner to have Maurice committed).


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: In the Melbourne stage production of the film, he was played by Hugh Jackman. Notable actors who have played the role on Broadway include Burke Moses, Marc Kudisch, Christopher Sieber, and Donny Osmond.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston is featured in the Marvel Comics serial for "Beauty and the Beast", taking place during Belle's stay at the castle. He generally served as comic relief and effectively the "protagonist" of the village B-stories, where he is trying to come up with some scheme to get Belle to marry him, only for the triplets to interfere and sabotage his plans in order to get him to focus on them over Belle.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: He also appears in an expanded role in Serena Valentino's 2014 book "The Beast Within: A Tale Of Beauty's Prince", which takes place prior to the start of the original film. In the novel, Gaston and the Beast are portrayed as childhood friends, with the curse erasing Gaston's memory of the prince. He has a brief cameo in the fourth "Kingdom Keepers" book, where he alongside Prince John and Horned King were present with the Overtakers at Tom Sawyer Island. He also had a section dedicated to himself in the tongue-in-cheek book "Villain Files" alongside the other Disney villains, with it implying that his meeting Belle was during archery practice.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: He is also in "Descendants: Isle of the Lost", the tie-in novel to "Descendants", where he has four kids. Two of whom, Twins Gaston Jr and Gaston the Third, he evidently named after himself due to his egomania. Gil his youngest son who appears in "Descendants 2" and "Descendants 3". They also shared his egomania to some extent but were comparatively kinder than their father.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: He is included in the 1993 video game adaptations "" and "". Although he acted as the main antagonist for both games, he also acted as an ally character in the former, using his strength to help in a task early in the game. In the "Disney Princess" video game, he acts as the main antagonist of Belle's chapter. Like in the film, he attempts to rabblerouse the villagers into attacking the castle. This time, however, he simply tries to convince the villagers the castle was evil and of dark magic, and thus needed to be destroyed, and to that end tried to abduct Mrs. Potts, Chip, Cogsworth, and Lumiere to act as proof. However, Belle outsmarted him.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: He also had a mention in "", and also appeared briefly as a disguise for the villain Mizrabel in "". Gaston also appears as a non-playable character in the "Kingdom Hearts" video game "Kingdom Hearts χ" as an antagonist who controls an army of Heartless. Gaston is a playable character to unlock for a limited time in "Disney Magic Kingdoms".


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston has received generally favorable reviews from film critics. Simon Brew of Den of Geek was very receptive towards the character: "thanks to a mix of humour, believable character development, compelling motivation and the excellent voicing work of Richard White (proving you don't need a big movie star on voice duties), he's an utterly compelling antagonist, and an extremely interesting one." Writing for "Entertainment Weekly", Owen Gleiberman hailed Gaston as "a wonderful character", while "The Daily Beast" lauded the character as "a triumphantly funny villain". "The New York Times" Janet Maslin described Gaston's "fatuousness" as "well conveyed" while praising White's performance, writing that the actor "do[es] wonders in bringing ... Gaston to life." Writing for IndieWire, Drew Taylor felt the fact that Gaston is "a strapping cad" as opposed to a witch or hideous creature contributes to making the film "a wholly unique experience". Reviewing the film 25 years after its original theatrical release, "Creative Loafing"s Matt Brunson admitted that he "never grow[s] tired of watching the boorish Gaston". "The Seattle Times" John Hartl called White "hilarious" as Gaston.


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: However, critical opinions of Gaston have been rather lackluster in comparison to those of other, more acclaimed Disney villains; reviewers generally prefer Scar, Maleficent and Jafar. While dubbing Gaston's characterization "one of the movie's cleverest touches", at the same time Stephen Hunter of "The Baltimore Sun" felt that the character lacks the charisma of some of Disney's earlier female villains, namely the Evil Queen and Cruella de Vil from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) and "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1964), respectively. "Time"'s Richard Corliss called Gaston "a way-too-handsome galoot" and "Dudley Do-Right gone wrong." Hal Hinson of "The Washington Post" felt that Gaston was "overbearing" because "everything about him is comically exaggerated and satirized to the point that you feel as if the cleft in his chin might swallow you whole." In her book "From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture", author Elizabeth Bell reviewed Gaston as a "Chauvinist Pig, the kind that would turn the women of any primetime talkshow audience into beasts themselves." Similarly, "The Media and the Models of Masculinity" author Mark Moss accused the character of uttering "the most anachronistic nonsense heard on the screen for quite some time." JoBlo.com reviewed Gaston as an "inferior villain", writing, "While White's performance is terrific, the character itself is ultimately basic and bland." Jaime N. Christley of "Slant Magazine" dismissed the character as juvenile and little more than the film "reducing every aspect of its source material to the level a kindergartner would understand". Film critic Roger Ebert described Gaston as too "insufferable" as he "degenerates ... from a chauvinist pig to a sadistic monster", but at the same time cited White among the film's "gifted cast".


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston is considered to be one of Disney's "classic" villains, as well as one of the studio's most famous. Prior to Gaston's debut, virtually every Disney villain before him had been unattractive in appearance; Den of Geek writer Simon Brew holds Gaston accountable for changing the reputation of future Disney villains. The character's villainy tends to resonate with audiences more than those of other Disney villains because fans can often identify someone similar to him in real life. Medium contributor Brett Seegmiller strongly believes that "Gaston is one of the best villains in the Disney canon" because audiences both respect and fear him, as well as the best leader in his opinion. MTV crowned Gaston "Disney's smarmiest villain", while Thomas S. Hischak, author of "Musicals in Film: A Guide to the Genre", dubbed him "one of Disney's most fiendish human villains". Crowning the character the "Most Terrifying Disney Villain of All", "Bustle"'s Mary Grace Garis praised Gaston's depiction of a misogynistic villain: "because Gaston is the walking embodiment of patriarchy at its most comically aggressive, anyone ... from a 3-year-old to a 23-year-old can look at him and be like, 'THAT. That's the enemy.'," with Gaston being easier to relate to than other Disney villains due to him lacking "magic power or political influence" and being "just your everyday alpha-male trying to mansplain to you when you're just trying to live your life".


title: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

text: Gaston frequently appears within the top-tens of Disney villain rankings organized by various media publications; however, he is usually placed closer towards the middle of these countdowns and seldom ranks number one. E! ranked the character the sixth best Disney villain. TVOvermind also ranked Gaston sixth despite his lack of magical powers "because of his overwhelming douchebaggery" whose "general intolerance makes for a terrific villain." On "The Huffington Post"s "Definitive Ranking Of 25 Classic Disney Villains", Gaston was featured at number eight, while About.com placed the character ninth on a similar list. Yahoo! Movies included Gaston at number 11 on their ranking of "the 12 most famous Disney villains from worst to best", awarding him "points for not only being a huge jerk, but for also trying to blackmail Belle into marrying him ... and for leading a mob to kill Beast." According to the "Orlando Sentinel", Gaston is the 12th-greatest Disney villain. Meanwhile, on Babble's list of "The Top 15 Disney Villains Ranked from Bad to Worst", which ranked the characters based on scariness, Gaston was placed 10th. CNN agreed that Gaston is one of "Disney's scariest villains", writing, "the only thing worse than a cocky, demanding guy who can't take a hint is a cocky, demanding guy who organizes a mob to kill your boyfriend", concluding, "He may not have looked scary, but he was obviously the movie's real beast." Featured among Collider's "9 Most Wicked Animated Villains", contributor Matt Goldberg hailed Gaston as "a delightful caricature of an idiotic jock." Facetiously, Beamly considers Gaston to be among "8 Disney villains who are better than the heroes" for catching their attention despite being an "awful and sexist" character. Moviefone was less receptive towards the character, ranking him 25th out of 30 on their list of the "Top Disney Villains of All Time". Oh My Disney ranked Gaston's line "The most beautiful girl in town, that makes her the best! And don't I deserve the best?" the ninth-most-sinister quote uttered by a Disney villain.


