[外電] Welcome, The King Of Israel（上）

看板Kings (沙加緬度國王)作者santabrelai時間16年前 (2009/12/22 19:13)推噓6(6推 0噓 6→)

留言12則, 7人參與討論串1/1

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1164016/1/index.htm Rabbi Reuven Taff took 21 members of his congregation to Israel this summer and made sure they saw all the historic landmarks most sacred to Jews from Sacramento: the Western Wall, the Golan Heights, Old Jaffa, Masada, the Dead Sea, the Holocaust Memorial at Yad Vashem and, of course, the childhood home of Kings rookie Omri Casspi. On a 10-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land, that had to be their first stop. 今年夏天，拉比Reuven Taff 帶了二十一位他的教眾由沙加緬度前往以色列，他們去了幾乎每一個猶太聖地：哭牆、戈蘭高地、約帕、馬薩達、死海，還有以色列猶太大屠殺紀念館。而他們還去了一個地方，國王新秀Omri Casspi 的家。其實在十天的聖地之旅中，這是他們的第一站。 They flew into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, changed into fresh purple-and-black garb and hopped a bus straight to the suburb of Yavne, once known as the first settlement after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., now known as the first town in Israel to produce an NBA player. The congregation could identify the hallowed house by all the bouquets of flowers on the sidewalk, left by neighbors and fans after Casspi, a 6'9" forward, had been taken by Sacramento two weeks earlier with the 23rd pick in the draft. 他們先飛抵台拉維夫的Ben Gurion機場，在換上了紫黑色的傳統服裝後，跳上巴士直抵Yavne 郊區。這個地區之前曾是猶太人大流亡後的第一個安居點，而現在出現了第一位以色列的NBA 球員。人行道上擺滿的鮮花，代表了人們的祝賀，因為Casspi這位六呎九吋的前鋒，在兩週前被國王以23順位選進。 The visitors were greeted at the front door by Casspi's parents, Shimon and Ilana, and led to the backyard, where they feasted on bourekas and wine. After many mazel tovs and l'chaims, it was time to reboard the bus and head back to Tel Aviv, but Shimon would not let the rabbi go. "He came running up to me, and there were tears in his eyes," Taff says. "He was carrying two Israeli flags in his hands, and he told me to take them." Shimon explained that he had bought the flags when Omri was 14 and waved them at every international game his son had played. "I want you to promise me," Shimon told Taff, "that these two flags will be at every game Omri plays in Sacramento." 來訪者在門前受到Casspi雙親Shimon及Ilana 的熱烈歡迎，他們領著賓客到達後院，以酒和點心給了客人們一道盛宴。在經過一連串的恭喜聲後，是時候搭上巴士返回台拉維夫了，但Shimon不讓拉比走。「他跑向我，眼中帶著淚光，他交給我兩隻以色列國旗，要求我把他拿好。」Shimon打從Omri十四歲起，就會在他打的每一場國際賽為兒子揮舞國旗。「我希望你承諾我一件事，讓每場Omri在沙加緬度的比賽，都能看到這兩隻國旗。」這是一位父親的要求。（Mazel tov：恭喜 l'chaim：to life） The request didn't come at the best time for the rabbi: He no longer had his season tickets. So on Rosh Hashanah, Taff walked down from the pulpit, carrying a wireless microphone in one hand and the flags in the other, and outlined the challenge that Shimon Casspi had put to him two months earlier. Even if the Kings were in last place, even if Omri Casspi never got off the bench, at least one member of the Mosaic Law Congregation had to attend every game at Arco Arena—and to stop by the synagogue first to fetch the flags. 這個任務對Taff來說其實是件難事，因為他沒有再買季票。在猶太新年時，Taff走下講道壇，一手持著手機，一手拿著國旗，盤算著如何實現Shimon兩個月前交給他的任務。不管任何情況，即使國王墊底，即使Casspi場場坐板凳，至少一位教會的成員會出現在球場，為Casspi展開那面旗幟。