2016-04-05

【Aiden in English】

        Why Madness?

        Well, it’s March, a month of grueling fire for your favorite team, the passionate fan for the underdog, the ice stabbing at the heart after defeat.

        And the fierce competition for bragging rights among friends regarding the best bracket? Oh.

        So that’s why it’s called March Madness.

        ……

        At the moment I completed my bracket of NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship and had no idea that it would be so close, yet so far, from being amazing. Yeah, I had Oklahoma Sooners going the distance, and call me what you want, it seemed right at the time. Then again, a lot of things had seemed right at the time, like the really good Miami Hurricanes that were going to beat Villanova Wildcats. Totally going to happen… And also that Michigan State Spartans were totally going to make it through the first weekend. Oh, and Syracuse Orange probably wasn’t going to see April 2nd in their tournament schedule.

        March Madness is really the best sporting event ever.

        If you didn’t catch the sarcasm, well, I was sarcastic. Besides, each sports fan painfully knows how the Villanova won the title, beating the Miami, crushing Oklahoma, and then seized the North Carolina Tar Heels, pushing aside the Kansas Jayhawks on the way. They also might understand how the Michigan State lost to the no-one-knew-but-now-they-know team of the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. Plus the fact that the Mid-West was basically trashed when the Syracuse arrived headfirst into the Final Four, squeezing into a spot where everyone put a large Virginia Cavaliers on their brackets. Yeah, you know what I mean, bracketologists.

        It’s absolutely tough to go against a team in which there is a ninety-nine point nine percent chance of seeing a die-hard fan of that team every five minutes. To start, Villanova is local. And they’re in the Final Four, which means there are a lot of crazy people walking around town outside Philadelphia with their faces painted blue and white, wearing the V of Destiny. It also means I get beat up for calling people bandwagons.

        The finals were Madness, but I’m pretty sure everyone watched the game even after midnight. Well, not me, since you know, Chinese mom… math test the next day… yeah. The news around the school and the internet got me caught up on the game and the game-winning shot anyway. My bracket was half decent since all my Final Four teams were in the Elite Eight. However, March brings a lot of ripping paper and frustrated fans, along with the feeling of Madness.

【红霞译文】

        何谓“疯狂”？

        本年度进入三月以来，你玩命为自己热衷的球队摇旗呐喊，热情为弱旅鸟队加油打气，深切为痛失比赛伤心苦恼。

        而激烈竞争保不齐成为朋友之间调侃最佳对阵组合的聊天素材？了不得嘞。

        这正是为什么称之为“疯狂三月”。

        ……

        比赛当头，我已排好全美大学体育协会篮球锦标赛男队对阵格局，万万想不到竟然猜得八九不离十，可以说截止到目前为止，眼光相当靠谱。是的，我赌俄克拉何马大学捷足者队名落孙山，随你怎么捭阖，反正这场球赛恰巧没出我意料之外。下面一连串的赛事令我拍手称快，譬如一向叫好并曾经打败过维拉诺瓦大学野猫队的迈阿密大学旋风队误失机缘，风水轮流转……还有密歇根州立大学斯巴达人队勇闯第一个周末大关。呃，雪城大学橘子人队恐怕要去除四月二号那一天任何赛程。

        “疯狂三月”堪称最佳体育盛会。

        对了，如果你不擅长开玩笑，那么千万别介意我上述所说的话。再者，每位体育爱好者无不纠结万分，维拉诺瓦野猫队过五关斩六将，先绝杀堪萨斯松鸦鹰队，又战胜迈阿密队旋风队，再淘汰俄克拉何马捷足者队，接着击垮北卡罗莱纳大学焦油踵队，最后才摘取桂冠。大家也许看清密歇根州立斯巴达人队是怎样输给一个过去名不见经传而今朝却蜚声体坛的中田纳西州州立大学蓝色突击队的，“三十年河东三十年河西”。不仅如此，当雪城橘子人队将备受瞩目的弗吉尼亚大学骑兵队扫地出门并率先进入四强的时候，中西部赛区基本上大局已定。没错，身为对阵专家的你领悟我指的意思。

        球员们熟知身后跟有一位死磕铁杆，每隔五分钟便跑来瞄上一眼战绩，欲求打赢这样一支后盾坚实的队伍该有多难呵。最初，维拉诺瓦野猫队仅受当地人追捧；如今，他们闯进四强，也就意味着费城郊外乡间小镇突然来了许多热血沸腾的球迷，他们满脸涂盖兰、白两种颜色，身穿象征胜利的“维”（拉诺瓦）字球衣，而我同时深受这些跟屁虫无端纷扰。

        决赛本身就是“疯狂”，即使夜半三更，想必人人都在观看比赛，但我却不在其中，要知道中国妈妈……况且明天还有数学考试……结果可想而知。翌日，消息传遍学校内外，我一头栽进网络视频看个痛快，依然触目惊心。我猜中了一半球队，因为四强全部进入我所挑选的精英八强之列。然而，三月让废纸遍地成灾，令球迷情绪波动，叫“疯狂”随意蔓延。