<><b>低着头奔牛
——<EM>MFFL</EM></b></P><><b>低着头狂奔的牛,没打烙印。牛群旁跟着一只不愿走开的流浪狗,高昂着头,好奇地打量着牛……</b></P><><b><EM>M</EM>ocking Laughter
被侮辱与被损害的</b></P><>很显然,对这个几乎曾以一己之力(该死的三分球)葬送了牛的家伙,我是不会有什么好感的。</P><>\"As the old joke goes, the Dallas Mavericks ought to be called \'allas\' since they have no \'D\'. Of course, the Mavs did win 60 games and almost made the NBA Finals last season. They were unstoppable offensively, had great chemistry and built momentum that carried them to Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.</P><>...</P><>\"It\'s tough to win in the NBA without the ability to stop people, and although Dallas did it the past two seasons, it doesn\'t appear they\'ll be able to when it counts this year.\"</P><>- Taking the D out of Dallas, by Steve Kerr</P><>没错,评论员们永远是牛的haters,但那并不代表他们能对牛指手画脚。</P><><b>牛任劳任怨,默默地承受冷嘲热讽,但我不愿保持沉默。</b></P><P>爱人所共爱,世俗所以悲哀;爱人所共愤,孤独所以悲哀。</P><P>从第一天认识他们开始,学会低头就是一门必修课,但我只是在不知不觉中才意识到。</P><P>成王败寇,似乎天经地义。在我认识的球迷中,凡球队得过总冠军的,多少都会流露出一些骄傲,虽然这样的队只是沙漠里的绿洲,稀少、珍贵而难觅;而牛迷,尤其中国牛迷,谦虚而低调。所以,哪怕我爱上的是一支传统强队,也能如随时准备继位的王储一般受拥戴。偏偏牛不是鱼腩,却曾经是鱼腩,所以翻身颇难。</P><P>洛城球迷穿着刺眼的黄色T恤招摇过市,穿着海军蓝的我却生怕被人认出来。虽然牛的蓝色惹来了许多女生的青睐,但她们并不认识那几个字母,只是觉得男式的大号T恤穿在女生身上也很……帅。</P><P>永远记得最大的讽刺和侮辱。刚过去的那个季后赛中,中央五的于解说在转播中国宠儿对洛城三冠王的比赛时说,有球迷说上赛季国王让充其量打打季后赛第一、二轮的小牛杀进西部决赛,是对其他季后赛球队的侮辱。当时的震惊还残留在我打出这句话的此刻,尽管是“有球迷说”,但我已把帐算在了于解说头上。他怎么可以在对全国转播的节目中说这种话?那些对牛不了解的人岂不是会有一个错误的印象?可是这只是一句话,可能没几个人注意到,也没几个人放在心上。我也只能听着,大骂之后还是得忍气吞声。何况牛又不争气,偏要第一轮被淘汰,让我无话可说,只得低头。</P><P>也许是报应吧,看着三冠王输掉总决赛后于解说那张憋得发绿的脸,我开心而得意地再次昂起头:我们是平等的。</P><P>但也不用总是这样低调,和当地牛迷在一起时会觉得信心百倍,尽管有时也是枉然。对人家来说,到底是自己的球队,25年中的最低谷都经历了,如今的阵痛又算什么?于是每当先知的评论员们预测或评定出一个什么top 10来,达拉斯都会硝烟四起,牛迷们个个要为牛讨一个公道。可我不一样,这才是第三年,就觉得遍尝悲欢离合;远隔重洋,势单力薄,低调一些比较容易活。</P><P>牛低调,牛迷也可以低调,只可惜牛的主人不肯低调。其实,谁不愿意抬头挺胸堂堂做牛,所以他才会选择顺应潮流不断进化。可无论牛怎样做,人们都会嘲笑或指责。</P><P>牛是一支长期没有中锋的队,“small ball”被人不齿,但我喜欢。没有中锋让大前锋经常处于失位状态,于是大家说他徒有身高却打不了内线,对此轮到我不屑:为什么有人会报低自己的身高?无非是想躲开中锋的角色。谁又能真正全能?重要的是找到适合自己的位置。这要是放在传统势力中,谁又会这么多嘴呢?可这偏偏是“疯牛”的失位。</P><P>没有中锋,人人说你没有内线走不远;换不来中锋换来一堆前锋,人人说你位置重叠走不远;换来中锋换了控卫,人人说你中锋假的控卫太弱走不远……这些怀疑也是我的担心,但我无法控诉,不能指责,只有接受。因为“人人”是旁观者,我是身陷牛群的丧家犬,客观不了,只会感情用事。于是干脆低着头,跟着牛狂奔。</P><P><b>替牛打抱不平,但他不需要,因为我们都是被侮辱与被损害的。</b></P><P><b><EM>F</EM>avorite Team
盛极一时</b></P><P><b>牛吃苦耐劳,不会没人意识到,只是曾经的受宠我没有赶上。</b></P><P>意外地看到01年的一些报道,才想起牛在中国也曾高昂过头,可惜太短暂。北京人当年真是不亚于今日上海人这般受推崇,正经是宠儿。不过倒不是因为见他昔日的光辉而感动,只是寻找话语间点滴关于当时牛的信息。字句提到教练、队友,不管已经离开还是仍在奋斗,都让我了解到那段没有机会重温的历史。</P><P>01年正值他们历经十年沉浮重返季后赛,看着亚洲第一人的复古蓝色队服,知道站在他身旁的模糊身影就有我们曾经的Big 3,怎能不让我情怀敞开,无限向往。我们已经拥有一支年轻的球队,当年那支却也是年轻的,memorable good old days。倘若他当日肯回国,说不定现在还身披牛袍,这样人们眼前晃着的就不只一支让人“烦”的球队了,恐怕还要加上牛,LOL。</P><P>那时国人爱屋及乌地对待牛,使他在中国成为至高宠儿。我却最爱分辩不是爱屋及乌。也许后悔没有赶上好时间,错过了万众瞩目。那时的牛从默默无闻的二流队变成媒体、球迷关注的焦点,又偏偏争气地进入季后赛,铺天盖地的报道淹没了一切;羡慕,嫉妒。现在,一切又归于平静了,尽管对中国篮球的帮助仍在进行中,但是经历了最辉煌的03年,人们还是不能尊敬他反而拿着04年的结果嘲笑着好像个个都是先知。我只得在这铺天盖的地对新宠的报道中搜寻着可怜的缝隙让牛生存。</P><P><b>好牛不提当年勇,更何况是爱屋及乌之宠,盛极一时最后也不过是消退于时间的浪潮中。</b></P><P><b><EM>F</EM>ace to Face with Loyalty
