[外電] Mitch flashback: Pistons shed dream of '91 title, but no

[kerrys (台北不是我的家)]

    原文出處：
              http://0rz.tw/753OE

--

Editor's note: Story originally published on May 28, 1991.
    編註：原文發表於'91年5月28日。

One by one, they walked off the court, surrendering the title like old sheriffs
turning in their badges. Joe Dumars dropped on a table and tossed his head back
. Isiah Thomas hugged Bill Laimbeer. Dennis Rodman, who looked stunned enough
to cry, found Vinnie Johnson and slapped his hands. Then, with a few seconds
left on the clock, they exited the Palace floor together, the deposed kings,
heading down the tunnel where their wives stood clapping in the echoing silence
.
    他們就像退休時繳回警徽的老警長一樣，在拱手讓出東區冠軍後一個接著一個離開了
球場。老喬倒在桌上，搖頭晃腦若有所思。笑笑湯給了大象Bill Laimbeer一個擁抱。看起
來受到打擊，感覺眼淚已經在眼框打轉的小蟲發現了微波爐Vinnie Johnson後和他用力地
擊掌，互相打氣。之後，在接近午夜時，他們一起離開宮殿球場。這群被新興勢力廢黜的
昔日王者走向空盪的長廊，仍在裡頭不離不棄等待著的只有拍手迎接他們的老婆。

Say good-bye to glory.
    向往日榮光說再見吧。

No tears.
    不用流淚。

Not here. No way. Never mind that this championship reign ended like a car
crash, a four-game sweep by the arch-rival Chicago Bulls. Nevermind that the
whole series seemed as if the aging Pistons were playing in quicksand, two
steps slow, two steps behind, rebounds going over their heads, Bulls racing
past them at warp speed. Nevermind. That was just the final chapter, not the
whole book. This was a hell of a run -- this team, this town, this Detroit turn
atop the NBA pile. They played, they won titles and we had a ball. We laughed,
we sang, we wore Pistons caps and Pistons T-shirts the way rebels wear their
colors. Three NBA Finals? Two straight championships?
    這不用流淚。無論如何也不用。不用在意我們活塞王朝在直落四敗給主要競爭者芝加
哥公牛後就像一場車禍嘎然而止了。不用在意這整個系列賽較為年長的活塞球員表現就像
是陷在流沙之中，動作總是慢對手兩步，籃板總是從他們頭上被摘走，公牛用不可思議的
曲速超越了他們。不用在意。上述不過是最終章，並不代表一切。這是一趟帥到不行的旅
程 -- 這支球隊，這座城市，我們底特律登上了NBA聯盟的至高點。他們打球，他們贏得總
冠軍，但我們有過快樂時光。我們開心地笑，快樂地唱，頭戴活塞冠軍帽，身穿活塞冠軍T
，就像對手所做的一樣。三次NBA總冠軍賽？連續兩座總冠軍？

No tears.
    不用流淚。

"When will it hit you?" someone asked an exhausted Dumars, after Bulls crushed
the Pistons in Game 4, 115-94, to capture the Eastern Conference final and end
the Detroit dream of three straight titles. "When will you realize it's over?"
    "你什麼時候會意識到？"在第四場比賽公牛以115比94擊敗活塞，取得東區冠軍並讓活
塞連拿三座總冠軍的美夢幻滅後，有人問已經筋疲力盡的老喬。"你什麼時候能明白這一切
已經結束了的事實？"

"I realize it right now," he said. "I realize that someone else will be having
that parade, and someone else will say, 'I'm going to Disneyland,' and someone
else will lower that championship banner next year . . ."
    "我現在就明白了，"他說。"我能理解有人會舉行冠軍慶功遊行，而有人會說，'我將
至迪士尼樂園一遊，'也有人會在隔年放下冠軍旗幟..."

