原文出处： http://0rz.tw/753OE -- Editor's note: Story originally published on May 28, 1991. 编注：原文发表於'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 . 他们就像退休时缴回警徽的老警长一样，在拱手让出东区冠军後一个接着一个离开了 球场。老乔倒在桌上，摇头晃脑若有所思。笑笑汤给了大象Bill Laimbeer一个拥抱。看起 来受到打击，感觉眼泪已经在眼框打转的小虫发现了微波炉Vinnie Johnson後和他用力地 击掌，互相打气。之後，在接近午夜时，他们一起离开宫殿球场。这群被新兴势力废黜的 昔日王者走向空荡的长廊，仍在里头不离不弃等待着的只有拍手迎接他们的老婆。 Say good-bye to glory. 向往日荣光说再见吧。 No tears. 不用流泪。 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? 这不用流泪。无论如何也不用。不用在意我们活塞王朝在直落四败给主要竞争者芝加 哥公牛後就像一场车祸嘎然而止了。不用在意这整个系列赛较为年长的活塞球员表现就像 是陷在流沙之中，动作总是慢对手两步，篮板总是从他们头上被摘走，公牛用不可思议的 曲速超越了他们。不用在意。上述不过是最终章，并不代表一切。这是一趟帅到不行的旅 程 -- 这支球队，这座城市，我们底特律登上了NBA联盟的至高点。他们打球，他们赢得总 冠军，但我们有过快乐时光。我们开心地笑，快乐地唱，头戴活塞冠军帽，身穿活塞冠军T ，就像对手所做的一样。三次NBA总冠军赛？连续两座总冠军？ No tears. 不用流泪。 "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?" "你什麽时候会意识到？"在第四场比赛公牛以115比94击败活塞，取得东区冠军并让活 塞连拿三座总冠军的美梦幻灭後，有人问已经筋疲力尽的老乔。"你什麽时候能明白这一切 已经结束了的事实？" "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 . . ." "我现在就明白了，"他说。"我能理解有人会举行冠军庆功游行，而有人会说，'我将 至迪士尼乐园一游，'也有人会在隔年放下冠军旗帜..." He smiled. "And you know what? If it doesn't rain tomorrow, the sun will still be up in the sky." 他笑着说，"你知道吗？如果明天不下雨，太阳依然会高高挂在天上。 No tears. 不用流泪。 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，活塞已经表现很好但还是很有自信地发现了有突破极限的能耐。有太多次 他们陷入低潮，似乎已经没有继续的必要，但他们硬是扭转战局拿下胜利，笑着面对看衰 他们的质疑者。这不就是为什麽一直到星期一下午5点45分，我们之间的一些人仍相信奇蹟 可能会出现的原因吗？难道你不曾期待最後会有个完美的结局？ 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没有出现。终於，这一次活塞放下水桶，而井已经枯竭。"不是电视，不 是裁判，不要怪罪任何人事物，"笑笑汤说。"他们之所以击败我们是因为他们是一支比我 们优秀的篮球队...而他们在最适当正确的时间逮到机会击败已经气力放尽的我们。" 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. 回顾一下，那在这系列赛第一场就很清楚了。而或许在更早之前就很明确了。不要忘 了，公牛拥有本季全联盟第二的战绩 -- 活塞只是联盟第九。公牛轻松写意地解决掉纽约 和费城闯进东区冠军赛。同时间，活塞在第一轮一直到决胜第五战才甩掉棘手的亚特兰大 而且打到第六场才击退波士顿。而且笑笑汤受伤了。 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. 老乔受伤了。James Edwards、大象和Mark Aguirre也都受伤了。疲惫？心理压力？只 剩无名的声誉让活塞在这系列赛中看起来是难以对付的；事实上，他们甚至在系列赛开始 前就已经身心俱疲了。 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. 所以我们其实不用太过惊讶这一切结束了，而且很讽刺地，刚好是在阵亡将士纪念日 这一天，在你缅怀过去为国捐驱的先贤先烈的这一天。而且我们真的不用太讶异：活塞就 像一个年迈且过重的人在潮湿的夜晚倒下了；芝加哥的Scottie Pippen，去年开始崭露头 角的大镖客现在又是灌篮，又是抓篮板，在场上狂轰猛炸；飞天神牛Michael Jordan在快 攻中灌篮，眼镜侠Horace Grant在快攻中灌篮，还有默默无名的Scott Williams也在快攻 中轻松灌篮得分，而活塞这边对於裁判频频判决犯规只能惊呼和抱怨，就像生肉吸引苍蝇 一样地领到一堆技术犯规。 "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，我认为赢取总冠军需要有相当多的付出，我认为那已经是我最努力做过的 一件事，"Aguirre赛後在球员休息室一面摇头一面说道。"但现在我明白了，要承认自己技 不如人更不容易。而且难上许多。" And what made it even worse? 而是什麽让这一切感觉更差？ The Pistons created the Bulls. 活塞创造了这支公牛。 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. 没错。无疑地，现在要迈向NBA总冠军赛的这支球队将它的成长茁壮归功於底特律，如 同科学怪人要感谢弗兰肯斯坦教授创造了他一样。那几年季後赛芝加哥在底特律屡战屡败 ，就像底特律之前对上塞尔提克一直吃鳖那样。那几年，芝加哥持续不断地增长、壮大。 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. 学习、模仿，直到这个球季，终於，芝加哥到底特律踢馆时已经是一支比活塞优秀的 球队了。思考一下，公牛用防守、篮板、强力的替补球员、超级巨星後卫还有打死不退的 精神在东区脱颖而出。 Sound familiar? 听起来很熟悉吗？ "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.' " "他们在过去几年肯定专心致志，"John Salley说。"他们告诉自己，"我们不要再做一 样的蠢事。我们不要再犯一样的错误。'" 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. 他们确实没有。在'88年，活塞以4比1轻取公牛。隔年是4比2。去年变成4比3。今年呢 ？咳。今年，芝加哥拒绝再流血。他们就像"魔鬼终结者"中的阿诺史瓦辛格，在对准目标 後，眼睛连一下都没眨过。 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. 当Jordan被挡住时，他把球传给John Paxson或Bill Cartwright，得分！当Grant失手 时，Pippen从头顶飞过把弹出的篮板球给塞回篮框，得分！当先发球员下场休息时，你连 听都听过的无名小卒 -- 我仍无法习惯Cliff Levingston在极大压力下顺利出手命中 -- 带着完善的准备上场接手，继续拼斗。公牛会赢是因为对於每位底特律球员，他们似乎都 指派了两个人去防守。似乎每颗篮板球他们都有两个人去争抢。而且因为他们把握每一次 出手。不犯任何错误。那是最大的分别。不管面对什麽样的压力，什麽样的防守，什麽样 的进攻，什麽样的球馆，这群新锐公牛完全不退缩，他们达到了他们的目标，这是过去那 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." "我们知道我们会击败活塞，"在首次拿下东区冠军後Jordan说，"不过老实说，能把他 们扫地出门还是出乎我们意料之外。" ...to be continued --

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