美麗的運(yùn)動(dòng)——足球?yàn)楹文茱L(fēng)靡世界\t

There are many beautiful things about being an American fan of men's World Cup soccer—foremost among them is ignorance. The community in which you were raised did not gather around the television set every four years for a solid， breathless month. Your country has never won. You can pick whatever team you like best and root for1) it without shame or fear of reprisal2). You have not been indoctrinated3) into unwanted-yet-inescapable tribal allegiances4) by your soccer-crazed countrymen. You are an amateur， in the purest sense of the word. So with the World Cup taking place this month in Germany—and the World Cup is the only truly international sporting event on the planet (no， the Olympics， with their overwhelming clutter of boutique5) athletics， do not matter in the same way)—you can expect to spend the month in paradise.

That's what I do. The world of the World Cup is the one I want to live in. I cannot resist its United Nations–like pageantry6) and high-mindedness， the apolitical7) display of national characteristics， the revelation of deep human flaws8) and unexpected greatnesses， the fact that entire nations walk off the job or wake up at 3 a.m. to watch men kick a ball. There are countries that have truly multiracial squads9)—France， England， and the United States—while other teams are entirely blond or Asian or Latin American. A Slovakian tire salesman， an Italian cop10)， or a German concert pianist—having passed the official fitness tests—will moonlight11) as referee. There are irritating fans: \"U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!\" (Blessedly few.) There are children who hold hands with each player as he walks onto the field. National anthems play. Men paint themselves their national colors and cry openly at defeat. An announcer shouts \"GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL! GOL， GOL， GOL!\" on the Spanish-language channel you're watching. (It's often the only way you can see the game live.) There are two back-to-back 45-minute segments12) without commercials. To quote the book every traveling athlete finds in his hotel room: \"Rejoice， and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.\" Or， as my copy of Soccer and Its Rules says: \"Are you ready? Ready to cheer the players to victory， marvel at their fitness， speed， and skills， urging them to win every tackle13) for the ball， ready to explode at a powerful shot? Ready for the excitement of flying wingers， overlapping backs， curling corners， slick one-two passing and goals scored with panache14)? Ready for another moment in a fantasy world?\"作為一個(gè)男子足球世界杯的美國(guó)球迷有很多美好之處，其中居于首位的就是無(wú)知。在你長(zhǎng)大的社區(qū)里，大家不會(huì)每隔四年就圍聚在電視機(jī)前一起度過(guò)不眠不休的、扣人心弦的一個(gè)月。你的國(guó)家還從來(lái)沒(méi)有贏過(guò)，你可以挑選你最喜歡的任何球隊(duì)，為他們鼓勁喝彩而無(wú)須感到羞愧或擔(dān)心被報(bào)復(fù)。你沒(méi)有被愛(ài)球成癡的同胞灌輸過(guò)討厭的但又無(wú)法逃避的種族忠誠(chéng)思想。用最純粹的話來(lái)說(shuō)，你是個(gè)業(yè)余愛(ài)好者。所以，當(dāng)世界杯這個(gè)月在德國(guó)舉行時(shí)(編注：本文發(fā)表于2006年6月)——世界杯是地球上唯一真正的國(guó)際體育賽事(不，奧運(yùn)會(huì)因各種小規(guī)模的精品運(yùn)動(dòng)項(xiàng)目而雜亂不堪，與世界杯的意義不同)——你可以期待自己這一個(gè)月將會(huì)在天堂度過(guò)。

