灌水 - NCAA

※ 引述《TimChiu (不要叫我洨狗狗)》之銘言：
: 恩，美國時間明天晚上12點整(應該說是美國禮拜六凌晨0點整)就是
: NCAA法定可以開始練球的時間。
: 各位不要忘了去參加學校的Midnight Madness活動喔 XD
http://0rz.tw/e11YM

Texas A&M hoops finds place on football's back

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- At a school steeped in so much tradition, Texas A&M
head coach Billy Gillispie knew there was a place for his fledgling
basketball program. It didn't take Gillispie long to find that place: right
on the back of the school's storied football program.

Texas A&M(德州農工)男籃總教頭Billy Gillispie知道這隻新生球隊能在這所擁有悠久
傳統的學校找到立足之地。他並沒有花太多功夫尋找，因為那就在學校充滿許多故事的
美式足球場中

Late Friday night, after more than 28,000 Texas A&M students and fans packed
the student side of Kyle Field for the traditional Midnight Yell Practice,
the Aggies basketball team was front and center

星期五深夜，在超過兩萬八千名Texas A&M學生和球迷，為了傳統的Midnight Yell
Practice*聚集在Kyle Field的學生觀眾席後，男籃隊員們卻在這個時候出現在球場中央

*Midnight Yell Practice是Texas A&M的傳統，星期五晚上學生和來自四面八方的球迷
在Kyle Field(Football球場)為星期六的Football比賽練習加油口號

Once the crowd sang the "Aggie War Hymn," in which entire rows "humped it"
and swayed in opposite directions, and after the lights were turned out at
12:25 a.m. so Aggies could kiss their dates or "flick their Bics" to find an
unoccupied set of lips, Gillispie's team began its season of rare
expectations.

大家在球場中齊唱"Aggie War Hymn"，手搭上旁邊的人的肩膀，並且以觀眾席的一排
為單位，排跟排以相反方向左右搖擺。凌晨12點55分在球場大燈關掉之後，在場的人
可以親吻他(她)的約會對象，而落單的鄉民可以點燃打火機尋找屬於他(她)的雙唇。
Gillispie的籃球隊就在這罕見的期待中展開今年球季

"You could spend your time better, as far as getting better as a team, but to
see your players experience this for the first time makes it special,"
Gillispie said. "It's something else."

"以讓這隻球隊更好為前提，你大可把時間花在更有用的地方。但看到你的子弟兵們第一
次經歷這些卻讓這件事非常特別"Gillispie說道。"這是不一樣的"

Before his first season at Texas A&M in the fall of 2004, there wasn't much
interest in basketball on a campus where football has always mattered most.
The basketball team had endured 10 straight losing seasons and had just
concluded an 0-16 Big 12 campaign. Predictably, the school hadn't spent much
time organizing a Midnight Madness event.

在他2004年秋天進入Texas A&M之前，校園中對於籃球總是興致缺缺，美式足球才是學
校的大事。在此之前，男子籃球隊經歷連續10季勝率未達五成，並且在前一年以零勝
16敗結束Big 12的賽程。可以想見，這所學校不曾花太多時間安排Midnight Madness

So, Gillispie came up with a unique way of finding his team exposure. One
Friday night, just after the stroke of midnight, the Aggies practiced in a
parking lot behind the Dixie Chicken, the students' favorite local watering
hole that claims it serves more beer per square foot than any other bar in
the U.S.

所以，Gillispie想到一個獨一無二的方法替他的球隊曝光。一個週五晚上，就在剛過
午夜時分，男籃隊在Dixie Chicken(本地最受歡迎的酒吧，號稱每平方英呎提供的啤酒
全美第一 XD)後的停車場練球。

There were no stands, just two goals in the parking lot. Still, students and
fans enjoying themselves in the North Gate Entertainment District started to
congregate, and eventually crowds 10-to-15 deep surrounded the court. When
Gillispie then went on to lead his team to one of college basketball's best
turnarounds, from 7-21 record to 21-10 overall, including two victories in
the postseason NIT, fans started filling Reed Arena for games, too.

剛開始除了兩個籃框外，並沒有任何物體站在球場邊。慢慢地，在North Gate這個歡樂
區域飲酒作樂的學生和美式足球迷開始聚集，最後總共擠了10到15圈的人在球場邊。在
Gillispie帶領他的球隊由7勝21敗進步到21勝10敗－大學籃球史上最佳進步之一－並且
在季後的NIT邀請賽取得兩場勝利後，球迷們也開始坐滿Reed Arena(Texas A&M籃球比
賽場地，個人認為贏過台灣任何籃球場館...)

"When I first came here, I said if people won't come to Midnight Madness,
let's take Midnight Madness to them," Gillispie said early Saturday morning.
"People have been excited about it."

