海___這裡劇透請小心!! 10月份會在台灣上映的林來瘋紀錄片，已經先在美國各地播映了。這位ESPN的專欄作家看完電影後，寫了這麼一篇落落長的感想，文章中他試著去理解林來瘋的本質，去貼近林書豪的處境，探討了信仰的力量，也對電影內容做了描述與回饋。在去看電影之前，不妨先看看他的分享

Linsanity: A show of good faith

林來瘋：信仰的展現

原文：http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/61953/linsanity-a-show-of-good-faith

作者：Robert Silverman

 

Linsanity. Do you still think about it? And if so, why? Is it a curiosity, an impish footnote in NBA history or a landmark event that we’ll be telling our offspring about for years to come?

林來瘋。你是否仍惦記著？如果是，為何？那是一種好奇心、一個NBA史上惡作劇般的註腳、或是一個具有里程碑意涵的重大事件，讓我們在未來幾年向子女們津津樂道？

 

Filmmaker Evan Jackson Leong definitely belongs in the latter camp. His documentary “Linsanity” premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, opens in October in select cities and was screened this week in New York City. The Los Angeles Times wrote that it got a “rousing response, easily making it one of the most crowd-pleasing documentaries to play the festival this year.”

電影製作人Evan Jackson Leong絕對屬於選擇後者的陣營。他的紀錄片「林來瘋」於2013的日舞影展首映，十月份會開放給一些被選出來的城市，本週則是在紐約市上了大營幕。洛杉磯時報寫到它獲得了：「興奮鼓舞的回應，使之輕易地成為了本年度節日裡最萬人空巷的紀錄片。」

 

 

Leong has been interviewing Lin going back to his days at Palo Alto High School, well before the world took notice. He also has collected a vast treasure trove of Lin family home movies and yet-unseen high school and college camcordered game tapes to fully flesh out Lin’s improbable path to the NBA.

Leong 開始採訪林，要回溯到林還在帕羅奧圖高中的日子，遠在世界注意到他之前。Leong也收集了大量林的家庭生活影片這一類珍貴收藏，和還沒曝光的、林高中和大學時期用攝影機拍下的比賽錄影帶，讓他能充分地統整出林難以置信的NBA之路。

 

From the moment that a mop-haired, grade school Jeremy pounds out the same tune at a piano recital three years running, you’re hooked. It’s easy to forget, in the midst of the never-ending punning and the crass denigrations of Lin’s Asian heritage, that he, personally, is such a captivating, charming person. So genuine and unassuming. It’s clear that the last thing in the world he ever wanted was the trappings of fame, fortune and celebrity, and that if he had his druthers, he’d play without anyone watching, existing solely in a realm where perfecting his chosen craft counts for more than the result of his labors.

當電影來到一個拖把頭、念小學的書豪，在鋼琴演奏會上連續三年都彈同一首歌那時起，你就會迷上它了。很容易會忘記，在那些對林的亞洲血統永不停止的雙關語和粗魯詆毀之中，他，個人，竟是一個迷人又有魅力的人。如此真誠與謙虛。很明白地在這個世界當中他最不想要的，就是被名聲、財富、和名氣所綑綁，如果他可以選擇，他會在沒別人的觀看下打球，僅僅存於一個空間讓他不斷完善他的技巧，這勞動的本身比起結果來的更重要。

 

Once the film rolls clips from the Feb. 4, 2012 game versus the Nets, the incredible, boisterous, implausible energy that drove Linsanity comes barreling back full force. Even if you can recall each game during the wondrous 8-1 stretch, the instant those oft-replayed highlights begin to roll, you’re right back in the thick of it, wholly swept up in the feverish giddiness of it all.

當影片來到2012年2月4日的片斷對上籃網的比賽，那不可思議的、猛烈的、不可置信的能量，開啓了林來瘋全速橫衝直撞。即便你可以記得奇蹟般8勝1敗的每場比賽，那些經常重播的高光影像開始播放的瞬間，你就回到了那最激烈的時候，在一切狂熱的目眩神迷之中，你完全被席捲而上。

 

Look, there’s the couch belonging to teammate Landry Fields that a semi-homeless Lin slept on during the beginning of his stint in New York! Ohmigosh, Lin was hours away from being released in favor of the immortal Mike James before his 25-point eruption against the then-New Jersey Nets staved off the executioner’s blade. There’s the blue waggling tongue after a trey, the buzzer-beater on Valentine’s Day to topple the Raptors, Kobe’s feigned lack of recognition, the whirling dervish spin move to flatfoot Derek Fisher during a 38-point outing in a victory over the Lakers, the comeback versus the defending champion Mavericks, and on and on. Pure, unadulterated bliss.