那正是我所做的。我想住在世界杯的世界。它那仿若聯(lián)合國(guó)一樣的盛大場(chǎng)景、崇高品格、對(duì)民族特征無(wú)政治色彩的展現(xiàn)、對(duì)人類(lèi)深層的缺陷及出人預(yù)料的偉大之處的揭示，以及整個(gè)國(guó)家的人都翹班或者凌晨3點(diǎn)起床看一群男人踢球的事實(shí)，我都無(wú)法抵抗。這里有許多擁有真正多種族球隊(duì)的國(guó)家，如法國(guó)、英國(guó)還有美國(guó)；而其他球隊(duì)全部都是金發(fā)碧眼的白種人或亞洲人或拉丁美洲人。一個(gè)斯洛伐克輪胎銷(xiāo)售商、一個(gè)意大利警察或者一個(gè)德國(guó)音樂(lè)會(huì)鋼琴家在通過(guò)官方的體能測(cè)試后，都將可以在這期間兼職做裁判。還有讓人惱火的球迷：“美國(guó)加油！美國(guó)加油！美國(guó)加油！”(還好人數(shù)不多。)還有當(dāng)每個(gè)球員走進(jìn)場(chǎng)地時(shí)與之手牽手的孩子們。還會(huì)放國(guó)歌。人們會(huì)把自己涂成國(guó)旗的顏色，還會(huì)在自己支持的球隊(duì)?wèi)?zhàn)敗時(shí)當(dāng)場(chǎng)放聲大哭。你觀看的西班牙語(yǔ)頻道(這通常是看現(xiàn)場(chǎng)直播的唯一途徑)中，一個(gè)解說(shuō)員大喊：“球進(jìn)——了——！進(jìn)了，進(jìn)了，進(jìn)了！”比賽有兩個(gè)連續(xù)的半場(chǎng)，各45分鐘，直播中間沒(méi)有廣告。引用每個(gè)到外地參加比賽或訓(xùn)練的運(yùn)動(dòng)員都會(huì)在酒店房間里發(fā)現(xiàn)的那本書(shū)(編注：指《圣經(jīng)》，國(guó)外酒店多提供)上的話來(lái)說(shuō)就是：“應(yīng)當(dāng)歡喜快樂(lè)，因?yàn)槟銈冊(cè)谔焐系馁p賜是大的?！被蛘呔拖裎沂掷锏倪@本《足球及其規(guī)則》所寫(xiě)：“你準(zhǔn)備好了嗎？準(zhǔn)備好為球員們歡呼直至他們?nèi)?，為他們的體能、速度和球技而驚嘆，激勵(lì)他們?cè)诿恳淮螖嗲蛑腥?，?zhǔn)備好為一記強(qiáng)勁的射門(mén)而爆發(fā)歡呼了嗎？為令人興奮的飛一般的邊鋒、疊瓦式助攻的后衛(wèi)、弧度精妙的角球、巧妙的帶球過(guò)人和神氣十足的進(jìn)球準(zhǔn)備好了嗎？為奇幻世界的下一個(gè)重要時(shí)刻準(zhǔn)備好了嗎？”

1.root for: 為……喝彩鼓勵(lì)；為……鼓勁

2.reprisal [r#618;#712;pra#618;zl] n. 報(bào)復(fù)

3.indoctrinate [#618;n#712;d#594;ktr#618;ne#618;t] vt. 向……灌輸知識(shí)(或紀(jì)律、規(guī)章等)

4.allegiance [#601;#712;li#720;d#658;#601;ns] n. (對(duì)個(gè)人、團(tuán)體、事業(yè)等的)忠貞；擁戴；熱愛(ài)

5.boutique [bu#720;#712;ti#720;k] adj. 精品的

6.pageantry [#712;p#230;d#658;#601;ntri] n. (尤指涉及王室人物的特殊正式事件的)盛典；盛大活動(dòng)

7.apolitical [#716;e#618;p#601;#712;l#618;t#618;kl] adj. (指行為)非政治的，無(wú)政治色彩的； (指人)不關(guān)心政治的；不支持任何政黨的

8.flaw [fl#596;#720;] n. (指人性格中的)缺點(diǎn)

9.squad: 請(qǐng)參見(jiàn)P7注釋3

10.cop [k#594;p] n. 警察

11.moonlight [#712;mu#720;nla#618;t] vi. 兼職(尤指不為專職工作的雇主和稅收部門(mén)知道)

12.segment [#712;seɡm(xù)#601;nt] n. 部分；片段

13.tackle [#712;t#230;kl] n. 【足】阻截鏟球

14.panache [p#601;#712;n#230;#643;] n. 夸耀；夸示；神氣十足I am ready.

