波特蘭之戰(zhàn)

Nick DePaula

Since shoe brands first set foot in the Rose City① over four decades ago， theyve had a close connection to the local pro team and its biggest players. One year after the Portland Trail Blazers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970， University of Oregon grad Phil Knight officially launched the Nike brand in nearby Beaverton.

自從40多年前球鞋品牌第一次在玫瑰城扎根，他們就與當(dāng)?shù)氐穆殬I(yè)球隊以及最大牌球員保持著緊密聯(lián)系。1970年聯(lián)盟擴張時，開拓者加入NBA，一年后，俄勒岡大學(xué)畢業(yè)生菲爾·奈特在附近的比佛頓建立了耐克公司。

By the following NBA season， Nike was on its way to establishing itself in footwear through a series of running models， and Knight pegged the local teams first-ever Draft pick， a scoring wing out of Princeton named Geoff Petrie， as the Swooshs first hoops endorser. The debut hardwood shoe that Petrie headlined for the 1972-73 season？ The aptlytitled Nike Blazer②. As a young startup mostly selling sneakers out the back of Winnebagos across Oregon at running events， the 70s were humble times for Nike. At one point， the brand had fallen some $40，000 behind to Petrie and offered to settle their debt by giving him stock in the company. According to Petrie， he and his agent fought for the cash instead， turning down shares that some have since estimated to be worth tens of millions today.

在接下來的賽季，耐克通過跑鞋，逐漸在運動鞋市場確立了地位。奈特還簽下了本地球隊首位新秀，普林斯頓大學(xué)的得分型前鋒喬福·皮特里。1972-73賽季穿在皮特里腳上完成籃球場首秀的鞋是什么？一雙帶有巨大耐克標志的Blazer球鞋。作為一家新創(chuàng)立、且主要業(yè)務(wù)是在俄勒岡附近的溫內(nèi)貝戈地區(qū)從事跑步活動，銷售跑鞋的公司，上世紀70年代是耐克的蟄伏期。耐克一度拖欠皮特里40000美元，他們提出用公司股份支付債務(wù)的解決方案。據(jù)皮特里說，他和他的經(jīng)紀人堅決要求現(xiàn)金，因此拒絕了現(xiàn)今估值超過千萬美元的股份。

The growing pains of the industrys early days are now long forgotten， as Rip City played host to some of footwears premier stars. From Petrie and fellow early Nike endorser Sidney Wicks， to Bill Waltons Championship-winning adidas Pro Models in the late 70s， both Nike and adidas have long been repped by the Blazers.

這個產(chǎn)業(yè)初期的陣痛如今已成為歷史，而那時，“撕裂之城”是鞋界超級巨星們的家。從皮特里到耐克早期簽約球員西德尼·威克斯，再到上世紀70年代末穿著阿迪達斯Pro Models系列球鞋贏得總冠軍的比爾·沃頓，開拓者一向不缺球鞋品牌代言人。

As the millennium wound down and after some slow years on the footwear front， it was the throwback-inspired Rasheed Wallace and his strap-dangling Air Force 1s that helped put the Blazers back on the KICKS map， while LaMarcus Aldridge has done work in a variety of Nikes since arriving in 06.

隨著新世紀到來，球鞋市場在經(jīng)歷了幾年低迷后，復(fù)古風(fēng)的拉希德·華萊士和他的搭扣版Air Force 1，幫助Blazer系列重新回到了球鞋市場。自從2006年進入聯(lián)盟以來，拉馬庫斯·奧爾德里奇也和耐克有好幾次合作。

The Blazers newest star， PG Damian Lillard， is the latest to carry the shoe torch. Hes gone from little-known Lottery pick to All-Star Weekend headliner in just two years， and he even hosted his own launch event this past spring with adidas Basketball for a special quickstrike of the Crazy 1， all themed around the citys nickname.

