Wednesday, September 16, 2009

失格的籃球之神(上)

101527P MICHAEL JORDAN BULLS 原來不是只有我自己一個人這麼想。

喬丹在進入籃球名人堂之夜的演講,簡直令人下巴差點掉下來,無法置信。這絕對不是一般人會在這種場合會說出的話,這是個失格的籃球之神。

讓我們先來聽聽「神」說了什麼驚人之語。很難想像,「神」既然在發表演說之前就已經流下英雄淚,為什麼會在數分鐘之後說出這些話。

這只是開頭:

You guys, I must say thank you very much for giving me that motivation that I definitely needed.

來了,首先是高中把他從校隊裡幹掉的教練:

“I wanted to make sure you understood: You made a mistake, dude.”

再來是據說在1985年明星賽策動各老將,在賽中孤立他這個菜鳥的Isiah Thomas、大鳥、魔術和「冰人」George Gervin:

“I wanted to prove to you, Magic (Johnson), Larry (Bird), George (Gervin), everybody that I deserved (to be there) just as much as anybody else, and I hope over the period of my career I’ve done that without a doubt.”

當然不能錯過MJ最喜歡的敵人Jeff Van Gundy和Pat Riley:

“I just so happen to be a friendly guy. I get along with everybody, but at the same time, when the light comes on, I’m as competitive as anybody you know.”

也不能忘了那些曾經說喬丹不會成為偉大球員的腦殘記者:

“I had to listen to all that, and that put so much wood on that fire that it kept me each and every day trying to get better as a basketball player.”

壓軸好戲自然是防守喬老大最後一擊的Bryon Russell了(MJ說他在打棒球時,Russell曾說如果MJ繼續打籃球,他會很樂意防守他):

“From this day forward, if I ever see him in shorts, I’m coming at him.”

看完這篇外電,心裡冒出來的第一個想法是:有必要嗎?有必要這麼酸嗎?都已經退休幾年了,那多是多少年前的事了,你都拿了多少枚冠軍戒、享盡多少尊榮了,有必要把這些陳年往事和對手再拖出來鞭屍嗎?

直到今天讀到各媒體的反應,才知道有同樣想法的不只我一個。Yahoo Sports的Adrian Wojnarowski就開幹了,ESPN專欄作家J.A. Adande也轟,另外一個ESPN知名部落客Henry Abbot同樣跟進。

Jordan這種水準的球員,實在沒必要把以前的仇恨一直背在身上。人家Larry Bird的驚人記憶力是用在記憶球賽細節和對手的習慣動作,不是用來報這種老鼠冤的。

對喬丹的個人感受,下次再談吧。

不過,暫且擺開肚量狹小的喬丹不提,今年進入Hall of Fame的其他四人都大有來頭,有著不可磨滅的功績,請看:

awards_2009_robinson David Robinson

Player, spent his entire NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, guiding them to two NBA Championships while being named to 10 NBA All-Star Teams, four All-NBA First Team Selections, one NBA League MVP and was selected to the NBA's 50th Anniversary Team. Robinson also won two Olympic Gold Medals, including his participation on the legendary 1992 "Dream Team" and with the 1996 Gold Medal Olympic team. During Robinson's college career at the U.S. Naval Academy, he earned Player of the Year, Naismith and Wooden Honors while leading the nation in rebounding and blocked shots.

 

83010576MM001_Grizz_Jazz Jerry Sloan

Coach, began his coaching career as an Assistant Coach with the Chicago Bulls before beginning his tremendous career with the Utah Jazz. He is the only coach in NBA history to win over 1,000 games with a single team while compiling a winning percentage of over .600. Sloan led the Jazz to two NBA Finals, 18 playoff appearances and is fourth on the NBA list of coaching victories. Sloan was also named as the Sporting News NBA Coach of the Year in 2004.

 

1301583P JAZZ V NUGGET John Stockton

Player, spent his entire NBA career with the Utah Jazz, accumulating 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals - both NBA records at his retirement. He was named to 10 NBA All-Star teams and was selected as  member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary Team while leading the Jazz to two NBA Finals. He was also named to the All-NBA First Teams in 1994 and 1995. Like Robinson, Stockton won two Olympic Gold Medals (1992, 1996) and was a member of the original "Dream Team".

 

awards_2009_stringer C. Vivian Stringer

Coach, has won more than 800 games in her career and currently ranks third on the women's all-time career wins list. She is the first coach to lead three different schools to the NCAA Final Four including Cheyney State, the University of Iowa and Rutgers University where she is currently. Coach Stringer is also enshrined at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

至少在這個晚上,這四個人物都比籃球之神有格調多了…

(文字資料、照片來源:Naismith Hall of Fame)