Soccer's worldwide popularity isn't surprising when you look at what has always motivated humanity: money and God. There's lots of money in soccer， of course. Club soccer (like capitalism) is basically the childlike desire to make dreams come true， no matter what the cost， realized by men with enough money to combine such commodities as the best Brazilian attacker， Dutch midfielder， British defender， and German goalie15) and turn them loose on whatever the other billionaires can put together—an unfair situation that describes much of the world these days. But the divine's there， too. What is soccer if not everything that religion should be? Universal yet particular， the source of an infinitely renewable supply of hope， occasionally miraculous， and governed by simple， uncontradictory rules (\"laws\"， officially) that everyone can follow. Soccer's laws are laws of equality and nonviolence and restraint， and free to be reinterpreted at the discretion of a reasonable arbiter16). What the ref says goes， no matter how flagrantly17) in violation of dogma18) his decisions may be. My official rule book， after presenting a detailed enumeration19) of soccer's 17 laws， concludes that the ref can throw out any of them in order to apply what it rather mystically calls \"the spirit of fair play\".

The religious undercurrent20) in soccer runs especially deep in World Cup years. Teams from across the globe converge on21) the host nation in something of an unarmed， athletic crusade22). As in the Crusades， the host nation tends to repel them. There's a weird power in home-team advantage. Hosts find a level of success disproportionate to their talents on paper， triumphing over stronger teams， as if exerting a gravitational pull on the game， causing it to be played the way they want to play it， as if， to carry this metaphor to its inevitable conclusion， God were on their side.

It's well-known that soccer， like religion， can provoke violence—hooliganism23) and tramplings at overcrowded， Mecca-mid-hajj-like stadiums are what many Americans assume about the game. But soccer has also proved unique in its ability to bridge differences and overturn national prejudices. The fact that the World Cup could even take place in South Korea and in Japan， as it did in 2002， was a victory for tolerance and understanding. In less than half a century South Korea had gone from not allowing the Japanese national team to cross its borders for a World Cup qualifier， to co-hosting the tournament with the former occupier. Give the world another 50 years and we might see the Cup co-hosted by Israel and Palestine.

And why not? Soccer's universality is its simplicity—the fact that the game can be played anywhere with anything. Urban children kick the can on concrete and rural kids kick a rag wrapped around a rag wrapped around a rag， barefoot， on dirt. Soccer is something to believe in now， perhaps empty at its core， but not a stand-in for anything else.

The beautiful game—let's call it business and religion combined—will be at its most unfair， frustrating， and magnificent this month in unified Germany's first World Cup. And what makes the World Cup most beautiful is the world， all of us together. The joy of being one of the billion or more people watching 32 countries abide by 17 rules fills me with the conviction， perhaps ignorant， but like many ignorant convictions， fiercely held， that soccer can unite us all.我準(zhǔn)備好了。

當(dāng)你看到是什么一直促進(jìn)了人類(lèi)的發(fā)展時(shí)，足球在全世界范圍的流行就不會(huì)使你驚訝了，而那就是金錢(qián)和上帝。足球行業(yè)當(dāng)然有很多錢(qián)。俱樂(lè)部足球(就像資本主義)基本上就是不論什么代價(jià)都要讓夢(mèng)想成真的孩童般的渴望，它由有錢(qián)人來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)，他們把諸如最好的巴西前鋒、荷蘭中場(chǎng)、英國(guó)防守還有德國(guó)守門(mén)員這些商品聯(lián)合起來(lái)，然后放手讓他們進(jìn)攻其他億萬(wàn)富翁能創(chuàng)建起來(lái)的球隊(duì)——這種不公平的情形描繪的是世界的大部分現(xiàn)狀。但足球運(yùn)動(dòng)也不乏神圣之處。如果宗教不應(yīng)該是一切，那足球是什么呢？它是普世而又獨(dú)特的，是無(wú)限可再生的希望之源泉，有時(shí)是不可思議的，它由簡(jiǎn)單的、不矛盾的規(guī)則(官方稱之為“法則”)支配，每個(gè)人都能遵守。足球的法則是公平、克制和非暴力的法則，可以任由理智的裁判對(duì)其加以合理的重新詮釋。裁判的話就是圣旨，無(wú)論他的裁定可能多么明顯地違背了規(guī)則。我的官方規(guī)則書(shū)在詳細(xì)地列舉出足球的17大法則后總結(jié)稱，裁判可以拋開(kāi)這其中的任何一條，以便踐行所謂的相當(dāng)神秘的“公平競(jìng)爭(zhēng)精神”。