title: She Loves Me

text: She Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.


title: She Loves Me

text: The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play "Parfumerie" by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 film "The Shop Around the Corner" and the 1949 musical version "In the Good Old Summertime." (It surfaced again as 1998's "You've Got Mail"). The plot revolves around Budapest shop employees Georg and Amalia, who, despite being consistently at odds with each other at work, are unaware that each is the other's secret pen pal met through lonely-hearts ads.


title: She Loves Me

text: The musical premiered on Broadway in 1963 and ran for 301 performances, was produced in the West End in 1964, and received award-winning revivals on each side of the Atlantic in the 1990s (as well as numerous regional productions). Although the original Broadway run was not a financial success, "She Loves Me" slowly became a cult classic, and the massively successful 2016 Broadway revival became the first Broadway show ever to be live-streamed.


title: She Loves Me

text: On a beautiful summer day in Budapest in 1934, the employees of Maraczek's Parfumerie arrive at work ("Good Morning, Good Day"). Working at the shop are Ladislav Sipos, a fretful middle-aged salesman with a family; teenage delivery boy Arpad Laszlo; thirty-something Ilona Ritter, who is having an affair with suave Steven Kodaly; and Georg Nowack, the shy assistant manager. Mr. Maraczek arrives to open the store, and soon business is under way ("Sounds While Selling"/"Thank You, Madam"). Georg has been exchanging letters with an anonymous woman he knows only as "Dear Friend", and he shares today's romantic letter with Sipos. Maraczek advises Georg to get married and recalls being a bachelor ("Days Gone By").


title: She Loves Me

text: Arpad begins stocking the shelves with a new musical cigarette case. Mr. Maraczek insists that they will manage to sell one within an hour. A nervous young woman, Amalia Balash, enters, hoping to obtain a job at the Parfumerie. When Georg tells her they are not hiring, she demands to speak with Maraczek. Amalia takes one of the cigarette cases and convinces a customer that it is really a musical candy box that plays each time it is opened to gently tell the owner "no more candy" ("No More Candy"). Maraczek is impressed and immediately hires Amalia.


title: She Loves Me

text: As summer turns into autumn and then into the early days of winter, tension grows in the shop. Ilona and Kodaly are at odds, Mr. Maraczek is increasingly short-tempered with Georg, and Georg and Amalia bicker constantly. Georg finds solace in his anonymous romantic pen pal, not suspecting that his correspondent is none other than Amalia ("Three Letters"). Their fellow employees observe their bickering, and Sipos explains to Arpad that they argue because they unknowingly like each other very much. Arpad naively suggests they tell Georg and Amalia this, and Sipos retorts that they'd never believe it. Finally, in early December, the two "Dear Friends" arrange to meet in person.


title: She Loves Me

text: Maraczek humiliatingly dresses down Georg for a minor problem. Georg tells Sipos that tonight he will finally meet his "dear friend" ("Tonight At Eight"). Meanwhile, Amalia explains to Ilona that even though she has not met her "dear friend" yet, she knows him very well from his letters ("I Don't Know His Name").


title: She Loves Me

text: Mr. Maraczek and Georg argue, and when it becomes obvious that Maraczek is about to fire Georg, Sipos knocks over the stack of musical cigarette boxes to distract him. Maraczek reprimands Sipos and leaves. Sipos tells Georg that no replacement would treat him as well as Georg does ("Perspective"). Maraczek insists that everyone stay late to decorate for Christmas, but Amalia says she must leave early for her date. Georg asks to leave too, but Mr. Maraczek refuses to let him go. Georg angrily quits, and the other employees sadly say goodbye to Georg ("Goodbye Georg"). Amalia leaves clutching a copy of "Anna Karenina" with a rose in it so that her "dear friend" will be able to identify her. She wonders if "dear friend" will like her ("Will He Like Me?") Meanwhile, inside the shop, Kodaly begins seducing Ilona ("Ilona"). They make a date, but when Mr. Maraczek insists they must close the store early, Kodaly realizes that he has time for a 9:30 date that he previously scheduled. He postpones his date with Ilona, and she angrily declares that she will never fall for a man like him again ("I Resolve"). Georg is nervous and asks Sipos to give "dear friend" a note explaining that Georg could not come.


title: She Loves Me

text: Mr. Maraczek's private investigator enters the shop and tells him that Kodaly is having an affair with his wife. Maraczek had assumed it was Georg. The investigator leaves, and Maraczek's wife calls to say she'll be out late. Maraczek points a gun at his own head and pulls the trigger as Arpad enters the shop. Meanwhile, in the Cafe Imperiale, the head waiter is trying to maintain a romantic atmosphere as Amalia waits with her book and rose ("Romantic Atmosphere"). Georg and Sipos enter and are shocked to realize that Amalia is Georg's date; however, Amalia does not know Georg is her "dear friend". Georg sits at Amalia's table and mocks her, singing a "Tango Tragique" about a woman who was murdered on a blind date (the show has been re-structured to where the song is not sung by Georg, but it is a dance number for the ensemble, 8-20-19). They argue, and Georg leaves. As the cafe closes, Amalia, still waiting, begs "dear friend" not to abandon her ("Dear Friend").


title: She Loves Me

text: The next day, Mr. Maraczek has survived his suicide attempt, and Arpad comes to visit him in the hospital. Maraczek is impressed with Arpad's hard work in his absence, and Arpad begs to be promoted to sales clerk ("Try Me"). Georg also stops by, and Maraczek apologizes and asks him to return to his job. Maraczek tells Georg to fire Kodaly and mentions that Amalia has called in sick.


title: She Loves Me

text: Georg is worried about Amalia and visits her at her apartment. She fears he has come to spy on her and tell the others she is not really sick, so she attempts to get out of bed and get ready for work ("Where's My Shoe"). Georg, seeing she is truly sick, forces her back to bed and presents her with a gift: vanilla ice cream. He apologizes for his rudeness the previous night, but Amalia tells him that he was right about her date; if "dear friend" really loved her, he would have come. Georg, meaning well, makes up a story that he saw an older, bald, fat gentleman looking into the cafe. Georg says the man told him that he had to work and could not meet his date, and Georg surmises that he must be her "dear friend". Amalia is surprised to find she enjoys her conversation with Georg. After he leaves, she begins a letter to "dear friend" but can only think of Georg's kindness and his gift of ("Vanilla Ice Cream").


title: She Loves Me

text: Georg joyously decides that Amalia loves him ("She Loves Me"). At Maraczek's, Ilona explains to Sipos that she has gotten over Kodaly; last night, she went to the library where she met Paul, a kindly optometrist ("A Trip to the Library"). Kodaly bids everyone goodbye ("Grand Knowing You"). With Christmas fast approaching, the employees are busy helping last-minute shoppers, and Georg and Amalia enjoy each other's company ("Twelve Days to Christmas"). On Christmas Eve, Amalia tells Georg she has invited "dear friend" to spend the evening with her and her mother. She invites Georg as well, and he hesitatingly accepts. Mr. Maraczek returns to the shop for a happy reunion, and Ilona announces her plans to accept Paul's proposal that night, even though he does not know he is going to propose yet. Sipos leaves to join his family's Christmas party, and Maraczek takes Arpad for a night on the town.