直面忠诚</b></P><P>如果这可以算作“感谢”——</P><P>Jordan (Fort Worth): Hey Stephen! I don\'t want to make things uncomfortable here, but how much are you going to miss Dallas and the fans out here? I can speak for myself and I know that it\'s gonna kill me not seeing you in a Mavericks jersey. I wish you unbelievable success out there, and I can\'t wait for you to be in town on November 16th!</P><P>Steve Nash: Thank you. It will be awful to go back to Dallas with another team. I will miss the fans very much there, they were very good to me, and very supportive. It will be very difficult.</P><P>但是,与其说感谢的话让我感动,不如说达拉斯人的表白更让我动容。事实上,这是我惟一能找到的“感谢”,却不足以疗伤。</P><P><b>牛忠诚老实,天真地以为忠诚无价,其实忠诚也有价格。</b></P><P>我努力去爱来来往往穿过、穿着海军蓝的牛,努力做一个MFFL而非NFFL或什么*FFL,但是最初引我靠近牛群的却始终只有41号。</P><P>\"I was thinking that we were going to finish our careers together in Dallas,” Nowitzki said. “That\'s what we\'ve been talking about for years.</P><P>\"But I was like: \'Hey, you\'re 30 years old, and this is an unbelievable deal that Phoenix is giving you. You have to do it. I\'m proud of you.\'\"</P><P>有时会被误认为是13号至上的球迷,其实心里最看重的还是41号——牛迷以你为荣。</P><P>牛不够强硬,不够狡猾,却忠诚坚忍,不张扬而埋头工作,从被背叛的NVE的话中可见一斑:</P><P>\"You know, early in the season, I was hoping they would lose every game. But then I\'m watching them and I have a lot of love for those guys. ... I\'m still rooting for them.\"</P><P>风水轮流转,这次被抛弃的是最出色的蓝领Eddie,一句“It\'s business”结束了所有话题,不管牛是否出于无奈,就是不给他解释的机会。</P><P>当地时间10月14日凌晨,13号的双胞胎女儿降生在凤凰城,达拉斯牛迷酸酸地祝贺,却不忘讽刺一句:</P><P>\"I\'m sure your kids will learn well the important value of loyalty.\"</P><P>当日若没有背叛,他的女儿也定会如他一般成为达拉斯人的宠儿和骄傲。</P><P>想想看,奥运会以前的整个夏天,话题似乎都围绕着忠诚和背叛,说得够多了。现在已经没有心情怀念、伤感,因为牛长大了,因为又要开赛了。</P><P><b>吃一堑长一智,让我们直面忠诚,那昂贵的价格终于逼我低头。</b></P><P><b><EM>L</EM>asting Pains
长痛•短痛</b></P><P>The bet here, like Nellie asserts, is that Nash will be the proud one after Nowitzki\'s first season on his own. The post-Nash Mavs still don\'t look like a team that should be picked higher than fourth in the West -- they look like a 4-5-6 seed, at best, after so many changes and plenty of fresh uncertainty -- but The Diggler? He\'s the last Mav to fret about.</P><P>- Nelson has big plans for Nowitzki, by Marc Stein</P><P>会吗?他会为后13号时代的牛的成熟自豪吗?还是最终他会让牛为放走他而悔恨终生呢?</P><P><b>牛穷则思变,甘愿承受解牛之痛,值得吗?</b></P><P>季前赛本是鸡肋,这次却因中国赛而备受国人关注,可牛的重新亮相才是我最关心的。</P><P>虽然只是季前赛,胜负无所谓,可是毕竟不同于以往,而且很不相同;铁打的队伍流水的牛。教练说,我们不像有些队,用季前赛试探队员,看谁能上谁该下;我们很清楚谁上谁下,就是要以赛代练。</P><P>来了,首次亮相,却以失败告终,难怪我眼中的天空都是阴沉的。</P><P>似乎是一场漫不经心的比赛,牛有23次失误,成全了对手15次抢断。一群没睡醒的家伙输了,还好可以自我安慰说这只是一场季前赛。