瞧，那就是屬於隊友Landry Fields的沙發，林在紐約工作的期間，半無家可歸的他曾經睡過的沙發。噢我的天，林只有幾個小時之後就會被釋放上場，贊同不朽的麥克詹母斯註1，就在他對抗當時新紐澤西籃網的25分爆發、鑿穿了劊子手的刀­之前 註2。那是他在一記三分球後的搖晃的藍舌頭，在情人節當天推塌暴龍隊的壓哨球。Kobe的假裝不認識。以38分表現拿下對湖人的勝利的過程中，一個回旋祭祀般註3的旋轉移向扁平足的Derek Fisher。對抗衛冕冠軍小牛隊的重整旗鼓（上一場對抗黃蜂敗陣）⋯⋯等等，純然、無雜質的喜悅。

 

But if you’re not a Knicks fan with a particularly nostalgic bent, the question remains: What is it that still resonates so deeply? Save for brief fits and spurts this past season, for all intents and purposes, Linsanity is a thing of the past. Why all the fuss over an average-to-middling point guard? Raymond Felton proved to be a capable replacement at a fraction of the cost. The Knicks had their best season since their dizzying run to the Finals in 1999. An objective assessment of the current state of Knick knation would have to conclude that all worked out for the best.

但如果你不是個有鄉愁傾向的尼克粉絲，那麼有個問題仍存在著：是什麼仍然深深共鳴著？上個賽季除了短暫的千篇一律和苗頭、除了各種目的和意圖外，林來瘋不過是個過去的東西。為什麼對一個平均到中等的控球後衛如此小題大做？Raymond Felton證明他是個只花上小額的成本、夠格的替代品。尼克的上個賽季，是自1999年那目不暇給的冠軍賽以來打得最好的一個賽季。客觀評論尼克國度(knation應該是筆誤)的現在狀態，會結論出一切都得到最好的發展。

 

Does it still matter?

林來瘋是否仍然重要？

Here’s why I think it does: Beyond the improbable set of circumstances that surrounded Lin’s rise to superstardom, the overriding theme that pervades the film is that Jeremy Lin’s magical ride would not have occurred if not for his devout faith in God.

它仍然是的，這是我為什麼這樣想：除卻一連串令人難以置信的境遇、圍繞在林的發跡一直到超級巨星，某一個壓倒性的主題滲透到電影的每個角落，那是，如果沒有林對上帝虔誠的信仰、他魔法般的旅程不會發生。

 

The documentary “Linsanity” is peppered with sequences that delve further into its subject matter’s faith. During a sequence detailing his struggles during his junior year of high school, he described how the defining thing that allowed him to expand his game as a creator/distributor as opposed to a pure scorer was realizing that, “God gives and takes away. God took what I really cared about at that time, and showed me that I can’t accomplish what I want to without him, that nothing in this world will happen not according to his plan.”

《林來瘋》紀錄片以幾組鏡頭零星灑在電影當中、深入探究這個題材的信仰。在一組鏡頭中，詳細敘述了他在高中一年級遇到的掙扎，他描述，有個關鍵使他能夠拓展他的比賽深度，成為一個創造者或分配者、而不只是個得分手，是當他領悟到「上帝給予我們，也可以從我們身上拿走。上帝從我身上拿走了我當時非常在乎的東西，讓我明白我沒辦法在沒有祂的情況下實現我想要的，以及這世上沒有一件事情的發生不是照著他的計畫。」

 

While addressing a group of kids at his summer basketball camp after his first NBA season, Lin declares, “God loves me, and that he has the perfect plan for me. His plan will take me through a lots of ups and downs, but if I stay faithful to him that in the end he will work everything for my good. Now when I play basketball, I don’t play for anyone else, I only play for God. That’s the type of purpose that he gave me, and once he gave me that purpose, is when I found my peace, and once I got my peace, that’s when I got my joy.”

