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July 18, 2030
2030年7月18日
The man stepping to the podium at the New New New Madison Square Garden was not the phenom who'd captivated this franchise so many years ago. Twenty NBA seasons - a longer career than any expert ever imagined for him - had taken a toll. His walk, slowed by knee surgery, was cautious, and his hair, though still asymmetrically hip, was now gray.
眼前这名迈向新新新麦迪逊广场花园(New New New Madison Square Garden)讲台的男子，已不是多年前那个让整个NBA为之折服的天才球员。他在NBA已经征战了二十个赛季，超过了任何一位专业人士对其职业生涯的预想，这也让他付出了不少代价。受到膝盖手术的拖累，他步履缓慢，走起路来小心翼翼。他的头发虽然依旧是时尚的不对称发型，却已然花白。
Jeremy Lin was 41 years old, and a New York Knick again.
这时的林书豪已经41岁，他再次成为了纽约尼克斯队(New York Knicks)的一员。
'Hello everyone,' he said, smiling behind those familiar thick glasses, so trendy once. 'Remember me?'
“大家好，”林书豪微笑着向众人打招呼，“你们还记得我吗？”他还戴着那副我们熟悉的厚厚的眼镜，它曾经是那么地时尚新潮。
How many of us do? It seems like such ancient history, when a 23-year-old Lin entranced this city, a backup to the backup, summoned off the couch in his brother's apartment to become the starting point guard for an imperfect team. There was a magical fortnight, an incandescent win streak, and an epic 38-point outburst versus the Las Vegas Lakers, then of Los Angeles. In a half month he became the most popular athlete in the city, a global phenomenon with a buzzy nickname: Linsanity.
我们当中还有多少人记得他？那似乎是很久很久以前的事情了，当年林书豪只有23岁，从一名寄居在哥哥公寓中的沙发、替补的替补一跃成为一支不尽完美的球队中的控球后卫新星，让整个城市都为之痴狂。那是神奇的两个星期，一段连连得胜的辉煌时期。他在与拉斯维加斯湖人队（当时还是洛杉矶湖人队(Los Angeles Lakers)）的交锋中迎来大爆发，传奇般地砍下38分。在半个月的时间内，他一举成为纽约人气最高的运动员，缔造出了一个席卷全球的现象，它还有一个响当当的名号──“林来疯”(Linsanity)。
But it got weird, fast. Lin was injured, missed the playoffs. It was presumed he'd be back, but when the Houston Rockets presented a three-year $25 million offer, the Knicks grew irritated, comically stingy, and passed. Linsanity vaporized as another New York fad, like that summer everyone in Brooklyn decided to become a beekeeper.
然而，事情很快就变得匪夷所思。林书豪受了伤，并因此错过季后赛。大家都以为他会回归尼克斯，但是当休斯顿火箭队(Houston Rockets)开出一份2500万美元的三年合约时，尼克斯感到恼火并且吝啬得可笑，把林书豪交易了出去。于是，林来疯热潮也随之消退，就如同某年夏天纽约的另一股风潮一般──那时布鲁克林区的每一个人都决意要成为一名养蜂人。
What happened next is better forgotten. The Knicks sunk deeper into the muck. Over the next three seasons Carmelo Anthony (remember him?) averaged 39 points and .004 assists but the Knicks never cracked .500.
至于随后发生的事情，不如把它们忘掉更好。尼克斯在泥沼中越陷越深。在接下去的三个赛季中，卡梅罗•安东尼(Carmelo Anthony)（还记得他吗？）平均每场砍下39分，贡献0.004次助攻，但是尼克斯队却从未取得过半数胜率。
Amar'e Stoudemire lost another fight with Miami's fire extinguisher.
同时，阿玛雷•斯塔德迈尔(Amar'e Stoudemire)再次输给了迈阿密的灭火器（译者注：斯塔德迈尔曾在与迈阿密热火队交战后手捶存放灭火器的玻璃门泄愤以致手臂受伤）。
The Knicks signed the fire extinguisher. The point-guard rotation was so bleak the Knicks brought aboard a loopy Stephon Marbury, who insisted on playing each game barefoot, with a green parrot on his shoulder.
尼克斯签下了那台灭火器。控球后卫几乎无人可以替换，于是尼克斯便请来了疯疯癫癫的斯蒂芬•马布里(Stephon Marbury)上场比赛。他坚持在每场比赛中赤脚上阵，肩上还停着一只绿鹦鹉。
Then the inevitable happened. Isiah Thomas returned to the front office, then the bench, then finally, the court, at 54.
然后，不可避免的事情发生了。伊赛亚•托马斯(Isiah Thomas)回到了前台，然后坐上了替补席，最终开始上场比赛，这是他已是54岁。
'I feel like I'm the best option for this team,' Isiah said. 'Where's Jim?'
托马斯说，“我觉得我是这支队伍的最佳选择。吉姆在哪儿呢？”
Owner James Dolan signed Thomas to a five-year, $120 million deal, then, bizarrely, attempted to trade him three hours into it, finding no takers, before trading Thomas back to himself, and signing him to a 10-year, $240 million deal. A parade of coaches rotated through the locker room: Mike Woodson, Mike Dunleavy, Mike Dunlap, Mike Bibby, Mike Francesa. It was known as Dolan's Mike Period. Larry Brown returned for six weeks, then quit for a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' to coach a Belgian slow-pitch softball team. Dolan grew furious and hired ancient rocker Lou Reed to coach. Sticking to a strategy of sitting Carmelo, reading old copies of Interview magazine and taking a nap on the bench during the second half, Reed did shockingly well; the Knicks made the second round of the playoffs.
尼克斯的老板詹姆斯•多兰(James Dolan)和托马斯签了一份为期五年的1.2亿美元的合同，非常诡异的是，他在签完合同三小时后就想把他交易出去。在找不到接手之人之后，他又将托马斯交易给了自己，并且签了一份为期10年的2.4亿美元的合同。后来，球队的教练如走马灯似地换来换去，其中包括迈克•伍德森(Mike Woodson)、迈克•邓利维(Mike Dunleavy)、迈克•邓拉普(Mike Dunlap)、迈克•毕比(Mike Bibby)以及迈克•弗朗西萨(Mike Francesa)，这被称为多兰的“迈克时代”。拉里•布朗(Larry Brown)也曾返队执教六周时间，但随后为了一个“千载难逢的机会”辞职赴比利时执教一支慢速垒球队。多兰盛怒难却，请来老牌摇滚歌星卢•里德(Lou Reed)执掌教鞭。里德依然坚守让卡梅罗坐冷板凳的策略，坐在场边读读过期的《访谈》(Interview)杂志，到了下半场还会打个盹。里德的表现非常不错，在他的执教下，尼克斯闯进了季后赛的第二轮。
But the details are just details. The end result was the same. There's been no title banner since the days of Clyde and Walt, almost 60 sorrowful years. Brooklyn, smug and annoying, has won four.
然而，细节终究只是细节，最终的结果却依旧没有起色。自克莱德(Clyde)和沃尔特(Walt)时代以来，尼克斯已有近60年的悲惨岁月未再问鼎冠军，而自命不凡、让人讨厌的布鲁克林篮网队(Brooklyn Nets)却已揽得四尊冠军奖杯。
In Houston, Lin proved steady. He was not a Hall-of-Famer but he was consistent - 17.5 points a game, nine assists, better than anything the Knicks ever got. The Rockets were lousy in the first year of the deal but they improved, reached the Western Conference finals by Lin's third season. Lin pushed on to Los Angeles, where he rejoined former Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni in a high-octane offense led by a veteran Kevin Durant, taking it all the way to a Finals Game 7 before losing 232-229.
在休斯敦，林书豪的表现颇为稳定。虽然他没能入选名人堂，但其表现却一贯保持稳定，每场贡献17.5分和九次助攻，超过尼克斯历任控球后卫的表现。火箭队在第一个赛季的表现乏善可陈，但随后提高了自己的战绩，在林书豪进入该队第三个赛季时闯进了西部赛区的决赛。后来，林书豪加盟洛杉矶，在那儿与自己当初在尼克斯的老教练迈克•德安东尼(Mike D'Antoni)重逢。在老将凯文•杜兰特(Kevin Durant)的带领之下，这支充满活力的进攻型队伍一路过关斩将杀入总决赛第七场，但最终以229-232的比分惜败。
He made a few All-Star teams. He earned a lot of money, became one of the most recognized athletes on the planet. But there was always the nagging melancholy of an opportunity lost, by leaving New York too soon. Given a choice between risk and stubborn, stubborn won.
在这些年，林书豪入选过几次全明星阵容，他还赚了不少钱，成为全球知名度最高的运动员之一。然而，过早离开纽约而错失良机的惆怅总是挥之不去。在风险与固执之间，固执最终胜出。
Here was an effort to correct the past. Dolan, still in control, shook Lin's hand at the podium, but took no questions. The irony of Lin's new deal was not lost: four years, $50 million, twice what New York declined to pay in 2012. Lin will be 45 when it's through.
现在，纠正以往过失的时刻到来了。依旧掌管着尼克斯的多兰在舞台上和林书豪握着手，但是并不接受记者的提问。尼克斯与林书豪签署的新合同的讽刺之处没有逃过记者们的眼睛，合同为期四年，报价5000万美元，是尼克斯在2012年拒绝匹配的报价的两倍！在这一次，合同完成后，林书豪就要45岁了。
Lin said all the polite things. He offered a hearty hello to the new Knicks coach, Gwyneth Paltrow. He said he was thrilled to play with Knicks center Marcus Camby, active at 56, in the first year of a new 11-year deal, and praised the recent signing of journeyman Juwan Howard. He offered nice tributes to his former teammates. Lin still speaks to Steve Novak every day. Carmelo Anthony, he heard, was averaging 78 points and .008 assists in Luxembourg. Landry Fields started a venture capital fund in Palo Alto. Amar'e had become a firefighter. J.R. Smith was now a U.S. senator.
林书豪说了很多客套话，还向尼克斯新任教练格温妮丝•帕特洛(Gwyneth Paltrow)表达了自己的诚挚问候。他说他很激动可以与该队中锋马库斯•坎比(Marcus Camby)（56岁的坎比依然活跃在球场上，这是其11年合约的第一年）一起并肩作战，同时还赞许了球队最近签下老将朱万•霍华德(Juwan Howard)的举动，此外他还向昔日的队友表达了自己的敬意。他依然每天都和史蒂夫•诺瓦克(Steve Novak)交谈。他听说卡梅罗•安东尼在卢森堡打比赛每场平均拿下78分、贡献0.008次助攻。兰德里•菲尔兹(Landry Fields)则在帕洛阿尔托(Palo Alto)创办了一家风投基金，阿玛雷改行当了消防员，J.R.史密斯(J.R. Smith)则当上了参议员。
'J.R. could be president,' Lin said. 'Amazing. Just like President Tebow.'
“J.R.能当总统呢，”林书豪说道，“他太了不起了。就像蒂博(Tebow)总统一样。”
When the questions were over, a small scrum of fans circled the podium. An older gentleman reached into a white plastic bag and removed an article of clothing, covered by a thick layer of dust. It was a blue and orange T-shirt.LINSANITY 17, it read on the back.
提问环节结束后，一小群球迷围住了讲台。一位老先生把手伸进一个白色塑料袋中，拿出了一件满是灰尘的T恤。这是一件蓝橙相间的T恤衫，衣服背面印着“LINSANITY 17”。
'Where did you find this?' Lin asked, inspecting the 50/50 tee.
“您在哪里找到它的？”林书豪问道，一边打量着这件50%棉50%聚酯纤维布料的T恤。
'The Duane Reade pharmacy,' the man said. 'They still have a pile of them, in back. Twelve for $2.'
“在Duane Reade杂货店买的。”老先生说道，“他们那儿还有一堆存货，两美元能买一打。”
Lin smiled and signed the shirt. He was back: older, richer, wearier, on the downside. What he was then, he was not now. He had finally become a true New York Knick.
林书豪笑了笑，在T恤上签上了自己的名字。林书豪回来了，更老、更富有、更疲惫、走在下坡路上的林书豪回来了。只是，现时的林书豪已非当年的林书豪。最终，他成为了一名名副其实的纽约尼克斯人。