He smiled. "And you know what? If it doesn't rain tomorrow, the sun will still
be up in the sky."
    他笑著說，"你知道嗎？如果明天不下雨，太陽依然會高高掛在天上。

No tears.
    不用流淚。

So many times, these Pistons went to the well and found an extra bucket of
power, of confidence. So many times they were down, seemingly out of it, only
to come back, win and laugh at the doubters. Isn't that why, until 5:45 Monday
afternoon, some of us still believed a miracle would occur? Didn't you keep
waiting for the happy ending?
    有太多次，活塞已經表現很好但還是很有自信地發現了有突破極限的能耐。有太多次
他們陷入低潮，似乎已經沒有繼續的必要，但他們硬是扭轉戰局拿下勝利，笑著面對看衰
他們的質疑者。這不就是為什麼一直到星期一下午5點45分，我們之間的一些人仍相信奇蹟
可能會出現的原因嗎？難道你不曾期待最後會有個完美的結局？

It never came. Finally, this time, they lowered the bucket and the well was dry
. "No TV, no refs, don't blame anything else," Thomas said. "They beat us
because they were the better basketball team . . . and they caught us at the
exact right time."
    Happy ending沒有出現。終於，這一次活塞放下水桶，而井已經枯竭。"不是電視，不
是裁判，不要怪罪任何人事物，"笑笑湯說。"他們之所以擊敗我們是因為他們是一支比我
們優秀的籃球隊...而他們在最適當正確的時間逮到機會擊敗已經氣力放盡的我們。"

Looking back, that was apparent from Game 1 of this series. And maybe it should
have been apparent even earlier. Don't forget, the Bulls had the second-best
record in the NBA this season -- the Pistons had the ninth. The Bulls raced
gleefully into this Eastern Conference final, leaving New York and Philadelphia
in the dust. The Pistons, meanwhile, went the five-game limit against Atlanta,
and needed six to get past Boston. Thomas was injured.
    回顧一下，那在這系列賽第一場就很清楚了。而或許在更早之前就很明確了。不要忘
了，公牛擁有本季全聯盟第二的戰績 -- 活塞只是聯盟第九。公牛輕鬆寫意地解決掉紐約
和費城闖進東區冠軍賽。同時間，活塞在第一輪一直到決勝第五戰才甩掉棘手的亞特蘭大
而且打到第六場才擊退波士頓。而且笑笑湯受傷了。

Dumars was injured. James Edwards, Bill Laimbeer and Mark Aguirre were injured.
Fatigue? Mental pressure? Only their reputation made the Pistons scary in this
series; the truth was they were exhausted before it even began.
    老喬受傷了。James Edwards、大象和Mark Aguirre也都受傷了。疲憊？心理壓力？只
剩無名的聲譽讓活塞在這系列賽中看起來是難以對付的；事實上，他們甚至在系列賽開始
前就已經身心俱疲了。

So we should not be surprised that it ended, ironically, on Memorial Day, when
you honor fallen heroes, and we should not be surprised that it ended this way:
with the Pistons sagging like an aged heavyweight on a humid night; with
Chicago's Scottie Pippen, last year's head case, now dunking, rebounding,
having a blast; with Michael Jordan slamming on a fast break, and Horace Grant
slamming on a fast break, and Scott Williams -- who? -- slamming on a fast
break, while the Pistons could only scream and moan about the fouls, drawing
technicals like raw meat draws flies.
    所以我們其實不用太過驚訝這一切結束了，而且很諷刺地，剛好是在陣亡將士紀念日
這一天，在你緬懷過去為國捐驅的先賢先烈的這一天。而且我們真的不用太訝異：活塞就
像一個年邁且過重的人在潮濕的夜晚倒下了；芝加哥的Scottie Pippen，去年開始嶄露頭
角的大鏢客現在又是灌籃，又是抓籃板，在場上狂轟猛炸；飛天神牛Michael Jordan在快
攻中灌籃，眼鏡俠Horace Grant在快攻中灌籃，還有默默無名的Scott Williams也在快攻
中輕鬆灌籃得分，而活塞這邊對於裁判頻頻判決犯規只能驚呼和抱怨，就像生肉吸引蒼蠅
一樣地領到一堆技術犯規。

"Before today, I thought it took an awful lot to win a championship, I thought
it was the hardest thing I'd ever done," Aguirre said, shaking his head in the
post-game locker room. "But now I realize that it takes more to admit defeat.
That's harder."
    "今天之前，我認為贏取總冠軍需要有相當多的付出，我認為那已經是我最努力做過的
一件事，"Aguirre賽後在球員休息室一面搖頭一面說道。"但現在我明白了，要承認自己技
不如人更不容易。而且難上許多。"

