介绍:
There’s a plaque outside the Aztec stadium in Mexico City. It commemorates the football teams of Italy and West Germany for the “Game of the Century” during the 1970 World Cup. Hyperbole? Exaggeration?
在墨西哥城的阿兹台克体育场（Aztec Stadium）外竖着一块纪念碑，向1970年墨西哥世界杯中，带来“世纪之战”的意大利与西德足球队致敬。这一举措太过夸张？还是小题大做？
At the risk of calling in the men with the white coats, I might suggest the exact opposite. A slight understatement. While that semifinal had more goals scored in extra time than any other World Cup match, and this is where I probably need medical supervision, there were at least two other matches in that World Cup that could have earned a similar accolade before the Italian and West German teams took the field. So what is a World Cup? It is Gunfight at the O.K. Coral but the Mexican 1970 World Cup was High Noon.
冒着可能会被医生检查我脑袋的危险，我将提出一种恰恰相反的观点。这块碑可能有点轻描淡写了。虽然那次半决赛加时赛中的进球数在所有世界杯比赛中都首屈一指，但我认为其实在“世纪之战”前，那届世界杯中就本有另两场比赛可以获得类似荣誉。。什么是世界杯？如果一般而言我们将其比作西部片《龙争虎斗》（Gunfight at the O.K. Coral），那么1970年的墨西哥世界杯就是反传统西部片《正午》（High Noon）。
For drama, skill, panache, flair and brilliance, there has never been one like it since. Football fans occupy a different time and space, what Einstein might describe as a parallel universe. Our year, at least in Europe, starts in August and ends in June. Regional variations apply. Nostalgia may not be what it used to be, especially for football fans.
不论从戏剧性、球技、气派、球员资质还是取得的辉煌方面，那场比赛都是后无来者的。足球迷们居住在一个可能被爱因斯坦称之为平行宇宙的时空中。至少欧洲足球迷们的一年由八月份开始，六月份结束。这可能存在区域性差异。人们怀旧的往往不是事物本身，对于足球迷而言更是如此。
My boyhood football heroes are tackling arthritis instead of other players. Alchemists on the pitch decades ago now have difficulty finding a formula to climb the stairs. I was thinking of this last month as I ascended the steps, increasingly gasping, to the upper tier of the Bird’s Nest to watch two London teams in a pre-season friendly. Now I have to declare a vested interest. I am rather partial to things Arsenal, have been since 1969. As for “The Other Team”, Chelsea, well, I can appreciate that some may find them worthy of a degree of support that I find strangely at odds with the advancement of civilization.
我童年时代的足球巨星们现在正在对付关节炎而不是与其他球手厮杀。几十年前球场上的“炼金术师”们现在难以爬上楼梯。这是我上个月在鸟巢体育场拾级而上，越来越气喘吁吁时想到的。当时我正要登上上层观众席观看两支来自伦敦的足球队进行季前友谊赛。现在我先声明一下我的既定立场。自1969年起，我就是阿森纳（Arsenal）俱乐部的忠实粉丝。至于“另一支队伍”切尔西（ Chelsea），我可以理解有些人觉得他们值得得到某种程度的支持。虽然我认为这一想法有些奇怪且与文明进步方向不符。
Be that as it may, what struck me was the fact that 56,000 Chinese fans turned up to watch it. There was a fair smackering of children and teens with their parents and a lot of men and women in their early twenties and almost as many women as men in attendance. This delighted me more than Chelsea’s disallowed goal.
尽管如此，真正打动我的其实是有56000名中国人现场观看了这次比赛。其中相当一部分活泼的孩童与青少年在父母的陪伴下前来，同时有许多二十出头的年轻人，在现场看球的女性几乎与男性一样多。这远比切尔西的无效进球更让我高兴。
Why, you may ask. They are making their own nostalgia. The kids at that match will talk about it for years to come. Many will want to replicate what they saw in the playground, (not hopefully the Chelsea tendency to roll and writhe on the pitch after a legitimate Arsenal tackle!).
你可能会问为什么。因为他们正在创造自己的怀旧情结。看过这场比赛的孩子将会在今后谈论它。许多人会想要复制他们在足球场上所看到的一切（但愿不包括切尔西球员总是倾向于在阿森纳球员正当铲球后假摔翻滚。）
At least some of the couples in their twenties will have their own children and talk to them of football and persuade, bribe, entice them to support Arsenal. And the women, as in all walks of life, are vital to any endeavor’s success. And in this case the endeavor is an appreciation of football, its nuances, intricacies, tactics and its ability to engender memories as we negotiate stairs in later life. Less than a year to the next World Cup. Plaques celebrate what went, memories can help recreate.
其中一些二十出头的情侣们将会有自己的孩子，他们将和孩子谈论足球并且说服、收买、怂恿其支持阿森纳。而来自各行各业的女性们，她们对于任何事业上的成功都是至关重要的。而在此所指的事业是对于足球运动细微之处、错综复杂、战术策略等的欣赏，以及当我们日后小心翼翼爬楼梯时足球能给我们带来的美好回忆。距离下一届世界杯已经不满一年了。纪念碑纪念往事，回忆可再创未来。
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