在他第一個NBA賽季之後，他在他的夏日籃球營對一群孩子發表言講，他聲明，「上帝愛我，他有一個完美的計畫給我。他的計畫會帶我走過許多的起與伏，但如果我保持對祂的信心，最終一切祂都會以為我的好而完結。現在我打籃球，我不為任何其他人而打，我只為上帝打球。這種目的是祂給我的，而當祂給了我這個目的，就是我找到平靜的時後，而當我得到內心的平靜，就是我得著喜悅的時候。」

 

In the film’s climactic voiceover, to slow-motion replays of Lin working like a fiend to develop his game, we hear Jeremy say, “God did something supernatural to me … Learning to fight to constantly live and play for God. And when I do that, I’ll walk on water.”

在電影高潮期間的旁白，用慢動作播放林像入魔般地訓練以增進他的籃球，我們聽到他說，「上帝對我做了不可思議的事⋯⋯學習為持續活著而奮鬥，和為上帝打球。而當我做到的時候，我會行之水上。」

 

The film’s final credit line is, “And a very special thanks to God,” and its wordmark includes a lowercase ‘t,’ which looks remarkably like a crucifix.

電影最終的榮譽表揚字幕是，「以及一個非常特別的感謝歸給神」，還有它的文字符號包含了一個小寫的「t」，看起來很像一個十字架。

 

There are people for whom phrases like these will ring absolutely true. There are others who won’t have a clue what he’s talking about.

對有些人來說，這種短語聽來絕對有道理。對另外一些人來說，則是不知道他在說什麼。

 

In the name of full disclosure, I am definitely in the latter camp. I have nothing but respect for Lin’s faith. In fact, I envy it. But there is one realm in which our respective spiritual worldviews cross paths.

以完全公開之名，我絕對是屬於後者陣營的。我對林的信仰只有尊重而無其他。事實上，我羨慕。但有一個領域中，我們各自的精神世界觀交錯而去。

 

 

The reaction that many people had to Lin’s miraculous ascent was so intense, so filled with ecstatic joy, because fandom works in many ways similar to that of religious fealty. There is a set of traditions, values, heroes, villains and fables that are passed down by parent to child from generation to generation.

有很多人對林奇蹟式的上升反應非常熱烈，充滿著入迷的喜悅，因為運動迷有許多地方都與宗教的忠誠類似。有一系列的傳統、價值、英雄、壞人與寓言是經由父母交給孩子代代傳承。

 

The war stories of terrible, gut-wrenching losses are told and retold with a measure of battle-scarred pride. We spend hours scouring articles, consuming unending streams of information, wagering of our emotional well-being on the outcome of a three-hour contest, and when faced with the horrifying fact that our team will fail (again), we do the same thing people have done since time immemorial: We pray, hoping beyond hope that our supplication might in some tiny way influence the actions on the court.

有關可怕、翻腸倒肚的失敗的戰爭故事，伴隨一定程度的身經百戰的驕傲，被一再傳誦。我們花上好幾個鐘頭淘取文章，消耗掉無止盡的資訊流，把我們的情感安寧賭博在三個小時比賽的結果，而當面臨到我們的隊伍會輸（再次）的可怕的事實，我們會做古往今來人類已經做過的同樣的事：我們祈禱，希望在我們的希望深處的懇求，會以一些極小的方式影響球場上的動作。

 

Lin was in a similar state of existential and spiritual despair. He knew he had the talent to succeed. He felt as if opportunities had been denied to him for reasons utterly beyond his control, but what kept him going even in his darkest moments ready to chuck the dreams he’d harbored since childhood into the bin, was an unquenchable belief that it was all part of a plan. God’s plan.

