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9. Why Is Basketball So Popular?
籃球熱
Soccer and baseball have more fans, but no other sport has increased in popularity so quickly over the past 30 years than has basketball.
雖然足球和棒球擁有較多的球迷，但過去30年來，沒有其它一項運動比得上籃球風(fēng)行得這么快。
What accounts for the sudden meteoric rise in a sport which, after all, is played best by people who are unusually tall?
這項畢竟還是由高得出奇的人打得最好的運動是如何迅速興起呢？
The secret to basketball's success lies in three particular sources:
籃球之所以成功的秘訣在于3個特點：
the celebrities in the game; commercial sponsorship of those players and the game itself;
比賽中的明星球員、對這些球員和比賽本身的商業(yè)贊助，
and the mushrooming of crowded, urban environments around the world.
以及全球各地?fù)頂D的都市環(huán)境之迅速發(fā)展。
All sports have their heroes.
所有的運動都有英雄人物。
Currently, baseball has Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa, the home run-hitting kings.
目前，棒球有馬克·馬奎爾和山米·蘇薩兩位全壘打王。
Tennis has Martina Hingus and Pete Sampras, the darlings of the courts.
網(wǎng)球有瑪提娜·辛吉斯和彼特·桑普拉斯這兩名球場寵兒。
Soccer has players so popular that they are mobbed by fans wherever they appear, especially in Europe and South America.
有些足球明星所到之處必定受到球迷的熱情包圍，特別是在歐洲和南美兩地。
Only basketball, however, has celebrities who have caught the attention of the world like no others.
然而，只有籃球明星獨一無二地受到全球矚目。
Michael Jordan is so popular even after having officially retired from the game that there is talk of his running for public office in the United States.
邁克·喬丹太受歡迎了，所以即使在他正式宣布退休之后，還有人說他要競選美國的公職人員。
Dennis Rodman, the muscular, tattooed, and much ballyhooed player formerly of the Chicago Bulls,
丹尼斯·羅德曼這個渾身肌肉，文身且愛搞怪事的前芝加哥公牛隊球員，
makes headlines whenever he pulls another of his crazy but fun-loving publicity stunts.
每當(dāng)他又出什么好玩的怪招打知名度時，就一定會成為頭條新聞。
Former players like Larry Byrd and Magic Johnson continue to command respect for their personal integrity and unparalleled sportsmanship.
像賴瑞·博德和魔術(shù)師約翰遜等已退休的球員，因為個人的崇高道德和無人能比的運動精神而依然受人尊敬。
Basketball shoes, T-shirts, and even movies are made with these basketball superstar icons.
籃球鞋、Ｔ恤、甚至電影都用這些籃球超級巨星的肖像來制作。
No other sport figures can compete with their popular recognition and appeal.
沒有其它運動人物能和他們在知名度和吸引力方面一較長短。
Is this international superstar status solely due to these men's talents and contributions?
這種國際超級巨星的地位完全是因為這些人的才能和貢獻(xiàn)而得來的嗎？
In no small part, of course, it is, but other leading athletes with equally commendable skills or who have performed attention-grabbing antics rarely reach the stratospheric level of stardom that basketball players enjoy.
乍看之下確實是如此，但其它才能同樣出色或技藝震驚媒體的杰出運動員卻很少有人達(dá)到和籃球球員平起平坐的巨星地位。
This special privilege is due to a concerted effort by the players behind the basketball players, that is, the basketball leagues' owners and sponsors.
這種特殊的禮遇來自于籃球球員背后運作者的共同努力，亦即籃球聯(lián)盟的老板們和贊助商們。
Basketball has always been a distant third in sports rankings in the United States behind baseball and American football.
籃球在美國的運動排名上始終一直位居第三，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)落在棒球和美式足球之后。
Basketball league owners and managers wanted to change this traditional perception of the immutability of these statistics
籃球聯(lián)盟的老板和經(jīng)理們想要打破這些統(tǒng)計數(shù)字永遠(yuǎn)不會改變的傳統(tǒng)印象，
and in the 1960s began a concerted effort to make basketball the game of choice by hand-picking more colorful as well as professional players
于是在1960年代開始同心協(xié)力，精選較具特色且具職業(yè)水平的球員，
and by making alliances with the commercial sponsors of athletic equipment.
并且和運動用品的贊助商結(jié)盟，努力要讓籃球成為人人喜愛的比賽。
By the 1970s, basketball team recognition in the U.S. had soared, with dedicated fans in the millions.
到了1970年代，籃球隊在美國的知名度上升，并且擁有數(shù)百萬的忠實球迷。
Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls, and the Boston Celtics had become household names.
諸如洛杉磯湖人隊，芝加哥公牛隊和波士頓凱爾特隊等球隊成了家喻戶曉的名字。
Players like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan were worth millions of dollars in commercial advertising spots for athletic equipment manufacturers, a trend which continues to this day.
像魔術(shù)師約翰遜和邁克·喬丹這樣的球員替運動用品商拍廣告片，身價都有幾百萬美元，這種風(fēng)潮一直持續(xù)到現(xiàn)在。
Today, basketball is a billion-dollar business.
今天，籃球是一個產(chǎn)值以億萬計的行業(yè)。
No amount of advertising, however, can account for the number of fans who not only double as spectators but as players themselves.
然而，廣告量卻不是球迷觀眾及球員人數(shù)倍增的原因。
Basketball courts, whether in schools, parks, or abandoned city lots, have sprouted throughout the urban landscape.
不管是在學(xué)校、公園或廢置的都市地，籃球場在都市地帶遍布出現(xiàn)。
A child is never far from a basketball ball and hoop.
小孩子到哪里都不難找到籃球和籃框。
With land becoming more expensive in ever more crowded cities, city governments are far more likely to construct basketball courts than baseball diamonds or soccer fields.
在日益擁擠的城市中，土地愈來愈貴，比起棒球場和足球場，市政府當(dāng)然比較可能興建籃球場。
As basketball equipment is minimal and inexpensive, it is no wonder that the game has become more and more popular around the world.
由于打籃球需要的用具最少而且又便宜，難怪這種運動在世界各地愈來愈流行。
What young boy doesn't dream of becoming as tall as a basketball player, or at least of having as much money or fame?
哪個年輕男孩不夢想長得像籃球員那么高，或者至少像他們一樣有錢或有名呢？
Basketball's quick pace and dynamic plays are in contrast to the much slower moves in baseball or even in much of soccer and American football.
打籃球時的速度感及沖勁和動作較為緩慢的棒球或甚至大部分時間動作都很慢的足球和美式足球恰成對比。
This dynamism is part of the pulse of our times, and so long as we live in a fast-changing world, basketball and its players will continue to appeal to sports lovers around the world.
這種沖勁正是我們時代脈博的一部分，只要我們活在快速變化的世界，籃球和它的球員們將繼續(xù)吸引全世界的運動愛好者。