title: She Loves Me

text: Georg helps Amalia with her packages as she leaves the shop, and they accidentally drop one of the musical cigarette boxes. Amalia intends to give it to "dear friend", but Georg says he really would like it; it will remind him of the day he first met her. He admits that he always thought Amalia was the sort of girl he could fall in love with. Amalia confesses to having similar feelings, and Georg takes one of Amalia's letters to "dear friend" out of his pocket and begins reading it aloud. Amalia finally understands that Georg really is "dear friend" and they kiss.


title: She Loves Me

text: The musical premiered on Broadway on April 23, 1963, at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre not long after the settlement of the four-month-long 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike. Nevertheless, the show managed to run for 302 performances. The musical was directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Carol Haney, with the cast that featured Daniel Massey as Georg Nowack, Barbara Cook as Amalia Balash, Barbara Baxley as Ilona Ritter, Jack Cassidy as Stephen Kodaly, Nathaniel Frey as Ladislav Sipos, Ralph Williams as Arpad Laszlo, and Ludwig Donath as Mr. Maraczek. The romantic, old fashioned show was short on big song and dance numbers, and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre was too small to generate a big profit. An original cast recording was released by MGM Records and subsequently re-released on CD on the Polydor label in 1987.


title: She Loves Me

text: The West End production opened on April 29, 1964, at the Lyric Theatre, where it ran for 189 performances. The cast included Gary Raymond, Rita Moreno, Anne Rogers and Gary Miller. A London cast recording was released by Angel Records.


title: She Loves Me

text: The Roundabout Theatre Company produced a Broadway revival, directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Rob Marshall (assisted by his sister Kathleen). It opened on June 10, 1993, at the Criterion Center Stage Right and transferred on September 28, 1993, to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, closing on June 19, 1994, after a total of 354 performances and 42 previews. The cast included Boyd Gaines as Georg, Judy Kuhn (replaced by Diane Fratantoni when the show transferred) as Amalia, Sally Mayes as Ilona, Howard McGillin as Kodaly, Lee Wilkof as Ladislav, Brad Kane as Arpad, and Louis Zorich as Mr. Maraczek. A revival cast recording was released by Varèse Sarabande. The production was conducted by David Loud.


title: She Loves Me

text: The West End revival, also directed by Ellis and choreographed by Marshall, opened on July 12, 1994, at the Savoy Theatre, where it ran for one year. The cast included John Gordon Sinclair as Georg, Ruthie Henshall as Amalia, and Tracie Bennett as Ilona. A revival cast recording was released on the First Night label.


title: She Loves Me

text: The Roundabout Theatre Company presented a revival in 2016, again directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, on Broadway which opened at Studio 54 on March 17 following previews from February 19 in a limited engagement to June 5. The production starred Laura Benanti as Amalia, Zachary Levi as Georg, Jane Krakowski as Ilona, Gavin Creel as Kodaly, Byron Jennings as Maraczek, and Michael McGrath as Sipos. On December 2, 2015, it was announced that Byron Jennings would play the role of Maraczek, replacing René Auberjonois. The revival's run was extended to July 10, 2016, and Tom McGowan replaced Michael McGrath in the role of Sipos beginning May 10, 2016.


title: She Loves Me

text: Following the huge success of the 2016 Broadway revival, the musical was revived in London's West End at the Menier Chocolate Factory, opening on November 25, 2016, in previews, officially on December 7, for a limited run through March 5, 2017. Directed by Matthew White, the cast starred Scarlett Strallen as Amalia Balash.


title: She Loves Me

text: The June 30, 2016, performance of the Roundabout revival of "She Loves Me" was presented via BroadwayHD live stream, marking the first time a Broadway show had ever been broadcast live. The historic broadcast was screened in cinemas on December 1, 2016.


title: She Loves Me

text: A limited run of concert performances was held in March 1977 at The Town Hall in New York City, and featured Madeline Kahn as Amalia, Barry Bostwick as Georg, Rita Moreno as Ilona, George Rose (actor) as Mr. Maraczek, and Laurence Guittard as Kodaly.


title: She Loves Me

text: A slightly abridged BBC-TV production was made in 1978 starring Gemma Craven as Amalia, Robin Ellis as Georg, and David Kernan as Kodaly.


title: She Loves Me

text: The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, in Ashland, Oregon, staged a production as part of its 2010 season, running from February through October in the Angus Bowmer Theater.


title: She Loves Me

text: A critically acclaimed, small-scale Australian production opened at Sydney's Hayes Theatre Company, which began previews on 22 August 2018. The show featured Rowan Witt as Georg opposite Caitlin Berry as Amalia, with Tony Llewellyn-Jones as Maraczek. The production was directed by Erin James.


title: She Loves Me

text: MGM bought the screen rights for the musical in 1967 with plans to make it into a film starring Julie Andrews and to be directed by Harold Prince. After a year of delays, MGM moved forward with the film with a revised production in 1969. Julie Andrews was still set to play Amalia; however Blake Edwards was now set to direct. Dick Van Dyke was strongly considered for the role of Georg which would have reunited Andrews and Van Dyke for the first time since "Mary Poppins" in 1964. Maurice Chevalier was among those considered for the role of Maraczek. Production was well underway when Kirk Kerkorian bought MGM and installed James T. Aubrey Jr. to run the studio to make sweeping changes.


title: She Loves Me

text: With a major company restructuring and focus shifting to more youth oriented films and the musical was among the many projects abruptly dropped.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: "Lift Every Voice and Sing" is a hymn with lyrics by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954). Written from the context of African Americans in the late 19th century, the hymn is a prayer of thanksgiving as well as a prayer for faithfulness and freedom, with imagery which evokes the biblical Exodus from slavery to the freedom of the "promised land."


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: After its first recitation in 1900, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was communally sung within Black communities, while the NAACP began to promote the hymn as a "Negro national anthem" in 1917. It has been featured in 42 different Christian hymnals, and it has also been performed by various African American singers and musicians.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: James Weldon Johnson, Chair of the Florida Baptist Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, had sought to write a poem in commemoration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. However, amid the ongoing civil rights movement, Johnson decided to write a poem which was themed around the struggles of African Americans following the Reconstruction era (including the passage of Jim Crow laws in the South). "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was first recited by a group of 500 students in 1900. His brother J. Rosamond Johnson would later set the poem to music.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: After the Great Fire of 1901, the Johnsons moved to New York City to pursue a career on Broadway. In the years that followed, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was sung within Black communities; Johnson wrote that "the school children of Jacksonville kept singing it; they went off to other schools and sang it; they became teachers and taught it to other children. Within twenty years it was being sung over the South and in some other parts of the country."


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: the 1939 New York World's Fair, taking the form of choir of children shaped into a harp. Savage was the only Black woman commissioned for the Fair, and the sculpture (which was retitled "The Harp" by organizers) was also sold as miniature replicas and on postcards during the event. Like other temporary installations, the sculpture was destroyed at the close of the fair.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In 1919, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) dubbed "Lift Every Voice and Sing" the "Negro national anthem", for its power in voicing a cry for liberation and affirmation for African American people. James Weldon Johnson would be appointed to serve as the NAACP's first executive secretary the following year. It has similarly been referred to as "the Black national anthem".


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: The use of the term "the Black national anthem" in reference to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" has been criticized. Timothy Askew, an associate professor at the historically Black Clark Atlanta University, argued that the use of the term "Black national anthem" could incorrectly implicate a desire of separatism by Black communities, that the lyrics of the hymn do not overtly refer to any specific race (which has inspired people to perform it outside African American communities), and "identity should be developed by the individual himself, not by a group of people who think they know what is best for you." Some Conservative commentators have similarly criticized performances and references to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the "Black national anthem" as separatist and diminishing to "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the United States.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In response to Askew's remarks, the NAACP's then-senior vice president of advocacy and policy Hilary O. Shelton told CNN that the hymn "was adopted and welcomed by a very interracial group, and it speaks of hope in being full first-class citizens in our society", used in conjunction with the U.S. national anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance during public events, "It is evident in our actions as an organization and here in America it is evidence that we are about inclusion, not exclusion. To claim that we as African-Americans want to form a confederation or separate ourselves from white people because of one song is baffling to me."


