[轉錄][外電] Rip Hamilton never walks alone …

看板KobeBryant作者quiff (酒吞童子)時間19年前 (2006/06/12 21:09)推噓4(4推 0噓 0→)

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※ [本文轉錄自 Pistons 看板] 作者: kerrys (台北不是我的家) 看板: Pistons 標題: [外電] Rip Hamilton never walks alone (三) 時間: Sun Jun 11 19:56:16 2006 原文出處： http://0rz.net/121rP -- Detroit, Feb. 10 二月十日，底特律 Coatestville, Pennsylvania is 28 miles and a world away from the immaculate yards that lie like giant green floor mats beside the upscale homes of Philadelphia's Main Line, the tree-lined streets where Kobe Bryant lived during his high school days with his mother, father, and two sisters. Up and down the Main Line, daddy's little girls steer their BMW 325s with the kind of entitlement that doesn't require them to use turn signals or throw you a "sorry " wave after they cut you off. But basketball is the great equalizer across the state of Pennsylvania. You can't shut off the baseline with your zip code. You can't raise your field goal percentage by changing the address on your birth certificate. 賓州的費城大道是一個家家戶戶都擁有純淨無暇，如同深綠色地毯覆蓋的庭院所環繞的高級住宅區，Kobe就讀高中時就與雙親及兩個姊妹就住在這林蔭大道，而科特斯維爾則是距此約28哩外一個截然不同的世界。沿著費城大道，你處處都可以看到父親的寶貝女兒們駕著他們的寶馬325s疾駛而過，他們似乎擁有不需使用方向燈的特權或他們在讓你緊急煞車後也只需要拋出一句"My bad"。然而橫越整個賓州，籃球之前，人人平等。底線的範圍並不會因為你居住的地方不同而改變，而你也沒辦法藉由改寫出生證明上的地址而提高你的投籃命中率。 Kids from Coatesville work hard. They know the value of an honest day's pay. They learn it by watching their parents shuttle back and forth with their lunch buckets from the local steel mills. Not far from the middle class development of Brandywine Homes, where Rip Hamilton was raised by his parents, Richard Sr. and Pamela Long, there are two slabs of asphalt and, rising out of the ground, steel poles with chain link nets on rusty old hoops that always present a hazard to fastbreakers. Here in Ash Park, reps are made and destroyed, depending on whether or not you brought your A-game. The well-worn courts sit in a small valley surrounded by steep grassy hills like a workaday Coliseum. The fact that Rip and his boys had to pass the Oak Street projects to get to the park was just extra incentive to bring it. 來自科特斯維爾的孩子們總是認真工作，因為他們從終日帶著午餐盒穿梭往返於當地鋼鐵廠工作的父母親身上學會了"要怎麼收穫，先那麼栽"的道理。就在中產階級 Brandywine式房屋住宅區外不遠處，RIP由他的父母親老RIP及P.Long撫養長大。那裡有個超克難籃球場，籃球架由瀝青混和碎石製成的籃板、鋼柱、鐵鍊材質的籃網以及已經鏽蝕的籃圈所組成，那是一些街頭籃球員嶄露頭角的地方。在Ash運動公園，每天都有新的英雄與狗熊產生，那全都取決於你在球場上的表現。這陳舊的球場位於由長滿草的險峻小丘所環繞的小凹地上，就像一個簡陋的羅馬競技場。事實上RIP和他的哥兒們必須通過橡樹街的國民住宅區才能到達運動公園，但那反而成了他們願意翻山越嶺去打球的一個額外動機。 Hamilton earned respect from the project ballers by wearing them out. Because you can't beat what you can't catch, he never stopped moving. "He's always been that way," says cousin and one-time teammate Jontue Long. "The way his heart, lungs, and breathing work, it's a gift." RIP在球場上的表現贏得了那些住在國民住宅的球友的尊敬。因為當你沒辦法打敗一個你追不上的人，他從不停止移動。