足球運(yùn)動(dòng)中的宗教潛流在世界杯舉行的那些年份影響尤其深遠(yuǎn)。來(lái)自全球的諸多球隊(duì)匯集到主辦國(guó)，就像是在進(jìn)行一場(chǎng)赤手空拳的競(jìng)技遠(yuǎn)征。而就如所有的遠(yuǎn)征一樣，主辦國(guó)常常能抵御他們。主場(chǎng)隊(duì)的優(yōu)勢(shì)有種奇怪的力量。主場(chǎng)隊(duì)總能獲得與他們表面實(shí)力不相符的勝利，戰(zhàn)勝比他們更強(qiáng)大的對(duì)手，就好像他們對(duì)比賽施加了一種引力，使之能按照他們希望的方式進(jìn)行，就好像——這個(gè)比喻不可避免會(huì)得出這樣的結(jié)論——上帝在支持他們。

眾所周知，足球就像宗教一樣也能激發(fā)暴力。許多美國(guó)人想當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為，這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)就是在像麥加朝圣之路一樣過(guò)度擁擠的體育場(chǎng)館里發(fā)生的足球流氓行為和踩踏事件。但足球也有業(yè)已被證明的獨(dú)特力量——彌合分歧，顛覆民族偏見(jiàn)。2002年世界杯甚至能夠在韓國(guó)和日本舉辦，這個(gè)事實(shí)就是寬容和理解的勝利。不到半個(gè)世紀(jì)前，韓國(guó)還不允許日本國(guó)家隊(duì)越過(guò)它的邊境參加世界杯資格賽，如今已經(jīng)與曾經(jīng)的侵略者共同主辦了這項(xiàng)賽事。再過(guò)50年，我們也許能看到以色列和巴勒斯坦共同主辦的世界杯。

為什么不能呢？足球的普遍性歸功于它的簡(jiǎn)單，即這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)可以在任何地方用任何東西來(lái)進(jìn)行的事實(shí)。城里的孩子在混凝土馬路上踢罐子，鄉(xiāng)下的孩子赤著腳在土路上踢著破布裹著破布裹成的破布團(tuán)。足球是現(xiàn)在就要信仰的東西，也許它是中空的，但它絕不是任何東西的替身。

這項(xiàng)美麗的運(yùn)動(dòng)——我們稱之為集商業(yè)性與宗教性于一體的運(yùn)動(dòng)——將于本月在德國(guó)展現(xiàn)它最不公、最令人沮喪和最盛大輝煌的一面，這是德國(guó)在統(tǒng)一后首次主辦世界杯。正是這個(gè)世界，是我們所有人一起讓世界杯如此美麗。與其他上億甚至更多人一起觀看被17項(xiàng)規(guī)則束縛的32個(gè)國(guó)家的喜悅使我心中充滿了堅(jiān)定的信仰，這種信仰可能是盲目的，但正如許多盲目的信仰一樣，無(wú)比堅(jiān)定——我堅(jiān)信足球可以把我們所有人團(tuán)結(jié)起來(lái)。

15.goalie [#712;g#601;#650;l#618;] n. 守門(mén)員

16.arbiter [#712;ɑ#720;b#618;t#601;(r)] n. (活動(dòng)或命運(yùn)的)控制者；主宰者；裁決人

17.flagrantly [#712;fle#618;ɡr#601;ntli] adv. 明目張膽地；公然地；赤裸裸地

18.dogma [#712;d#594;ɡm(xù)#601;] n. 教條；信條

19.enumeration

[#618;#716;nju#720;m#601;#712;re#618;#643;n] n. 列舉

20.undercurrent

[#712;#652;nd#601;k#652;r#601;nt] n. 潛流；暗流

21.converge on: (人或車(chē)輛等)聚集

22.crusade [kru#720;#712;se#618;d] n. 十字軍遠(yuǎn)征(指西方基督教徒組織的反對(duì)穆斯林國(guó)家的幾次軍事東侵)

23.hooliganism

[#712;hu#720;l#618;ɡ#601;n#618;z#601;m] n. 流氓行為