</P><P>不过也不全是坏消息:新来的替补大前锋表现还不错,得到全队最高分,我们的41号得到两双,4号罚球全中,不过这三位的投篮命中率实在不该这么低;替补二年级生顶替有伤的主力二年级生首发,表现依然抢眼,看来他并没有因为要做替补而失去动力;牛在防守上无疑要强于对手,但他们必须要减少失误,提高命中率,才能改变比赛结果;罚球教练应该表扬一下4号在罚球线上的完美表现,还有好几只牛,他们都只罚失了1球;13号的继任者们速度非常快,如果他们能减少失误,看起来会更棒,两人各有4次助攻,表现还可以;替补们没有抱怨做替补,也没有牛在比赛中受伤(除了他们的自信)。</P><P>牛虽然落败,不过失误和低命中率应该比较容易改进;防守有了些进步,但是他们仍然成全了对方的新秀得到全队最高分。</P><P>看起来好像真是在自我安慰。实际上,一眼能看到的是可怜的命中率、混乱的进攻,虽然速度飞快但成效甚微,我开始思念某人,有牛迷开始思念某人。自信的当地牛迷说,一切都会好起来,这只是一场季前赛,第一场季前赛,不用紧张。可是我想像着在凤凰城,坐在替补席上不用上场的他(说是有伤,其实区区一场季前赛焉用宰牛刀),会怎样惬意地看着队友狂攻大胜得分过百,又会怎样得意地嘲笑不会进攻的德州牛仔。但是没时间伤感,开赛只一秒钟,我就知道自己不得不诅咒他的队。什么宽恕、忘却、释怀、忏悔,统统丢到一边儿,各为其主!</P><P>以前,没有中锋也能赢,说明还是有赢的办法的;现在,有了中锋却不习惯!</P><P>\"Sometimes we forget that,\" said Dirk Nowitzki. \"We\'re not used to having a guy getting position down low.\"</P><P>不是不重视中锋的能力,可我始终认为,优秀的控卫才是球队的灵魂。话题又转回他,但不说他,走都走了,连带着我们的疯狂进攻一起走了。我只是格外关注继任者,眼见着这么普普通通甚至懒懒散散的一役就比对手少了9次助攻,我能不急吗?</P><P>最爱牛的进攻,可是在换了发动机后,我不知道他们的进攻会变成怎样,希望不会总是这么混乱。</P><P>\"Without him, we looked like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off.\"</P><P>这是41号对13号的评价。其时,我还在认同并庆幸着,却仿佛转瞬间,头就落地了。但是我仍然宁愿听信当地牛迷的言之凿凿:</P><P>\"Fin will come around. Terry\'s assist-turnover ratio will be good. Dirk will score. Dampier will keep the fouls to a minimum and be even more effective.\"</P><P>尽管他们还曾说“Nash isn\'t going anywhere”,但就让我再相信他们一次吧。</P><P>三连败,季前赛还在进行中;3胜5负,季前赛落幕了,迎来了真正的挑战。屡战屡败、屡败屡战的牛还在坚持;我希望、失望、再希望,为他的每一丝微小的进步而欣慰,更期待着久违的胜利和酣畅淋漓的回归。喜欢一支队,可以没有理由,或者只能列出琐碎的理由,不成理由。喜欢容易坚持难,取经路上有人可能先到,有人可能总也到不了,路线、时间不同而已。</P><P>喜欢牛,明白牛,我也就不再执意抬头,低着头不会被路上的诱惑吸引,可以跑得再快些。我愿意陪着他们,不管山峰、峡谷;我不相信命运,但相信缘分,我和牛的缘分。我知道我们会赢,我就是知道。</P><P><b>广袤草原无比辽阔却风云变幻,征途漫长而艰辛,牛低着头一路狂奔,裸露的伤口正在慢慢愈合。</b></P><P><b>牛依然低着头狂奔,我也没有离开,因为我不再是高昂着头的流浪狗。我是一只敏感的牧牛犬,守护着一群特立独行的牛……</b></P><P>
附上这段采访,也许以后不会再听到他公开地如此亲切、长久地提到他的这位好友、我们的心灵的背叛者,并在此祝牛好运。</P><P>What\'s the first thing you thought after Nash\'s decision?</P><P>I was shocked. I was really shocked. There was no way we were going to let him go. That\'s what I thought. We talked about it all season long that we were going to finish our careers together. I just saw him right before [the decision]. I saw him all of June, in London, in Prague. We were never really worried about anything. All we talked about was next season and how are we going to get back on track. Suddenly, this whole thing came out of the blue, [and] I had no idea. I was shocked and disappointed. All at once, I was disappointed, I was shocked, I was mad, but after a couple days I settled down.</P><P>Were you shocked it happened that fast?</P><P>I thought it was going to be a longer process before he makes a commitment, maybe think about stuff more for a week or two. Phoenix put some pressure on him, obviously. They said, \"Hey look, we\'re going for you. If you don\'t, we go for somebody else.