2019-05-27

【Aiden in English】

        I watched the Kawhi Leonard’s shot bounced in. It defied physics. 

        If you don’t know what I mean, go find a clip on YouTube. The ball was short. It hit the rim at such an angle, the ball bounced straight up into the air, crossing the circular net towards the other side. It bounced on the inside of the rim, straight up again. Then it proceeded to tortuously dribble around the red circle, eventually dripping into the twine.

        I screamed. That ball had no right to going in. If Kawhi shot the ball a hundred more times, I doubt he would produce any result remotely close. 

        For those of you who do not follow sports, then in a quick recap, Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors hit the game-winner in a do-or-die game against the Sixers of Philadelphia, my home team. Swallowing the defeat was as hard as swallowing a basketball. Currently, Toronto stands one game away from the NBA Finals, locked in the Eastern Conference Finals with the Milwaukee Bucks. If they manage to pull off a win, it would soothe my pain greatly as it shows the Sixers are not far away from pushing over the hump. 

        It would also greatly anger me. We might have gone to the finals if not for a very, VERY sharp rim bounce. Unfortunately, at least one of the core Sixer’s players will probably leave for another team, which may be a critical setback. 

        However, this post is not to continue to rub salt among Philadelphia natives. It’s more to point out the spectacular emotions that roll through people’s hearts. Imagine a bunch of grown men bouncing a spherical orange leather ball, getting paid millions of dollars. One would think this to be silly, but when simplified down to the basics, all sports sound stupid. 

        Human entertainment often applies to one of the five senses. We listen to music, taste and smell great food, look at art… Where do sports lie? Again, let me dig out some history knowledge from APUSH. During the late 20th century and the dawn of desk jobs, sports grew in popularity due to the need for “manly” activities (you know, because it’s uncivilized to hold stabbing matches now but we pay to see two people punch the snot out of each other). The idea that sports fueled masculinity does hold true: modern popular American sports revolve around men. 

        In ancient Roman civilization, the gladiator games at the Colosseum provided entertainment for the public, but also for a way to suppress riots. The leaders of the empires wanted to keep the populous entertained to avoid outcry. However, in modern society, people aren’t impeaching presidents because the NBA or NFL players go on strike. It still fascinates me, though, to see an entire city cry for a week over a bounce, both Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears (Double Doink) alike.

        Referring back to the power of sports, I really do not have an answer. Perhaps people enjoy supporting their native city or country, but that does not explain the shifting bandwagon fans or casual-going Joe. It also does not explain the burning hatred for Kawhi Leonard I now have or the loathing hatred for fall-away jump shots from the right baseline. 

        Another comparison of sports I’ve heard is that sports are just a man’s drama. I don’t disagree, apart from the growing women fan population, as there are parallels in many dramas and sports news. For crying out loud, when Lebron James became a free agent, the amount of gossip around the country was insane. Perhaps sports, like any good drama, is just there for the imagination, a method of competition like a show that intrigues people. I’ve gotten quite off-topic and this answer most certainly is not satisfying, but I’m no professional in this. I’m just a kid who is still pained by that defining moment.

        Regardless of my emotions, the other 99% of Americans and more watched a fantastic series between the Sixers and Raptors. Finishing this post up, the Raptors actually have beaten the Bucks and moved on to face the Golden State Warriors… who will absolutely send the Raptors back to extinction. Have fun, because I will enjoy watching the greatest team of all-time crush Kawhi’s annoying jump shot.