開拓者最新出產(chǎn)的球星控衛(wèi)達米恩·利拉德，則是最近一個接過球鞋火炬的人。只用了兩年時間，他就從一個沒名氣的樂透秀成為了全明星周末的熱門人物。甚至在今年春天，他還和阿迪達斯籃球一起舉辦了自己的專屬活動，發(fā)布特別版的“快擊”Crazy 1，活動的主題完全圍繞著波特蘭的城市綽號。

“Portland is the Rose City， and I love the color，” says Lillard. “Its fun to be able to interact with people in the city， because they dont always get the opportunity to meet us and see who we are. To have a shoe thats dedicated to the city and for people to come out and support me the way they do， I feel like I owe it to them to show up and let them see who I am off the floor.”

“波特蘭是玫瑰之城，我很喜歡玫瑰?！崩卤硎?，“能跟城市里的人們互動很有趣，因為他們不是總有機會見到我們，看到真實的我們。能有一雙向城市致敬的鞋，能看到人們這樣支持我，我覺得這是我欠球迷的，我必須來到這里，讓他們看到我在場下的樣子?！?/p>

Dame may be headed toward joining the long line of NBA greats to call Portland home， but hes also eager to put people onto the Three Stripes. “Representing adidas in Portland is a lot of fun，” beams Lillard， who is just as excited about the Blazers bright future in the wake of a shockingly successful 54-win， second-round-of-the-Playoffs season. “Ive come along as a player and contributed to our success as an organization the last two seasons， and its helped me shine some light on adidas.”

利拉德也許會成為，將波特蘭視為家鄉(xiāng)的眾多NBA巨星中的一個，不過他也希望人們喜歡阿迪達斯?！霸诓ㄌ靥m成為阿迪達斯的代表很有意思?！崩滦Φ?，在令人震驚地打出54勝的常規(guī)賽戰(zhàn)績、并打進季后賽第二輪后，開拓者光明的前景同樣讓他很是興奮，“過去兩個賽季，我取得了進步，也為球隊取得成功做出了貢獻，這也幫助我為阿迪達斯爭了光?！?/p>

Nike was the first major footwear brand to call Portland home， but companies have been flocking west since the early 90s， notably because of the hotbed of design talent， the states lax tax laws and the （relatively） short flying proximity to factories in Asia. After kickstarting their own Portland headquarters in 1990 with the hiring of former Nike marketing execs Rob Strasser and Peter Moore， adidas has based their North American design and marketing operations in the Northeast region of the city for the past 24 years.

耐克是第一家將波特蘭定為總部的主要運動鞋品牌，不過從上世紀90年代早期開始，各大公司開始集聚到西部，這主要是因為那里有大量設(shè)計人才，相對寬松的州稅，以及距離亞洲生產(chǎn)廠更近的飛行距離。1990年，阿迪達斯聘請前耐克市場運營管理羅伯·斯特拉瑟和彼得·摩爾，在波特蘭設(shè)立了自己的總部，在過去24年里，阿迪達斯將自己的北美設(shè)計和營銷部門扎根在了波特蘭的東北地區(qū)。

Soon after， several brands followed suit. AND 1， then based in Philadelphia， launched its own design and development satellite office in downtown Portland for a decade-long stay that began in the late 90s. Li-Ning， one of Chinas premier sportswear brands boasting nearly 8，000 retail stores of their own in Asia and a sprawling Beijing-based corporate campus， also launched a design space in Portland in 2008 to service its NBA athletes， like Baron Davis and， eventually， Dwyane Wade. More recently， Baltimore-based Under Armour opened its own Portland innovation center， picking off longtime footwear vets to lead new materials and construction methods.

沒過多久，這一做法得到了其他品牌的效仿。AND 1總部原本在費城，上世紀90年代末，他們在波特蘭市中心開設(shè)了設(shè)計和發(fā)展分部，而且一待就是10年。作為中國頂級的體育用品品牌之一，李寧在全亞洲共有近8000家零售店，在北京還有一個大型公司總部，2008年，李寧也在波特蘭開設(shè)了設(shè)計分部，用以服務(wù)簽約品牌的球員，比如拜倫·戴維斯，以及現(xiàn)在的德韋恩·韋德。最近，總部在巴爾的摩的Under Armour在波特蘭開設(shè)了創(chuàng)新中心，希望通過領(lǐng)先的新材料和構(gòu)造設(shè)計對抗老牌運動品牌。

“Portland is an interesting and diverse city that has great art exhibits， nature all around， extreme sports， and a music and design scene，” says Marc Dolce， Nike Sportswears Design Director. “The city is all about connecting creatives， bright minds and people looking to do things different.”