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In February 2022, Representative Jim Clyburn announced his intent to table a measure proposing that "Lift Every Voice and Sing" be designated as the "national hymn" of the United States.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In 1923, the male gospel group Manhattan Harmony Four recorded the hymn as "Lift Every Voice and Sing (National Negro Anthem)". It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2016.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", the hymn is sung by the audience and students at Maya's eighth-grade graduation ceremony, after a white school official dashes the educational aspirations of her classmates.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In 1972, Kim Weston sang the hymn as the opening number for the Wattstax Festival at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. This performance was included in the film "Wattstax" which was produced by Wolper Films. The musical direction and recording were both overseen by Stax Records engineer Terry Manning.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In 1975, James Brown quoted a lyric from the hymn as part of his performance of the U.S. national anthem before the Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner boxing match.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In 1990, singer Melba Moore released a modern rendition of the hymn, which she recorded with the assistance of other singers, including R&B artists Stephanie Mills, Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jeffrey Osborne, and Howard Hewett; and gospel artists BeBe & CeCe Winans, Take 6, and The Clark Sisters, after which, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was entered into the "Congressional Record" by Del. Walter Fauntroy (D-DC). It was also added to the National Recording Registry in 2016.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In 2008, jazz singer Rene Marie was asked to sing the national anthem at a civic event in Denver, Colorado, where she caused a controversy by substituting the words of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" into the song. This arrangement of the words of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" with the melody of "The Star-Spangled Banner" became part of the titular suite on her 2011 CD release, "The Voice of My Beautiful Country".


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: On January 20, 2009, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, a civil rights movement leader who co-founded and is a former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, used a near-verbatim recitation of the hymn's third stanza to begin his benediction at the inauguration ceremony for President Barack Obama.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: Jon Batiste, bandleader of the late-night talk show "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", has occasionally worked "Lift Every Voice and Sing" into the music which is played by his band Stay Human when the program hosts a Black guest; he stated that the hymn "connects us to the history of all the people who we stand on the shoulders of—who have marched and fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy and that we’re trying to improve upon".


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: On September 24, 2016, the hymn was sung by mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and chorus at the conclusion of the opening ceremonies of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, at which Obama delivered the keynote address.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: On October 19, 2017, when white supremacist leader Richard Spencer spoke at the University of Florida, the university's carillon played "Lift Every Voice and Sing" to convey a message of unity.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: On April 14, 2018, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was sung by Beyoncé during her headlining appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In May 2018, the song was sung by the Tabernacle Choir during an edition of "Music & the Spoken Word". The performance was being attended by members of the NAACP, who were in Salt Lake City for a national leadership meeting.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: In mid-2020, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" began to receive wider public attention amid nationwide protests over the police murder of George Floyd: it was sung during demonstrations and other events which were held in solidarity. Presidential candidate Joe Biden referenced the hymn in his action plan for addressing racial disparities in the United States, which was titled "Lift Every Voice: The Biden Plan for Black America". On June 19, 2020, Google featured a Juneteenth-themed animation on its home page, set to a spoken word rendition of the hymn's first verse by LeVar Burton. In 2021, Vanessa Williams sung "Lift Every Voice and Sing" on the PBS Independence Day special "A Capitol Fourth", commemorating the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday.


title: Lift Every Voice and Sing

text: The hymn also began to be incorporated into sporting events: during NASCAR's 2020 Pocono 350, musicians Mike Phillips and West Byrd quoted "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as part of their rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner", while the National Football League announced that "Lift Every Voice and Sing" would be played or performed as part of the pre-game ceremonies of all Week 1 games during the 2020 season. The decision came as part of a new social justice campaign being introduced by the NFL, stemming from the league's acknowledgements of the Black Lives Matter movement, and its handling of players taking a knee during the singing of the national anthem in order to protest against racial inequality and police brutality. The NFL's opening night kickoff game featured a filmed performance of the hymn by Alicia Keys at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was later replayed as part of the pre-game show of Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021. The NFL stated that it would again feature the hymn at Week 1 games and other "tentpole" events (including the NFL Draft and playoff games) during the 2021 season. Some African American fans who were interviewed by NBC News felt that the NFL's decision was "pandering" that would not have a material impact on the league's pursuits of social justice.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The Shanghai maglev train or Shanghai Transrapid () is a magnetic levitation train (maglev) line that operates in Shanghai, China. Shanghai maglev is the world's first commercial high-speed maglev, it has a cruising speed of .


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: It is the fastest commercial electric train and also the fastest overall operational rail network in the world .


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The train line connects Shanghai Pudong International Airport (transfer to Line 2) and Longyang Road Station (in the outskirts of central Pudong, transfer to Lines 2, 7, 16, and 18), where passengers can interchange to the Shanghai Metro to continue their trip to the city center. The line is not part of the Shanghai Metro network, which operates its own service to Pudong Airport from central Shanghai and Longyang Road Station (Line 2).


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: At full speed, the journey takes 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the distance of , although some trains in the early morning and late afternoon take about 50 seconds longer. A train can reach in 2 minutes and 15 seconds, with the maximum normal operation speed of reached after 4 minutes.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: Construction of the line began on March 1, 2001, and public commercial service commenced on 1 January 2004. The Shanghai Transrapid project took ¥10 billion (US$1.33bn) and two and a half years to complete. The line is track and has a further separate track leading to a maintenance facility.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The top operational commercial speed of this train is , making it the world's fastest train in regular commercial service since its opening in April 2004. During a non-commercial test run on 12 November 2003, piloted by Jonathan Texiera, a maglev train achieved a Chinese record speed of . The Shanghai Maglev has a length of , a width of , a height of and a three-class, 574-passenger configuration (End section (ES) 1st class: 56; Middle section (MS) 2nd class: 110; End section (ES) 2nd class: 78).


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The train set model (SMT Transrapid) was built by a joint venture of Siemens and ThyssenKrupp from Kassel in 3 pieces (originally 4 pieces consisting of 6 wagons each were planned), Germany and based on years of tests and improvements of their Transrapid maglev monorail. The Shanghai Maglev track (guideway) was built by local Chinese companies who, as a result of the alluvial soil conditions of the Pudong area, had to deviate from the original track design of one supporting column every 50 metres to one column every 25 meters, to ensure that the guideway meets the stability and precision criteria. Several thousand concrete piles were driven to depths up to 70 metres to attain stability for the support column foundations. A mile-long, climate-controlled facility was built alongside the line's right of way to manufacture the guideways. The train was manufactured in Germany by Siemens-Thyssenkrupp JV (Joint venture).