RIP的表弟兼前隊友J.Long說"他總是這樣打球，他的心肺功能和呼吸系統簡直可說是上天的恩賜。" One of the first people to discover that gift was Kobe Bryant, who played with Hamilton on a Philadelphia-area AAU team in the summer of 1995. Tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Kobe's Lakers will square off with Rip's Pistons in a rematch of the 2004 NBA Finals, which the Pistons won in five games to claim Detroit's first title in 14 years. Only this time, there will be no Shaq. No Phil Jackson. And no Kobe. As the Pistons race out to a 23-4 lead, Kobe watches the slaughter unfold from his seat behind the bench. Wearing a brown corduroy blazer and a pink dress shirt, he tugs nervously at the knees of his pricey pre-faded designer jeans as Rasheed Wallace forces Lamar Odom into a turnover resulting in a Hamilton dunk. Of the 12 men on the Lakers' active roster, only Luke Walton, Brian Cook, and Slava Medvedenko played on last year's Western Conference Championship team. The Pistons are the sole marquee attraction on this night, leading from tip to buzzer in a 103-81 romp. Four starters score in double figures, with Tayshaun Prince leading the way with 25 points. As the Pistons run away with the game, Kobe stares at the ground. His image is broadcast on the Jumbotron and the crowd begins to boo. He doesn't bother to look up. He's the most hated man in the NBA right now. Not in a love-to-hate kind of way. More like a despised kind of way. Like you-thought-you-were-the-s ----the-way-you-looked-down-at-us-with-your-straight-from-high-school-Main-Line -nose-in-the-air-for-so-many-years-but-look-at-you- now sort of thing. 第一個發現RIP能力的是曾在'95年暑假和他一起為費城區AAU隊效命的Kobe。今晚在奧本山宮殿，Kobe將帶領湖人捲土重來，繼'04年總冠軍賽激戰五場後敗北送給活塞睽違十四年的冠軍盃後再度登門挑戰RIP以及活塞隊。只不過這一次，湖人陣中沒有大歐坐鎮禁區，也沒有禪師運籌帷幄，但更糟的是，Kobe這場比賽沒辦法上場。一開賽活塞很快拉出一波 23比4的小高潮，但Kobe枯坐在板凳席上看著場上演出的大屠殺。身穿棕色燈芯絨褲和粉紅色上衣的Kobe在溪蛙迫使L.Odom發生失誤導致RIP快攻灌籃時手只能在雙膝部位用力拉著他設計過的刷白牛仔褲。湖人登錄可上場名單中的12名球員，只有L.Walton、B.Cook和S. Medvedenko是去年他們拿到西區冠軍時的成員。活塞是今晚的唯一主角，從比賽開始一路領先到比賽結束，最終以103比81輕鬆獲勝。四名先發球員得分都達到雙位數，其中小王子拿到全場最高的25分。當活塞大軍輕易贏得比賽，Kobe只能怔怔地看著地上發呆。當他的影像在球場中央的大螢幕上播放，群眾開始發出了輕蔑的噓聲，但他並未受到影響而往上看。他現在是全NBA最被大家討厭的人，不是讓人又愛又恨那一種，而更像是輕視這一個人。從Kobe在費城大道念高中到現在加入NBA這幾年來，他一直自視甚高，看待別人的方式總像是由上往下，睥睨眾人，但現在情況就像是完全反了過來。 People love to pile on Kobe Bryant. Probably because it once seemed like Kobe had everything. Looks. Money. Game. Raging sense of entitlement. And he knew it . Never really rubbed it in your face, but you could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. He knew it. Knew you knew it. And that was a little infuriating for most people. Reporters and players and league officials and shoe reps from adidas regularly talked behind his back. They shut up when he walked by. No one wanted to get on his bad side. 人們對於Kobe總愛群起而功之，也許是因為Kobe曾經像是要什麼就有什麼的天之驕子，不管是外表、金錢、球技或是眾人渴望獲得的獎項，都像是垂手可得。他自己知道，不需一再強調，但你就是能從他的眼神中或從他的聲音中得知。他自己知道，也知道你們大家都知道，而他的際遇或多或少也讓大部分的人眼紅。記者、球員、裁判和愛迪達鞋商總愛在Kobe背後說他的壞話，然後當Kobe走過時就馬上閉上嘴吧，因為沒有人希望成為他的眼中釘。 Shaq -- the world's greatest living center -- refused to tiptoe around Kobe and he got shipped off to Miami. So how could Kobe's current teammates front like they had no worries? "Some people just stayed out of his way," a former Laker told me. "It was easier. Most of the time he kept to himself, but he was watching you. Watching the way you practiced like he was Jordan or some shit. You couldn't argue with it because you weren't going to win that argument. Everybody upstairs loved Kobe. Even the ones that didn't acted like they did." 