And what made it even worse?
    而是什麼讓這一切感覺更差？

The Pistons created the Bulls.
    活塞創造了這支公牛。

Bulls never blinked
    公牛不曾眨眼

That's right. The team that now goes to the NBA Finals owes its rise to Detroit
as sure as the monster owed its life to Dr. Frankenstein. All those years
Chicago took a beating from Detroit, losing in the playoffs the way the Pistons
used to lose to the Celtics? All those years, Chicago was learning.
    沒錯。無疑地，現在要邁向NBA總冠軍賽的這支球隊將它的成長茁壯歸功於底特律，如
同科學怪人要感謝弗蘭肯斯坦教授創造了他一樣。那幾年季後賽芝加哥在底特律屢戰屢敗
，就像底特律之前對上塞爾提克一直吃鱉那樣。那幾年，芝加哥持續不斷地增長、壯大。

Studying. Imitating. Until this season, finally, Chicago was better at being
Detroit than Detroit was. Think about it. The Bulls won the East with defense,
rebounding, a strong bench, a superstar guard and an indomitable spirit.
    學習、模仿，直到這個球季，終於，芝加哥到底特律踢館時已經是一支比活塞優秀的
球隊了。思考一下，公牛用防守、籃板、強力的替補球員、超級巨星後衛還有打死不退的
精神在東區脫穎而出。

Sound familiar?
    聽起來很熟悉嗎？

"They definitely paid attention over the years," John Salley said. "They told
themselves, 'We're not gonna do the old stuff anymore. We're not gonna make the
same mistakes.' "
    "他們在過去幾年肯定專心致志，"John Salley說。"他們告訴自己，"我們不要再做一
樣的蠢事。我們不要再犯一樣的錯誤。'"

They didn't. In 1988, the Pistons beat the Bulls, 4-1. The next year, it was
4-2. Last year, it was 4-3. And this year? Whoa. This year, Chicago refused to
bleed. It was like Arnold Schwarzenegger in "The Terminator." It did not even
blink.
    他們確實沒有。在'88年，活塞以4比1輕取公牛。隔年是4比2。去年變成4比3。今年呢
？咳。今年，芝加哥拒絕再流血。他們就像"魔鬼終結者"中的阿諾史瓦辛格，在對準目標
後，眼睛連一下都沒眨過。

When Jordan was covered, he dished to John Paxson or Bill Cartwright. Score!
When Grant missed, Pippen came flying overhead to slam down the rebound. Score!
When the starters went out, guys you never heard of -- I still can't get used
to Cliff Levingston making a pressure shot -- came in to carry he load. The
Bulls won because they had two men, it seemed, on every Detroit player. Because
they had two men going for every rebound. And because they knocked down their
shots. Make no mistake. That is the biggest difference. No matter what the
pressure, what the defense, what the score, what the arena, these new Bulls did
not flinch, they hit their baskets, something the old Bulls did not always do.
    當Jordan被擋住時，他把球傳給John Paxson或Bill Cartwright，得分！當Grant失手
時，Pippen從頭頂飛過把彈出的籃板球給塞回籃框，得分！當先發球員下場休息時，你連
聽都聽過的無名小卒 -- 我仍無法習慣Cliff Levingston在極大壓力下順利出手命中 --
帶著完善的準備上場接手，繼續拼鬥。公牛會贏是因為對於每位底特律球員，他們似乎都
指派了兩個人去防守。似乎每顆籃板球他們都有兩個人去爭搶。而且因為他們把握每一次
出手。不犯任何錯誤。那是最大的分別。不管面對什麼樣的壓力，什麼樣的防守，什麼樣
的進攻，什麼樣的球館，這群新銳公牛完全不退縮，他們達到了他們的目標，這是過去那
支公牛不太能做到的。

"We knew we could beat the Pistons," Jordan said, after winning his first
Eastern Conference title, "but with the sweep, we even surprised ourselves."
    "我們知道我們會擊敗活塞，"在首次拿下東區冠軍後Jordan說，"不過老實說，能把他
們掃地出門還是出乎我們意料之外。"
                                                             ...to be continued

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