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The electrification of the train was developed by Vahle, Inc. Two commercial maglev systems predated the Shanghai system: the Birmingham Maglev in the United Kingdom and the Berlin M-Bahn. Both were low-speed operations and closed before the opening of the Shanghai maglev train.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The train was inaugurated in December 2002 by the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, and the Chinese premier, Zhu Rongji. Initial opening was for tour only, providing a round trip. The train starts from Longyang Rd. Station, speed up to 431 km/h and arrives at Pudong Airport. After very short break, the train returns without opening the door. The price was 150 RMB for normal seats and 300 RMB for VIP seat. The normal operation started on 10 October 2003.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: Since 2010, a fourth train of Chinese production (made by Chengdou Aircraft Industries) has been added to the rolling stock. Its design slightly differs from the original Transrapid-trains: separated front lights below the shortened front-windows (instead of being placed behind the windows) and interior design.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: Hans-Dieter Bott, vice president of Siemens that won the contract to build the rail link, stated that "Transrapid views the Shanghai line, where the ride will last just eight minutes, largely as a sales tool. This serves as a demonstration for China to show that this works and can be used for longer distances, such as Shanghai to Beijing". Later, however, the decision was eventually made to implement the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway with conventional high-speed technology. Plans for a shorter maglev extension from Longyang Road to Hangzhou, the Shanghai–Hangzhou maglev line, have been suspended.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: Speculation that a line would be built from Shanghai to Beijing mounted in 2002. It would cover a distance of about , at an estimated cost of £15.5bn. The chief executive of ThyssenKrupp, Dr Ekkehard Schulz said he was certain that not only Germany, but many countries would follow the Chinese example. The German government along with a selection of German companies sought to win more projects for their maglev technology, and highlighted that a train between Shanghai and the Chinese capital, Beijing remained a possibility. No projects have been revealed as of 2014.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: In January 2006, the Shanghai–Hangzhou maglev line extension project was proposed by the Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau. The extension would continue the existing line towards Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, running via Shanghai South railway station and the Expo 2010 site, with a possible continuation towards Hangzhou. The extension would allow transferring between the two airports—located apart—in approximately 15 minutes. The section between the two Shanghai airports is also referred to as Airport express line.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The plan for the extension to Hangzhou was first approved by the central government in February 2006, with a planned date of completion in 2010, to be built by Germany's Transrapid consortium (mainly ThyssenKrupp and Siemens). Work was suspended in 2008, owing to public protests over radiation fears


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: despite an environmental assessment by the Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences saying the line was safe and would not affect air and water quality, and noise pollution could be controlled.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: In January and February 2008, hundreds of residents demonstrated in downtown Shanghai against the line being built close to their homes. The residents were reportedly concerned with potential health hazards, noise, and loss of property value. The Shanghai scheme has a buffer zone around the track that will be 22.5 m wide, which compares unfavourably with German standards that require houses to be 300 m away from the line. Representatives of the residents filed a formal request to demonstrate with the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, which was rejected. According to China Daily, as reported on People's Daily Online 27 February 2009, the Shanghai municipal government was considering building the maglev line underground to allay the public's fear of electromagnetic pollution and the final decision on the maglev line had to be approved by the National Development and Reform commission.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The total length would have been 169 km (105 mi), of which 64 km (40 mi) would be within the City of Shanghai and 105 km (65 mi) in the province of Zhejiang. Four stations would be built: at the Expo 2010 site in east Shanghai; in south Shanghai; Jiaxing; and east Hangzhou. The proposed design speed was 450 km/h, which would allow the train to travel the distance in just 27 minutes. The total budget of the project was to be 35 billion RMB (about US$5.0 billion as of April 2008).


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The new link was to be long, longer than the original plan. The top speed was expected to be but limited to in built-up areas.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: In October 2010 the non-maglev Shanghai–Hangzhou High-Speed Railway was opened, bringing travelling time between the two cities down to 45 minutes. Consequently, plans for a Maglev link have been suspended again.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: In addition, a new express Airport Link line (机场联络线), which began construction in June 2019 and is due for completion in 2024, would likely stop any future extension.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: Following the opening, overall maglev train ridership levels were at 20% of capacity. The levels were attributed to limited operating hours, the short length of the line, high ticket prices and that it terminates at Longyang Road in Pudong – another 20 min by subway from the city centre.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: The line is operated by Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co., Ltd and runs from 06:45 to 21:30, with services every 15 to 20 minutes. Operation hours:


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: In addition to the above 57 daily two-way services, two additional one-way scheduled trains starts off at 10:15 pm and 10:40 pm from Pudong Airport to Longyang Road for about 8 minutes since October 2016.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: A one-way ticket costs ¥50 (US$8), or ¥40 ($6.40) for those passengers holding a receipt or proof of an airline ticket purchase. A round-trip return ticket costs ¥80 ($12.80) and VIP tickets cost double the standard fare. The price has not changed since the Maglev began operation.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: It cost $39.759 million per kilometer to build (10 billion yuan (1.2 billion US dollars) for the line). The line's balance of payments has been in huge deficit since its opening.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: In its initial years of operation, the Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co. Ltd, the company that runs the line, had more than one billion RMB in losses. Nevertheless, the line's lack of profitability derives from its construction to envision the future of China's rail infrastructure, such as converting its entire high-speed rail network into maglev, rather than a viable market solution to garner a profit from travelers.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: A 2007 statement by Transrapid USA said with 4 million passengers in 2006 the system was able to cover its operating costs. The ratio of costs were given as: 64%-energy, 19%-maintenance, and 17%-operations/support services; no overall amount of expenditures was given. The high proportion of energy costs was attributed to the short trip time and high operating speed.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: According to Chinese media's report, however, due to the huge costs of operating and the lack of the passenger flow, Shanghai Maglev Transportation Company would lose 500 million to 700 million RMB every year.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: On August 11, 2006 at 14:40, a Maglev train compartment caught fire after leaving Pudong International Airport. There were no injuries or fatalities aboard. Electrical problems caused the fire according to investigation reports.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: On 14 February 2016, the Shanghai maglev line had an equipment failure that affected operation for more than 1 hour. Due to the use of single-line operation during this time, the train interval was extended.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: Maglev Station offers Shanghai Maglev Transportation Science and Technology Museum, located at 2100 Longyang Road, Pudong New Area (Shanghai Maglev Train Station ground floor). Open from 09:00 to 17:00.


title: Shanghai maglev train

text: It showcases Shanghai Maglev related content with an exhibition space of 1250 square meters, containing most of the history and technology of maglev train. The museum is composed of five sections: “Birth of Maglev”, “Maglev Shanghai Line”, “Maglev Technology”, “Maglev Superiorities” and “Prospects for Maglev”.


title: 144,000

text: 144,000 is a natural number. It has significance in various religious movements and ancient prophetic belief systems.


title: 144,000

text: The numbers 12,000 and 144,000 are variously interpreted in traditional Christianity. Some, taking the numbers in Revelation to be symbolic, believe it represents all of God's people throughout history in the heavenly Church. One suggestion is that the number comes from 12, a symbol for totality, which is squared and multiplied by one thousand for more emphasis. Others insist the numbers 12,000 and 144,000 are literal numbers and representing either descendants of Jacob (also called Israel in the Bible) or others to whom God has given a superior destiny with a distinct role at the time of the end of the world. One understanding is that the 144,000 are recently converted Jewish evangelists sent out to bring sinners to Jesus Christ during the seven year tribulation period. Preterists believe they are Jewish Christians, sealed for deliverance from the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Dispensationalist Tim LaHaye, in his commentary "Revelation: Illustrated and Made Plain" (Zondervan, 1975), considers the 144,000 in Revelation 7 to refer to Jews and those in Revelation 14 to refer to Christians.


title: 144,000

text: Jehovah's Witnesses believe that exactly 144,000 faithful Christians from Pentecost of 33 AD until the present day will be resurrected to heaven as immortal spirit beings to spend eternity with God and Christ. They believe that these people are "anointed" by God to become part of the spiritual "Israel of God". They believe the 144,000 (which they consider to be synonymous with the "little flock" of Luke 12:32) will serve with Christ as king-priests for a thousand years, while all other people accepted by God (the "other sheep" of John 10:16, composed of "the great crowd" of Revelation 7:9,14 and the resurrected "righteous and the unrighteous" ones of Acts 24:15), will be given an opportunity to live forever in a restored paradise on earth.