【紅霞譯文】

        我眼睜睜望着科懷·倫納德的絕殺跳投球彈進籃內，活脫脫顛覆了物理學常理。

        如果你不知道我所說的意思，乾脆到優管里找來一段視頻看看。球在眼前，以恰定的弧度撞到籃圈，徑直彈回空中，再轉悠到圓形籃網的對面，接着鑽進籃圈內側彈了幾下又飛身而出，然後呆在籃筐四周晃來晃去，最終才落入球網。

        我尖聲大叫，誰讓那個賊球得分的，假若之前科懷投進過百八十個倒有情可原，可我懷疑他從未得手成功。

        為照顧那些對體育毫不知情的人，這裡簡單回顧一下這場季後賽的來龍去脈。多倫多猛龍隊的科懷·倫納德在與我家鄉隊―費城76人隊決定勝負的關鍵性比賽中大出風頭，品嘗失敗的滋味如同吞食籃球一樣實在令人難以下咽。目前，多倫多距離美職籃總決賽僅有一場角逐，將與密爾沃基雄鹿隊爭奪東部賽區出線權，一旦他們如願以償，反倒說明76人隊整體水平不差，我心中的憋屈得以緩解許多。

        我依舊憤憤不平，要不是那個刁鑽乖戾的籃圈彈球，恐怕咱早就闖進決賽。悲催的是，76人隊大概至少有一名主力將去別的球隊，可謂損失慘重。

        誠然，書寫這篇雜文不是要給費城當地人再揭傷疤，而是希望激勵人們抒發豪情壯志，試想：一幫腰纏數以百萬年薪的彪形大漢，整天圍着圓形橙色皮球上躥下跳，你肯定覺得滑稽可笑，但說白了，所有運動都聽起來荒誕不經。

        人類的娛樂活動往往迎合了五種感官中一種需要，我們聆聽音樂、品嘗美食、觀賞藝術……體育屬於哪種呢？讓我再從《美國歷史大學預修課程》扒點理論依據吧。廿世紀後期時興寫字樓辦公，人們亟待“猛男”活力（要知道，現在大家雖說對動粗嗤之以鼻，但又樂意花錢觀看打得鼻涕橫飛的比賽），體育塑造陽剛之氣已是不爭的事實：當代盛行的美式體育項目無不以男人為中心。

        縱觀古羅馬文明，鬥獸場上的競技比武不僅提供公眾娛樂，同時也起到平息暴動的功效，帝王將相利用這種尋歡作樂的方式來避免騷亂。然而在當今社會，即使美職籃或美職足球員罷工，群黎百姓也不會彈劾總統。本周以來因為眼見全城老少為彈球一事傷心難過，猶如今年元月費城老鷹隊和芝加哥狗熊隊橄欖球賽場景重現，我禁不住浮想聯翩。

        談到體育威力，我真不知該怎樣描述，也許大家對本地或本國球隊情有獨鍾，但為何有人強追熱捧、有人卻隨遇而安，而我對科懷·倫納德本人難以釋懷，一想起他右側底線的絕殺跳投便火冒三丈。

        早就聽說競技運動的另一個特點就是戲劇性，我認為這跟女性粉絲群體日趨增長無關，娛樂八卦頻出，體育新聞必定火爆。天喲，當勒布朗·詹姆斯變成自由球員之時，舉國上下到處瘋傳各種小道消息，如同任何佳作，或許體育賦予想象力，就像戲劇那樣，它以比賽形式把人的注意力吸引過來。跑題了，如此解答肯定不會令人滿意，反正我又不在行，眼下充其量只算一位尚未走出痛苦深淵的小伙子。

        無論本人心緒如何，想必99%以上的美國佬都看過76人隊和猛龍隊兩隊一系列精彩交鋒。剛寫完博客，正趕上猛龍隊擊敗雄鹿隊晉級迎戰金州勇士隊……他們絕對能把猛龍隊殺得一乾二淨。開心要緊，我終將親眼目睹這支史無前例的球隊阻擋科懷可惡的跳投。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2017: Montreal—City of A Hundred Steeples(加拿大蒙特利爾—百塔之城)

2017: Montreal the City of Saints, Canada(加拿大蒙特利爾—聖人之城)

2012: 維吉尼亞州阿薩蒂格島(Assateague, VA)

Crosslink(相關博文):

10th Grade(高中二年級)