（Rosh Hashanah：猶太新年，約在九月前後） The congregation has responded, and so has Casspi. He doesn't start and isn't even Sacramento's best rookie (see high-scoring combo guard Tyreke Evans), but at week's end he was averaging 11.0 points on 52.5% shooting and 4.0 rebounds, contributing 23.8 strong minutes per game on a 10--12 team that has exceeded expectations. Beyond that, Casspi is making an impact on the NBA in more original ways—debating Kobe versus LeBron in Hebrew, eating foods prepared by a kosher cook, wearing number 18 because it is the Jewish symbol for life and playing with what he calls "the Israeli spirit," which manifests itself in floor burns and busted lips. "He can piss some people off," says Kings swingman Francisco Garcia, "and I love that about him." 有了教會的支持，Casspi也做出了回應。他沒有先發，也不是國王的最佳新秀（因為 Tyreke更猛），但他以五成二五的命中率拿下十一分，還有四個籃板，每場為這隻球隊貢獻23.8分鐘的時間，接下來搞不好還會更久。除此之外，Casspi真的對NBA 造成了些衝擊，他會用希伯來文辯論Kobe與LeBron的對戰，吃符合猶太教規的食物。他穿十八號是因為這個數字在猶太人中象徵著生命，而他更以自稱「以色列魂」的方式在場上打球，絕不害怕失怕與挫折。「他會電掉不少人，而我真的很愛他這點。」Francisco Garcia說。 Casspi is a spindly 225 pounds, with a black beard that covers his sunken cheekbones and a toughness that belies his frame. He can defend everyone from point guards (he hounded the Bulls' Derrick Rose) to centers (he begged to cover the Suns' Amar'e Stoudemire). Each steal or tip-in provokes a swell of national pride within him. "Every time he scores," says Kings assistant G.M. Jason Levien, "it's as though he's wrapped in the Israeli flag." 他的身材並不壯碩，只有225 磅，在削瘦的臉龐上，蓋著濃密的山羊鬍，同時也有一顆強硬的心躺在他的身體裡。他可以由控球（對公牛守Rose）守到中鋒（在對上太陽時，他向教練要求守Stoudemire）。每次抄截或點進球都如同在表現著國家的榮譽。「每次他得分時，就像在揮舞國旗一般。」國王助理GM Jason Levien 說。 Like most NBA players, Casspi grew up watching Michael Jordan—only he had to wake up at 4 a.m. to do it. At 17 he signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the best team in Israel and one of the best in Europe, but a year later he was drafted into the army. Every able-bodied 18-year-old Israeli must serve three years in the Israel Defense Forces, a rule that derails most promising athletic careers. But Casspi was among a handful of basketball players chosen by the IDF's sports committee as an "outstanding athlete," meaning he would stay with Maccabi and be sheltered like an elite American college recruit. Although he went to basic training and learned to shoot a gun, he only had to report to the base in Tel Aviv twice a week, and then he wore a sweat suit instead of a uniform. While his older brother, Eitan—a standout point guard in high school—was a paratrooper jumping out of planes in the middle of the night, Casspi was sorting paperwork and refereeing officer basketball games, a soldier in name only. Basketball kept him safe, but it also kept him separate, and even though he was grateful for the arrangement, there were times he felt a little guilty. 就像很多NBA 球員一樣，Casspi小時候也是看MJ長大，只是他得在早上四點起床看轉播。十七歲時，他和以色列最佳球隊Maccabi Tel Aviv簽約，同時也是隻歐陸強權，但一年後他就被陸軍徵召。在以色列凡是十八歲、身體健康的人就要為軍隊服役三年，這個規定讓很多運動員的生涯受到困擾。但Casspi是國家中少數被IDF 運動協會認可的傑出運動員，這代表他可以留在Maccabi ，或是前往美國打NCAA。雖然最後他還是受了基礎軍事訓練，也扛過了槍。但接下來他只要在每兩週向軍營進行報到手續，就可以回家換上便服。他的哥哥Eitan 在高中也是個不錯的控球，但他當了三年的傘兵。Casspi只要經過一些紙上作業便可以專心在他的比賽上。籃球給了他安全，但也讓他有些疏離感，即使他很感激這個安排，心中卻覺得有罪惡感。 "In Israel, being in the army is a special experience, and my friends will take it with them their whole lives," Casspi says. "I didn't have that experience. I didn't really do anything in the army. But right now, I am trying to serve my country in another way." 「在以色列，當兵是個特殊的經驗，我的朋友都進去從軍了。而我卻沒辦法擁有這個回憶。我並沒有為軍隊做到什麼事情，但我會試著為我的國家在其他地方效力。」Casspi 說。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 125.224.128.151