“波特蘭是個有趣而多元化的城市，有著高水平的藝術(shù)展，到處都有自然風(fēng)光，有極限運動，還有音樂和設(shè)計原色?！蹦涂诉\動設(shè)計主管馬克·多爾西表示，“這座城市強調(diào)的就是創(chuàng)意、智慧和尋求改變的人聯(lián)系在一起?！?/p>

One of the major benefits of having so many brands centrally located in the city is undoubtedly the impact that current Blazers and visiting NBA players alike can have on future product. Brands generally meet quarterly with their biggest out-of-town endorsers， while Nike and adidas also take advantage of close relationships with Blazers just a short drive away. “It helps a lot having the HQ here， because I can be more hands on with everything Im involved with，” admits Lillard. “What shoes I wear， the colorways and patterns， and also to shop at the adidas store.”

這么多品牌將總部設(shè)在這座城市，一個主要的獲益，就是現(xiàn)役的開拓者球員和到訪的其他NBA球員能夠?qū)ξ磥淼漠a(chǎn)品施加影響力。各品牌一般一個季度就會在波特蘭同重要的簽約球員進行會面，耐克和阿迪達斯更是利用距離上的優(yōu)勢，和離總部不遠的開拓者隊建立了良好的關(guān)系?！翱偛吭谶@里確實有很大幫助，我因此可以參與到任何與我有關(guān)的產(chǎn)品設(shè)計?！崩卤硎?，“我要穿什么樣的鞋，什么配色和樣式，我還可以到阿迪達斯的商店里購物。”

The citys hoopers are at the unfortunate mercy of rain， which falls throughout the year， leaving the summer months of June， July and August as the best time to try and get consistent outdoor runs in. Even then， the weekend can still be rained out at a moments notice.

無情的大雨總是給這座城市的籃球手們帶來麻煩，波特蘭一年四季都會下雨，只在夏天的六七八月才有連續(xù)在室外打球的機會?？删退阍谀侨齻€月里，周末時不時也會出現(xiàn)大雨傾盆的狀況。

Wallace Park holds down games in the Northwest on weekends， and both Irving Park and Woodlawn Park in the Northeast historically have served as proving grounds for the areas best. Around town， the games have come and gone over the years， with the citys best young players opting for gyms and the AAU circuit instead.

西北部的華萊士公園會在周末舉辦比賽，東北部的歐文公園和伍德勞恩公園則是當(dāng)?shù)刈詈玫膱龅?。在整個波特蘭地區(qū)，過去這些年斷斷續(xù)續(xù)也會舉辦一些比賽，而全市最優(yōu)秀的年輕球員一般選擇在體育館或AAU聯(lián)賽里打球。

“Irvington Park was definitely a hotbed for the talent back in the day， and playing at the parks， thats where you learn to get an edge in playing basketball. You learn how to be competitive at the parks，” says Strickland. “If you can shoot at the parks， then youre going to be shooting a high percentage in the gym. Thats a lost art these days with the kids not really playing at the parks anymore， though.”

“過去歐文公園絕對是誕生天才球員的溫床，在公園打球，你在那里能學(xué)到最好的籃球技術(shù)。你學(xué)會了如何在公園成為有競爭力的人?！彼固乩锟颂m德說，“如果你在公園里能投籃，那你在體育館里打球就會有很高的命中率。現(xiàn)在的孩子不太去那里打球了，這已經(jīng)成了一種消失的藝術(shù)?！?/p>

“You may not find the culture and fashion that youll see in New York， L.A.， Paris or Milan， but in many cases， were not chasing trends， were looking to create them，” Dolce says. “Its about leading the industry and trying to define the next innovations for both sport and life， and Portland is at the heart of influencing that.”

“也許你找不到紐約、洛杉磯、巴黎或者米蘭那樣的文化和時尚，但很多情況下，我們不是在追逐潮流，我們想的是創(chuàng)造潮流。”多爾西說，“重要的是引領(lǐng)整個產(chǎn)業(yè)，力圖為體育和生活定義下一代創(chuàng)新，而波特蘭就處于這樣影響力的心臟地帶?！?/p>