title: 144,000

text: Individual Witnesses indicate their claim of being "anointed" by partaking of the bread and wine at the annual Memorial of Christ's death. More than 20,700 Witnesses worldwide—an increase of about 12,000 since 1995—claim to be of the anointed "remnant" of the 144,000. The members of the Governing Body who exercise teaching authority over Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide claim to be among the anointed 144,000, and also consider themselves as a group to be the faithful and discreet slave of Matthew 24:45 and Luke 12:42.


title: 144,000

text: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that the sealing of the 144,000 relates to the high priests, ordained unto the holy order of God, to administer the everlasting gospel; "for they are they who are ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, by the angels to whom is given power over the nations of the earth, to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn."


title: 144,000

text: The Christian Skoptsy sect in Russia believed that the Messiah would come when there were 144,000 Skoptsy believers, based on their reading of the Book of Revelation.


title: 144,000

text: The Unification Church founded by Reverend Sun Myung Moon believes the 144,000 represents the total number of saints whom Christ must find "who can restore through indemnity the missions of all the past saints who, despite their best efforts to do God's Will, fell prey to Satan when they failed in their responsibilities. He must find these people during his lifetime and lay the foundation of victory over Satan's world".


title: 144,000

text: 144,000 is alleged to have been the number of Sahaba of Muhammad, though other totals have been given. The number is also given as the total number of prophets in Islam, although this has also been reported as 124,000 or 244,000. The actual number of prophets or Sahaba (Companions) is not known; about 30 prophets are mentioned by name in the Qur'an.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: NCAA Football is an American football video game series developed by EA Sports in which players control and compete against current Division I FBS college teams. It served as a college football counterpart to the "Madden NFL" series. The series began in 1993 with the release of "Bill Walsh College Football". EA eventually acquired the licensing rights to the NCAA name and officially rechristened the series with the release of "NCAA Football 98".


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: In July 2013, the NCAA announced that it would not renew its licensing contract with Electronic Arts because of an ongoing legal dispute regarding the use of player likenesses in the games. However, this contract only covered the use of the NCAA name and related logos, not those of individual schools and conferences, which are negotiated individually or through the Collegiate Licensing Company. The CLC concurrently announced that it would extend its existing licensing deal with EA through 2017, ensuring that EA Sports could continue the series without the NCAA branding and EA made plans to continue the series under the old "College Football" name. However, the series was placed on hiatus in September 2013, following three major conferences pulling their trademark licenses from EA, and uncertainties surrounding the results of lawsuits involving the use of player likenesses in-game.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: In February 2021, Electronic Arts announced that the series would be returning for next-gen platforms no earlier than summer 2023. During an interview with ESPN.com in November 2022, an EA Sports executive revealed that the game would be released in "the summer of 2024...because of the enormous undertaking of creating the game from scratch".


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "Bill Walsh College Football" was released in June 1993 on 4th generation video game consoles, such as the Sega Genesis.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "Bill Walsh College Football" featured the top 24 college football teams from 1992 and 24 of the all-time greatest teams since 1978. While no actual players were named and no official team logos used, colleges were listed by city and players identified by number. Play modes include exhibition, playoffs, and all-time playoffs. Sixty-eight classic college plays were available, including the triple option, student body, and wishbone.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Other options and features include automatic or manual-pass catch mode, audible, reverse angle replay, onside kicks, four weather conditions (fair, windy, rain, and snow), three different quarter lengths (5, 10, and 15 minutes), and a hurry-up offense.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The Bill Walsh endorsement was meant to parallel John Madden's endorsement of "Madden NFL"; Walsh at the time was head coach of the Stanford Cardinal football team.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "Bill Walsh College Football '95" was the second installment of the college football franchise and the first to have a year.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The game featured 36 Division I-A teams, a windowless passing mode, customizable seasons from one to sixteen weeks, and complete statistical tracking throughout the season. Players could choose either a playoff system or bowl games with fictional names: Maple Bowl, Palm Bowl, Pecan Bowl, and Redwood Bowl.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "Bill Walsh College Football 95" also provided 36 new plays and formations including the Wishbone, Veer, Tee Offense, and 4-4 D.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The series was renamed "College Football USA 96", and was the first version to feature all (108 at the time) Division l-A teams. It was also the first in the series to feature real bowl games (Orange, Sugar, Fiesta, and Rose). Players could play an entire 11-game season (or shorter if desired) before advancing to one of the bowl games.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: There were 400 plays from which to choose, and a new passing mode allowed players to select from five receivers on every play. Other new features and options included the following: four-player mode, three different game lengths, substitutions, injuries, audible, fake snaps, spins, hurdles, dives, blocked kicks, interceptions, and laterals


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "College Football USA 97" was the fourth installment of the series. While the game was published for the Genesis by EA Sports as usual, the Super NES version was instead published by THQ. The game featured University of Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier on the cover.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 98" was released in 1997. The game featured University of Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel on the cover.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 99" was the sixth edition of the game. The game featured University of Michigan cornerback and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson on the cover. Its tagline read "Desire+Pride=Victory!".


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The game featured all 112 Division I-A teams at the time and also featured 3D, polygon-rendered players for the first time in the franchise's history. Additional features included the ability to create players, edit player names, sixty fight songs and crowd chants. Over eighty historical teams were added to the game, as well. The Heisman Memorial Trophy replaces the 'EA Sports MVP" trophy and other awards are given out. Recruiting is simple and done in a serpentine draft system. The Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl are now playable, and the other Bowls played have EA Sports as the sponsor. Created players from this game can be imported to the title "Madden NFL 99". It featured no commentary by booth announcers; instead a PA announcer provides the commentary. Unlike the current games in this franchise, "NCAA 99" featured an optional 16 team playoff at the end of the season in dynasty mode.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 2000", released only for the PlayStation, featured University of Texas running back and Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams on the cover.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The game included all 114 Division I-A schools and 26 from Division I-AA. It also featured new 3D polygon-rendered players, which are fully displayed in multiple camera angles during gameplay.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Other notable additions include coaching tips, 23 bowls (up from four), the ability to edit new plays, and the official Heisman Trophy award.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 2001", released only for the PlayStation, featured University of Alabama running back Shaun Alexander on the cover.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: This version included Create-a-player, Create-a-school, Custom League (up to eight teams, double round-robin, plus playoff), Custom Tournament (up to 16 teams, double elimination), as well as fully customizable Season/Dynasty schedules. This was also the final installment which offered a playoff at the end of the season in dynasty mode (24 teams).