\" He took that opportunity they gave him. It\'s a hell of a deal, no question. He had to do it. It\'s good for him, but I was shocked he basically had one day. He met with the Mavericks once, he met with Phoenix once and he already made a commitment.</P><P>Did he ask you for advice?</P><P>Not really, not advice. We talked about it the day before he got the offer from Phoenix and I said, \"Of course I want you to stay here. I want to play with you for the rest of our careers. You have to see what other teams give you. You can\'t sell yourself under the market value that much. If it comes close, I\'ll always tell you to stay here. But if it\'s millions and millions, you just can\'t do it.\" That\'s what I told him. When he called me the next day, he just came out of the meeting with Phoenix where he made the commitment, he didn\'t tell me the exact numbers, but he told me what it was kind of like, and I said, \"Hey, you made the right decision. You had to do it.\" He was kind of shocked himself [saying], \"I can\'t believe I just made that commitment.\" I tried to calm him down [by telling him], \"You made the right decision. You made the right move.\"</P><P>Did you think about calling Donnie [Nelson] or Mark [Cuban] to find out what was going on?</P><P>I try to stay out of whatever they do in the summer. I talked to Mark very occasionally on e-mail. I didn\'t talk to Donnie pretty much the whole summer. I try to stay out of decisions like that. When we let Steve go, I was thinking, \"What are we doing? Where are we headed? Are we trying to even make the playoffs anymore or are we just giving it up now? I don\'t know what we\'re doing.\" I was a little disappointed and things started developing, and I think we made some really nice moves. We\'ve got another point guard and a center finally, and I\'m really fired up about the season.</P><P>Was it like the situation you talked about in Miami last season when you said people aren\'t on the same page and you\'re not sure what direction this is going?</P><P>I would never have thought we would let Steve go because he was such a big part of not only the team, but the organization. The way he represented the organization to the fans, he was always a professional about everything. That\'s why we won\'t only miss him on the court, but off the court as well. I couldn\'t imagine him in another uniform, but it happens. Once I got over the first disappointment, I looked at what do we need to do to get back on track. Donnie and Mark -- I don\'t know if Nellie was involved as much -- they did the right thing. I think we\'re right back up there in the West. Now it\'s up to the coaches to get us rolling in October. We have plenty of potential now. We\'ve just got to get it together and play as a team.</P><P>
<EM>M</EM>avs <EM>F</EM>an <EM>F</EM>or <EM>L</EM>ife!</P> |