世界上現役球員中最偉大的中鋒球員大歐拒絕再與Kobe共事，他選擇到邁阿密幫助小老弟典韋爭取他生涯的第一枚冠軍戒指，那現在還留在湖人和Kobe當隊友的球員面對現今世界第一中鋒出走的情形難道不會感到焦慮？一名前湖人球員告訴我"很多人都不喜歡大歐，他離隊對於他們反而是件好事。大部分的時候他都不與人往來，不過他會在一旁看著你，就像MJ大神或其他大佬一樣地看著你練習的方式。你沒辦法和他爭辯，因為你根本贏不了他的伶牙俐嘴。雖然有些人沒有表現出來，不過隊上的每一個人都喜歡Kobe。" These days, Kobe's bad side is not so treacherous. Although the Colorado thing is behind him, he can't flex his muscle like he once did. He's human now and everyone knows it. The only way he's getting back on top is to win people over. That's what any smart person in Kobe's position would be thinking and Kobe Bryant is a smart person. He needs friends in a way he never has before. He has at least one. 如今Kobe如日中天的聲勢已不再，儘管科羅拉多性侵案已告一段落，但他已經不是過去那個能呼風喚雨的小飛霞了。他現在只是個凡人，而每個人也都知道這情形。他想要再次成為過去那個籃球金童的方法只有一個，那就是力退群敵，再次拿下總冠軍。那是任何一個支持Kobe的聰明人都會給的建議，而Kobe自己也是個聰明人。雖然他以前總是獨來獨往，不過此刻他需要朋友，而他至少還擁有一個。 The final buzzer sounds and Kobe wades through the flood of players, coaches, ballboys, and security personnel to find Rip Hamilton, coming toward him, unhitching the Velcro straps on his protective facemask. The two embrace for a long time, patting each other on the back, whispering congratulations and what's ups. They step back, exchanging toothy grins, Hamilton's left hand on Kobe's shoulder, Kobe's on the back of Hamilton's head. Never have I seen Kobe so at ease, so openly friendly with an opponent. More shocking still is to see someone else so relaxed around him. Players from other teams are reluctant to fraternize with Kobe, largely because they assume he has no interest in friends . But Kobe wants to shed the loner tag, to be one of the guys. He wants to laugh and joke with his colleagues around the league. For him, though, it's not that simple. 象徵比賽結束的蜂鳴器聲醒起，Kobe就像是涉水而過，橫越球員、教練、球童和個人安全隨護，尋找RIP的身影，他走到RIP面前，把RIP防護面罩的尼龍帶子解開。他們兩個擁抱了很長一段時間，輕拍彼此的背，在彼此的耳邊輕聲互道恭喜並問候彼此的近況。他們往後退了一步，露齒而笑。RIP的左手放在Kobe的肩上，而Kobe的手放在RIP的後腦杓。我從未看過Kobe對敵人露出這樣輕鬆坦然、友好親切的神情，然而更讓我驚訝的還是看到竟然有人可以在他身邊顯得這樣放鬆。其他隊的球員總不樂意和Kobe結有深交，很大一部分是因為他們都假設Kobe不喜歡結交朋友。但Kobe想擺脫這個喜愛孤獨的標籤，他想和其他人打成一片，想和聯盟裡的朋友們一起打鬧、開玩笑。儘管那對他來說，並不是件容易的事。 Except with Hamilton. With Hamilton, it's easy. 但RIP除外，對RIP來說，這很簡單。 Beatwriters who follow Kobe struggle to name players he counts as friends. They recall attempts to socialize with his teammates outside the walls of the Staples Center or the Lakers practice facility, but scarcely know of anyone who's been to his home. He simply lives too far away. 跟隨著Kobe的專欄作家很難說出Kobe會將球員當成他的朋友之類的話，他們憶起和他的隊友在湖人主場Staples中心或練習場外的交談，但幾乎沒聽說過有哪個人去過Kobe的家。或許那只是因為他家距離太遠了？ Hamilton is the right fit for Kobe. His sunny disposition makes it easy for Kobe to be himself, even if he doesn't yet know who that is. Kobe trusts him, refuses to judge him. They have a history. RIP正適合當Kobe的好朋友，他如同太陽般的稟性讓Kobe可以很容易做他自己，儘管 Kobe還不知道他自己到底是誰。Kobe相信他，拒絕懷疑他，因為他們曾擁有共同的回憶。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 210.241.111.124 ※ 編輯: kerrys 來自: 222.250.47.10 (06/11 22:30)