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 2002", released only for the PlayStation 2, featured Florida State quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke on the cover.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: This was the first version released for PlayStation 2; it lacked features (such as Custom League, Custom Tournament, and Create-a-school) that were present in the previous year's PlayStation edition.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The game featured a new "Campus Cards" rewards system, which allowed players to unlock special features in the game such as historical teams or special stadiums. It was also the first entry in the season to rank the top 25 teams in the nation.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 2003", released for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox, featured University of Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington on the cover.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: New features in this version included over 200 licensed fight songs, 3D cheerleaders and 144 different schools.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Dynasty mode was enhanced with the ability to redshirt a player and schedule non-conference games before each season. Trophies and awards, modeled after real-life college football awards, was another feature new to this version. Players could win trophies by playing games and could add them to a personal collection which is shown off in a trophy room. These awards include the Heisman, Coach of the Year and Bowl-specific trophies. The game featured 23 different rivalry trophies that were created to represent their real-life counterparts.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The game also featured a customizable interface for the first time. Player could choose their favorite teams and the game interface would be based around the team's fight song, mascot, logos and school colors.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 2004", released for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox, featured University of Southern California quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer on the cover.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The College Classics mode was introduced in this version and allowed players to replay classic games in college football history. New tackling animations and more realistic zone defenses were also included.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 2005", the last game in the series to have the full year on the cover and released for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox, featured University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald on the cover.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: This version introduced more fan interaction in the game. The home team's defense can incite the crowd to make noise, making it difficult for the offense to hear the quarterback's audibles. This feature, dubbed "home field advantage", allowed stadium influence and energy to swing a game's momentum if strong enough. The game ranked the "Top 25 Toughest Places to Play", which included famous stadiums such as Florida's "Swamp" and LSU's "Death Valley", where this feature would be felt more strongly.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The new "Match-Up Stick" feature allowed players to match up more experienced and skilled players on younger, less-talented ones to exploit matchup problems.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: All Division I-A schools were included in the game along with more than 70 I-AA schools. Signature fan celebrations, such as the "Gator Chomp" and "Texas Hook 'Em Horns" were included.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 06" has features that include the Dynasty mode, wherein the player act as a team's head coach, both on and off the field. Aside from weekly games, the player also controls recruiting freshman for the next year's season; new to the 2006 version is in-season recruiting.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Another new feature in the 2006 game is the "Race for the Heisman" mode, in which the player takes on the role of a single player attempting to win the Heisman Trophy. "Race for the Heisman" begins with the user selecting which position they want their character to be. The player then completes a workout for college scouts and you are offered scholarships to three different schools. The quality of football programs that offer scholarships depends on how well the player did in the workout. The player can either choose to accept one of the scholarships or walk on at any Division I school. After selecting what school to play for the player is automatically placed in the starting line up. Year after year the player's attributes increase depending on the previous seasons performance with the ultimate goal of winning the Heisman trophy.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Desmond Howard, a Heisman-winning player from the University of Michigan, is on the cover. This is a slight break in tradition as the "NCAA Football" series traditionally featured an NFL rookie on the cover of the game, with an action shot of him wearing his college jersey from the previous year. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 07" was released on July 18, 2006, and was the series' first release on both the Xbox 360 and PSP. University of Southern California running back and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush is featured on the game's cover. FCS teams were not featured on next gen consoles, but were available still on previous gen consoles.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: This version of the game utilized a feature called "Turn the Tide", which consisted of a momentum meter on the score graphic at the top or bottom of the screen. A boost in momentum for a team would increase the performance of all players and boost their attributes by a varying amount.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: This version also included spring drills, an update to the Race for the Heisman mode called Campus Legend (which plays more like NFL Superstar mode in "Madden"), ESPN integration, and a spring game in Dynasty and Campus Legend modes.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 08" was released on July 17, 2007. The cover athlete is Boise State University quarterback Jared Zabransky.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Some of the new features for this version include Leadership Control, which allows players who perform well to "lead by example" and control the action on the field and increase their sphere of influence by improving their players' personal ratings on each big play. The game also features a new and deeper recruiting system and an all-new Campus Legend mode. This was the first version of the game released on the PlayStation 3.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 09" was released July 15, 2008. It was released on all 7th generation consoles, including, for the first and only time, the Wii. The covers featured the following college football figures:


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 10" was released on July 14, 2009. The covers feature the following former college players:


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: This game also introduced a feature which had been in the NCAA Football series until NCAA Football 14.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Teambuilder was a feature accessed by the EA Sports Teambuilder website. This would be the replacement for Create-A-School.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Teambuilder's website was an online accessible mode, where teams that were made via the site could be downloaded by other users.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 11" was released on July 13, 2010. It was released on all next generation consoles, with the exception of the Wii. The cover athlete for all three versions is former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: This was the last version of the game released for the PlayStation 2, and the only version released for iOS.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 12" was released on July 12, 2011 on PS3 and Xbox 360. The cover athlete was Mark Ingram II of the University of Alabama.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 13" was released on July 10, 2012. The game's cover features Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor, along with another Heisman winner (Barry Sanders from Oklahoma State), who was decided by fan voting. Sanders was picked over Marcus Allen, Doug Flutie, Desmond Howard, Charlie Ward, Andre Ware, Eddie George, and Herschel Walker during the voting process.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 14", the final installment in the series, was released on July 9, 2013. The game's cover features former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, who was decided by fan voting. Robinson was picked over Eddie Lacy, Kenjon Barner, Jarvis Jones, EJ Manuel, Ryan Swope, John Simon, and Tyler Eifert during the voting process.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Due to recent legal disputes between the association, Electronic Arts, college athletes, and others regarding the usage of college athletes' likenesses in video games (which is currently barred by the NCAA because of the concept of sport amateurism), they would not renew their licensing deal with EA. However, the expiration of the license only affects the use of the NCAA's trademarks in the games; teams and other events are licensed from schools individually or through organizations such as the Collegiate Licensing Company—who announced on the same day that they would extend its own licensing deal with EA through 2017. As such, EA ensured that with these existing deals in place, it would still be able to produce future versions of the franchise without the NCAA license (as it did prior to 1997); EA Sports' executive vice president Andrew Wilson announced that the next edition of the franchise was already in development, and would "[still] feature the college teams, leagues, and all the innovation fans expect from EA Sports."


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: However, after the SEC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 conferences announced that they would not license their trademarks to EA, the company announced on September 26, 2013 that it would not make a college football game for 2014. EA had plans to continue the series with a focus on user-generated content under the old "College Football" name, but the planned game was eventually canceled.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: As of 2021, the series has not returned, although Oregon and Texas licensed their team names for the story mode in "Madden NFL 18". "Madden NFL 20" includes 10 licensed college teams for its new career storyline "QB1: Face of the Franchise".


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 14", the last edition of the game, continues to be played by fans, including actual college football players. Unofficial updates have been released to reflect current rosters. On October 29, 2019 the NCAA's board of governors voted unanimously to institute new rules allowing student athletes to profit from the use of their name, image, and likeness. The changes are set to take effect no later than January 2021. This development has caused many to speculate that a new "NCAA Football" game will be released in the near future.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: On February 2, 2021, EA Sports announced that the series "NCAA Football" would return under the name "EA Sports College Football", stating on Twitter, "For those who never stopped believing...College Football is coming back." They also released a statement on their website announcing that they had garnered and are utilizing a partnership with the Collegiate Licensing Company, an NCAA licensing group, to bring uniforms, stadiums, traditions and more from over 100 NCAA-affiliated sports teams. Player names and likenesses will not be included in the game. The deal will mean that teams not a part of the CLC will not be in the game such as Air Force, Army, Georgia State, Kentucky, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Troy and USC. On February 23, 2021 it was reported that Notre Dame will join the game if new rules that determine whether athletes will be able to receive a cut of the game's profits are finalized. Following similar statements from Tulane and Northwestern, EA Sports responded by stating "player name, image and likeness is not currently planned for the game. However, we are watching the developments in this area closely and are prepared to take steps to include players should that opportunity arise." The NCAA has delayed and not voted on the NIL rule as of now, but over two dozen states have either passed or proposed laws so that institutions can't enforce the NCAA's current NIL rules. EA Sports has been watching the development of the game closely and will release more information on the development and future of the franchise when they can.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: The game, which was not under development prior to EA Sports' announcement of the new title, will be developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon. The company claimed that a revival of the "NCAA Football" franchise was one of their most requested games as of the time of their announcement of "EA Sports College Football", and The Motley Fool projects that "College Football" sales could rival those of that year's "Madden" release. However, doubts have been raised as to whether or not the game's reception will exceed that of recent "Madden" releases, which are held in low regard by the "Madden" gaming community.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: On November 22, 2022, in an interview with ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein, EA Sports vice president and general manager Daryl Holt stated that Electronic Arts would release the game sometime in summer 2024. "That's the best date for us to bring the game that we think is going to meet or exceed our player expectations...and cover the breadth and scale of what we want in the game. We're trying to build a very immersive college football experience," Holt said.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Players' real names and specific likenesses are not used in the game. While the "Madden NFL" series does use real player names and likenesses,compensated for the use of their image. Due to current NCAA restrictions on the amateur status of athletes, names are not allowed. Additionally, current college players cannot be used as cover athletes. Instead, each cover features a player whose college eligibility ended the season before the game's release, wearing his former college uniform. The only two exceptions have been the Wii version of "NCAA Football 09", which featured Sparty, the mascot of Michigan State University, on the cover, and "NCAA Football 06" when Desmond Howard was featured on the cover striking the Heisman Trophy pose during his career at Michigan, despite not having played for Michigan for more than 15 years.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Although EA Sports does not claim that the players in the game represent real life players, the jersey number, position, height, weight, home state, and ethnicity are aligned with the real players. Fans of any particular team are sure to recognize their favorite players (for example, in "NCAA Football 14", Florida State QB #5 would correspond to Jameis Winston). Actual usage of a player's real name would be in violation of the NCAA's policy regarding student athletes. Amateur "roster makers" will often manually associate player names and will upload a roster file to the built-in roster sharing system. As of "NCAA Football 09", EA has put in the EA Locker feature which allows remote roster sharing online through either Xbox Live or PlayStation Network depending on the console. In certain game modes, real players are given fake names. For instance, in "NCAA Football 14", Ohio State QB Braxton Miller is referred to as Matthew Carrington. Due to new NIL Rules players will be able to have their names in the game. Though some players might not allow the use of their name or demand payment to be put into the game.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: Prior to the release of "NCAA Football 06", the only music featured in the game were fight songs of most FBS and FCS colleges featured in the game. These would play at random, however the user-selected "favorite team" would always have their fight song played first whenever the game was first started.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 06" was the first and only entry in the series to include licensed music to keep the series in uniform with other EA Sports releases of the time, such as Madden NFL and the NHL series.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 08" added a cinematic theme song to the main menu, with fight songs playing during Dynasty Mode.


title: NCAA Football (video game series)

text: "NCAA Football 09" allows a new custom stadium sounds feature allowing users to edit what sounds are heard at specific stadiums during events within the game, such as a touchdown, field goal, or timeout. Fans of the teams can now create an authentic experience in each stadium by using copyrighted songs that EA is not allowed to put into the game.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: Jemaah Islamiyah (, "al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah", meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which is dedicated to the establishment of an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. On 25 October 2002, immediately following the JI-perpetrated Bali bombing, JI was added to the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 as a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda or the Taliban.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: JI is a transnational organization with cells in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. In addition to al-Qaeda, the group is also thought to have alleged links to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, a splinter cell of the JI which was formed by Abu Bakar Baasyir on 27 July 2008. The group has been designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. It remained very active in Indonesia where it publicly maintained a website .


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: In October 2021, Director of Identification and Socialization, Detachment 88 Muhammad Sodiq said that 876 members of Jamaah Islamiyah had been arrested and sentenced in Indonesia.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: On 16 November 2021, Indonesian National Police launched a crackdown operation, which revealed that the group operated in disguise as a political party, Indonesian People's Da'wah Party. The revelation shocked many people, as it was the first time in Indonesia that a terrorist organization disguised itself as a political party and attempted to intervene and participate in the Indonesian political system.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: JI has its roots in Darul Islam (DI, meaning "House of Islam"), a radical Islamist/anti-colonialist movement in Indonesia in the 1940s.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: The JI was established as a loose confederation of several Islamic groups. Sometime around 1969, three men, Abu Bakar Bashir, Abdullah Sungkar and Shahrul Nizam 'PD' began an operation to propagate the Darul Islam movement, a conservative strain of Islam.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: Bashir and Sungkar were both imprisoned by the New Order administration of Indonesian president Suharto as part of a crackdown on radical groups such as Komando Jihad, that were perceived to undermine the government's control over the Indonesian population. The two leaders spent several years in prison. After release, Bashir and his followers moved to Malaysia in 1982. They recruited people from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. The group officially named itself Jemaah Islamiah around that time period.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: JI was formally founded on 1 January 1993, by JI leaders, Abu Bakar Bashir and Abdullah Sungkar while hiding in Malaysia from the persecution of the Suharto government. After the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998, both men returned to Indonesia where JI gained a terrorist edge when one of its founders, the late Abdullah Sungkar, established contact with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: JI's violent operations began during the communal conflicts in Maluku and Poso. It shifted its attention to targeting US and Western interests in Indonesia and the wider Southeast Asian region since the start of the US-led war on terror. JI's terror plans in Southeast Asia were exposed when its plot to set off several bombs in Singapore was foiled by the local authorities.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: In 2004, Abu Bakar Bashir created the Indonesian Mujahedeen Council to connect Islamist groups, including JI, in Indonesia.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: Recruiting, training, indoctrination, financial, and operational links between the JI and other militant groups, such as al-Qaeda, the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the Misuari Renegade/Breakaway Group (MRG/MBG) and the Philippine Rajah Sulaiman movement (RSM) have existed for many years.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: Bashir became the spiritual leader of the group while Hambali became the military leader. Unlike the Al-Mau'nah group, Jemaah Islamiah kept a low profile in Malaysia and their existence was publicized only after the 2002 Bali bombings.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: Jemaah Islamiyah has been designated a terrorist group by the following countries and international organizations:


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: Prior to the first Bali bombing on 12 October 2002, there was underestimation to the threat Jemaah Islamiah posed. After this attack, the U.S. State Department designated Jemaah Islamiah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: In 2003, Indonesian police confirmed the existence of "Mantiqe-IV"  the JI regional cell which covered Irian Jaya and Australia. Indonesian police said Muklas has identified Mantiqe IV's leader as Abdul Rahim—an Indonesian-born Australian. Jemaah Islamiah is also strongly suspected of carrying out the 2003 JW Marriott hotel bombing in Kuningan, Jakarta, the 2004 Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta, the 2005 Bali terrorist bombing and the 2009 JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings. The Bali and JW Marriott attacks showed that JI did not rule out attacking the same target more than once. The JI also has been directly and indirectly involved in dozens of bombings in the southern Philippines, usually in league with the ASG.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: However, most of Jemaah Islamiah prominent figures such as Hambali, Abu Dujana, Azahari Husin, Noordin Top and Dulmatin have either been captured or killed, mostly by Indonesian anti-terrorist squad, Detachment 88. While several of its former leaders, including Malaysian Islamic extremist and Afghanistan War veteran Nasir Abbas, have renounced violence and even assisted the Indonesian and Malaysian governments in the war on terrorism. Nasir Abbas was Noordin Top's former trainer.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: Indonesian investigators revealed the JI's establishment of a hit squad in April 2007, which was established to target top leaders who oppose the group's objectives, as well as other officials, including police officers, government prosecutors and judges handling terrorism-related cases.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: In April 2008, the South Jakarta District Court declared JI an illegal organisation when sentencing former leader Zarkasih and military commander Abu Dujana to 15 years on terrorism charges.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: In 2010, Indonesian authorities cracked down on the Jemaah Islamiah network in Aceh. Between February and May 2010, more than 60 militants were captured. This Aceh network was established by Dulmatin sometime after 2007 when he returned to Indonesia.


title: Jemaah Islamiyah

text: The name "Jemaah Islamiyah" roughly translates to "Islamic Community" in English and is abbreviated as "JI". To counter the recruitment efforts by the group, Islamic scholars in Indonesia and the Philippines who are critical of the group suggested it be called "Jemaah Munafiq" (JM) instead, translated as "Hypocrites' Community".