林也曾經處在存在上與精神上的絕望的相同狀態。他知道他有才能獲得成功。他感覺就像機會已經因為某些原因拒絕了他、而最終超過他能控制的，但是是什麼讓他繼續邁進，即便在他最黑暗的時刻準備好丟棄他的夢想，他心懷著的——自孩提時期開始——是一個不滅的信念：這全都是計畫的一部分。上帝的計畫。

 

Amazingly, said plan did reveal itself, and in a miraculous fashion. At the defining moment of his life he seized the day. His faith was not only rewarded, it was vindicated in spectacular, glorious fashion. And for Knicks fans, who were absolutely at their wits’ end, after a decade marked by not only futility, but humiliation and mockery, ready to give up on yet another seemingly doomed squad, it’s entirely logical to see Lin as a savior-like figure who descended from the heavens (or at least the rafters of MSG).

驚人地，說這計畫確實顯露了它自己，以一種奇蹟般的方式。在他人生中決定性的時刻他抓住了那一天。他的信仰不僅僅被獎賞，也以壯觀與光榮的方式證明自身。對尼克的粉絲來說，他們正處於完全束手無策，在十年被標記為不只是徒勞、還有屈辱和笑柄，準備好要放棄又一個看似注定失敗的隊伍，因而把林看成自天堂下來、救星似的人物完全是符合邏輯的（或至少是從麥迪遜花園廣場的樑柱下來的）

 

Within the context of a valley of futility so deep and wide, it’s not surprising that Lin would inspire such a profound, overwhelmingly joyous reaction; that he could reaffirm the notion that there are such things as magic and beauty and maybe even the occasional otherworldly intervention in this world.

身處在徒勞的淵谷之中如此深且寬這樣的背景之中，就不會驚訝林激起這麼深遠、無比歡樂的反應；不驚訝他可以重申他的想法，的確有一些事情就像是神奇和美麗，和甚至是偶爾超凡脫俗的干預來到這個世界當中。

 

Of course, the film doesn’t detail what transpired after Linsanity ended. The injuries that cut his season short are omitted entirely as is any unpacking of the circumstances regarding the contract he signed with Houston. It’s understandable, from the filmmaker’s perspective, partly because it takes a long time to complete and edit a feature and partly because it’s a myth, of a sort. Ending the film with a more human, mundane coda is not how one recounts the heroic exploits of legends.

當然，這部電影沒有詳述林來瘋結束之後發生什麼事。受傷致使林早早結束賽季的事件完全被消除，如同任何他與休士頓簽約的事件消息。這是可以理解的，從一個電影製作的角度，部份是因為這會花上很長的時間去完成和剪接正片，一部分是因為這是個，某種類型的，神話。讓電影結束在更人性的、世俗平凡的尾聲，就不是在講述傳說的英雄事蹟了。

 

Maybe it’s absolutely foolhardy to think of Lin — or any player or team — in such terms. Maybe that degree of fanaticism is just plain bad for the soul. As a Knicks fan, I was absolutely devastated when Lin left New York. But leaving the theater, I wasn’t in the throes of some shirt-rending despair. I was smiling, laughing at myself at the folly of it all. You can love and experience loss and go back. There will be more stories, new loves, and new heroes. We’ll forget and remember and forget all over again. Linsanity is meaningless and totally meaningful.

或許用這些稱謂去憶起林—或是任何一個球員或隊伍—絕對是愚勇的。作為一個尼克粉絲，當林離開紐約的時候我完全是震驚絕望的。但離開劇院的時候，我沒有感到想撕裂衣服的絕望疼痛中。我是微笑著的，嘲笑我自己在整件事情中的愚蠢。你可以去愛以及體會失去、然後回到軌道上。還會有更多的故事、新的愛、新的英雄。我們會忘記、然後記得、然後忘記就這麼週而復始。林來瘋是無意義的，以及全然有意義的。

 

And that’s OK.

而這不要緊。

 

Robert Silverman is a TrueHoop Network blogger and co-author of “We’ll Always Have Linsanity.”

作者Robert Silverman是TrueHoop Network的部落克，也是“We’ll Always Have Linsanity(我們會一直擁有林來瘋)”的共同作者。

 

註1 這裡作者為什麼提到mike james我實在理解不能…

註2 executioner’s blade只是一種比喻，但查資料的過程中意外發現，火影忍者故事中「霧的忍刀七人眾」其中一把，就是executioner’s blade……好巧阿

註3 作者以伊斯蘭教的蘇菲派中，相當著名的蘇菲旋轉舞來比喻林的快速持球過人

 

最後附上電影的預告片: