2023年7月20日 星期四

For Best Playoff Performance, the Floppy Goes To.... 論季後賽表現 最佳假摔獎得主是…


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讀紐時學英文
2023/07/21 第442期 訂閱/退訂看歷史報份
 
 
紐時周報精選 For Best Playoff Performance, the Floppy Goes To.... 論季後賽表現 最佳假摔獎得主是…
The Esports World Is Starting to Teeter 玩不下去的電競美國夢
紐時周報精選
 
For Best Playoff Performance, the Floppy Goes To.... 論季後賽表現 最佳假摔獎得主是…
文/Kurt Streeter
譯/周辰陽

論季後賽表現 最佳假摔獎得主是…

In the 2023 NBA playoffs, LeBron James got in on the act. And Stephen Curry, and the league's MVP, Joel Embiid. Kyle Lowry keeps trying, but, oh, does he need help. Even Nikola Jokic has taken a bow.

在2023年NBA季後賽中,詹姆斯跟進了,還有柯瑞,以及聯盟最有價值球員安比德。羅瑞一直嘗試,但,喔,他確實需要幫助。甚至約柯奇都參加演出。

Yes, this postseason has showcased the beauty of basketball. The upstarts, upsets and dominance. But it has also been marred by players of all stripes — ahem, Malik Monk, the sixth man for the Sacramento Kings — falling and flailing as if stung by a cattle prod.

是的,本季的季後賽展示了籃球之美。後起之秀、爆冷與宰制,但也被形形色色的球員搞砸了—嗯,沙加緬度國王隊第六人蒙克—跌倒跟扭動就像被趕牛棒刺了。

All in desperate attempts to hoodwink referees into calling fouls.

全都是不顧一切試圖矇騙裁判吹犯規。

Welcome to the National Basketball Floppers Association.

歡迎來到國家籃球假摔球員協會。

Flopping isn't new, of course. In the 1970s, Red Auerbach, the Boston Celtics' fabled and curmudgeonly leader, railed on national television against the "Hollywood acting" that was sullying the game.

當然,假摔不是什麼新鮮事。在1970年代,波士頓塞爾蒂克隊的傳奇火爆領袖「紅頭」奧拜克就在全國電視節目抱怨正在毀掉比賽的「好萊塢演技」。

"NBA floppers are almost always overacting," said Anthony Gilardi, a Hollywood acting coach. "You watch these guys with their pratfalls and their on-court stunts, and it's so over-the-top cringeworthy as to be hilarious."

好萊塢演技導師吉拉迪說,「NBA假摔球員幾乎總是演得太假,你看著這些傢伙跟他們的屁股著地摔和場上花招,誇張到讓人啼笑皆非」。

I asked Gilardi to watch video clips of sham playoff tumbles and offer an assessment. He had seen most of the plays and knew the subject well. He's a Celtics fan who has seen all of Marcus Smart's greatest flops.

我請吉拉迪觀看季後賽假摔的影像短片並提供評價,他看過大部分比賽,很了解這個主題。他是塞爾蒂克隊球迷,看過史馬特所有最偉大的假摔。

There's a vast difference, Gilardi said, between players reacting to contact in a way that creates an illusion that a foul has occurred and being so obvious that every fan in the arena can tell the reaction is fake. It is the difference between what we see from an Oscar nominee and an actor on a run-of-the-mill soap opera.

吉拉迪表示,球員對碰觸做出反應製造發生犯規的錯覺,以及太過明顯以至於場內每個球迷都可看出反應是假的,兩者之間有巨大差異。這就像奧斯卡獎入圍者與平淡無奇肥皂劇演員之間的差異。

"In soap operas, it's often the case you can absolutely tell they are acting," he said, emphasizing the word the way Heat guard Max Strus would a shoulder bump. "There's not enough subtlety to create the illusion."

他說,「在肥皂劇中,通常你可以知道他們正在演」,他強調「演」這個詞的方式,就像熱火隊後衛史特魯斯肩膀被撞的樣子,「沒有足夠的巧妙來製造幻覺」。

The flop, part acting and part competition, is now baked into the NBA. It shows off athleticism and skill, a deep thirst for winning as well as showmanship — attributes that define the league. It's all part of the spectacle.

假摔,一半在表演一半是比賽,現在融入了NBA,它賣弄運動能力與技巧,對勝利的深切渴望以及表演技能,這界定了聯盟的屬性,也都是比賽場面的一部分。

So why not have some fun with it? Maybe, instead of resisting and demonizing the flop, we should embrace it — but demand better acting.

所以何不樂在其中?或許,與其抵制與妖魔化假摔,我們應該擁抱它,但要求更好的演技。

With the dominant way Jokic has been playing to get his team to the franchise's first N.B.A. finals, the concept of stopping him seems like pure theater.

照約柯奇大殺四方讓金塊隊首度進入NBA冠軍決賽的打法,阻止他的念頭似乎是純粹作戲。

 

 
The Esports World Is Starting to Teeter 玩不下去的電競美國夢
文/Kellen Browning
譯/高詣軒

玩不下去的電競美國夢

Six years ago, the Madison Square Garden Co., a group that includes James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, announced a triumphant entrance into sports' next frontier: a professional video game league.

六年前,美國職籃紐約尼克隊和職業冰球紐約遊騎兵隊的業主麥迪遜廣場花園公司,也就是詹姆斯.杜蘭所屬的集團,氣勢如虹地宣布踏入體育界的下一個疆域:職業電子競技聯盟。

The New York investors spent more than $10 million to purchase a majority stake in Counter Logic Gaming, an esports team, and said that professional video gaming "now stands on the verge of enormous change, which we believe has the potential to generate significant growth."

這批紐約投資客砸下超過1000萬美元買下電競戰隊CLG的多數持股,並表示職業電競界「現在站在巨大變革的邊緣,我們相信這有潛力創造巨額成長」。

Instead, that growth has stagnated. As esports revenue fell below expectations and investors became skeptical of the industry, Madison Square Garden's owners last year tried to find a way out of the business by selling their marquee team.

然而,成長卻停滯不前。有鑑於電競收益下滑至低於預期,且投資人開始懷疑這個產業,麥迪遜廣場花園公司的老闆們去年透過出售他們名號響亮的隊伍,試著尋求出路離開這個業界。

After years of fanfare, esports in the United States are giving way to economic realities. Unable to turn a profit, team owners are cutting costs by laying off employees and ending contracts with star players. In some cases, they are selling their teams and sometimes at a loss, offering a blunt reality check to people who believed esports could be the next big thing in entertainment.

多年的吹捧之後,如今美國電競產業正讓位給經濟現實。由於無法轉虧為盈,戰隊的老闆正透過解僱員工、終止和明星選手的合約來降低成本。有些情況下,他們正在出售旗下隊伍,甚至偶爾會賠本賣出,這給了相信電競是娛樂產業明日之星的人一記現實的當頭棒喝。

Most alarming, some viewers seem to be losing interest. They watched 14.8 million hours of the 2023 spring season of the League Championships Series, the biggest U.S. esports league, down 13% from a year earlier and down 32% from 2021, according to estimates from the data firm Esports Charts.

最值得警惕的是,有些觀眾似乎正失去興趣。根據數據公司Esports Charts估計,美國最大電競聯盟、英雄聯盟冠軍聯賽,2023年春季只獲得1480萬小時觀看時數,比前一年下滑13%,且比2021年減少32%。

Star esports players can earn seven-figure salaries and compete for championships. Investors over the past decade purchased stakes in teams that participate in professional leagues for games including League of Legends, Overwatch and Call of Duty.

明星電競選手收入上看7位數,還能角逐冠軍賽。過去10年投資客買進戰隊股分,這些隊伍參與「英雄聯盟」、「鬥陣特攻」、「決勝時刻」等遊戲的職業電競聯盟。

The biggest of those is the League Championship Series, a 10-team league established in 2013 and run by Riot Games, the company that created League of Legends. In the league, teams go head-to-head in League of Legends, a fantasy-themed game, in matches that can draw millions of viewers and fill stadiums.

其中規模最大的是英雄聯盟冠軍聯賽,該聯盟在2013年成立,共有10支隊伍,由創造「英雄聯盟」的公司銳玩遊戲營運。在聯盟中,各隊伍在奇幻主題遊戲《英雄聯盟》裡正面對決,賽事可吸引數百萬名觀眾,競賽場館座無虛席。

But the leagues have struggled to make money. Partnerships to broadcast esports tournaments on sites such as YouTube and Twitch have dissipated, sponsors are slashing their advertising budgets, and owners are operating teams at a loss while paying huge salaries to esports players.

但這些聯盟卻苦於創造利潤。將電競比賽在YouTube和Twitch等網站播出的合作關係已逐漸消失,贊助商則正在削減其廣告預算,而戰隊老闆們正在虧本經營,還得支付高額薪資給電競選手。

Some esports teams, including Evil Geniuses, have parted ways with many of their expensive League of Legends players. Others, such as 100 Thieves, are laying off employees and senior executives.

包括EG戰隊在內的部分電競隊伍,已經告別隊上許多「英雄聯盟」高薪選手。其他像是100 Thieves等隊伍,正在解僱員工和高階主管。

 

 
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