"當我剛到這的時候，我說如果沒人來Midnight Madness，那咱們就把Midnight Madness
帶給他們"週六早晨Gillispie說到。"他們會感到興奮的"

Before last season, Midnight Madness fell on the Friday night before a home
football game. So Gillispie asked athletics director Bill Byrne about
including the basketball team's first practice in Midnight Yell Practice.
Byrne and football coach Dennis Franchione didn't object, so Gillispie went
to the five yell leaders who stage the event at Kyle Field on Friday nights
before home football games and at out of town locations before road games.

在上個球季前，Midnight Madness是指美式足球主場比賽前的friday night。所以
Gillispie詢問體育部門主管Bill Byrne是否能在Midnight Yell Practice加入籃球隊
的首次練習。Byrne和美式足球教頭Dennis Franchione並未表示反對，因此Gillispie
跑去找五位yell leader*

*類似應援團團長，由ROTC學生(類似軍校生)擔任，帶領觀眾喊加油口號，主場比賽前
的週五晚上在Kyle Field的指揮台帶大家練習，客場比賽則在比賽當地帶領球迷練習
是個充滿美國魂的男子漢團體

"I was really worried about it because it's the yell leaders' show,"
Gillispie said. "I didn't want to step on anybody's toes or impose."

"我還滿擔心的，因為Midnight Yell Practice都是看yell leader的表演"Gillispie說。
"我並不想搶任何人的鋒頭或冒犯別人"

Last year's event, though, was a hit, and Friday night's was even bigger.
Last season, the Aggies finished 22-9 and won eight consecutive games late to
finish 10-6 in Big 12 play. Texas A&M received its first invitation to the
NCAA tournament since 1987 -- the first at-large bid in school history -- and
upset Syracuse in the first round in Jacksonville, Fla. The Aggies lost to
Final Four-bound LSU in the second round on a last-second 3, but staked their
claim as one of college basketball's up-and-coming programs.

儘管去年的做法非常成功，但本週五晚上卻又更盛大。上個球季，Aggies*打出22勝9敗
並以八連勝結束通算10勝6敗的Big 12賽程。之後Texas A&M收到自1987年以來第一次的
NCAA tournament邀請－校史上第一次at-large bid(不會翻...)－並且在第一輪爆冷門
擊敗雪城大學。Aggies在第二輪比賽的最後三秒輸給最後進入四強的LSU，不過卻也宣告
他們是當今大學籃壇的新興勢力

*Aggies原指農校學生，帶有貶意，Texas A&M則用來自稱

"People have said for a long time that it's a sleeping giant," Gillispie
said. "We've just been sleeping too much."

"人們長久以來都說我們是沉睡的巨人" Gillispie說。"不過睡太久就是了"

Friday night, when most people were already sleeping, dozens of Texas A&M
students were assembled outside Kyle Field, waiting for the gates to open to
claim their place in the stands. The event wasn't scheduled to begin for
nearly two hours.

週五晚上，當大部分人已經入夢時，成千上萬的Texas A&M學生聚集在Kyle Field外，
等著閘門打開進入觀眾席找個自己的位置。這項盛會原本不打算持續將近兩個鐘頭

It's amazing," said Texas A&M junior center Joseph Jones. "It's one of the
most amazing things you'll ever see."

"真是太神奇了" Texas A&M大三中鋒Joseph Jones說到。"這是你看過最神奇的事之一"

Midnight Yell Practice is a Texas A&M tradition that started in 1932, when
two freshmen asked the senior yell leaders to hold a midnight practice to
motivate students for the upcoming football game. The yell leaders said they
weren't authorized to organize such an event, but they might show up anyhow
at the YMCA building around midnight. The school's corps of cadets and
marching band showed up, too, and railroad flares were used to light the
event. One of college athletics' best traditions was born.

Midnight Yell Practice是Texas A&M自1932年以來的傳統。當時兩位新生要求大四的yell
leader們在午夜舉辦加油練習，用來激勵學生替即將到來的比賽備戰。yell leader說他
們沒有舉辦這種活動的權利，但他們無論如何還是會於午夜在YMCA中心出現。當晚學校的
軍校生和軍樂隊也出現了，而鐵路的路燈則被當作活動的照明。大學運動史上最讚的傳統
之一就此誕生

Friday night, the Aggie marching band led a parade from the Quadrangle near
the corps' dorms and marched to the stadium, with the five yell leaders
leading the way with torches. Thousands of students and alumni lined the
route, and fell into line once the procession passed.

週五夜晚，Aggie的軍樂隊帶領遊行隊伍由軍校生宿舍旁的四角廣場往球場出發，五位
yell leader舉著火炬走在隊伍最前方。數千名學生和校友站在行徑路線兩邊，並在隊
伍經過後加入遊行行列

Around 11:30 p.m., the school's women's basketball team, which also is ranked
in the top 10 nationally in some preseason polls, took the practice court.
The court of interlocking rubber tiles had been placed on the sideline near
the student seating section -- far away from the football field as to not
harm the grass. Coach Gary Blair addressed the crowd and each of the women's
players was introduced.

大約晚上十一點半，學校的女籃(在某些季前排名位列全國前10)佔據了練習場地。這個
場地以互相鎖住的塑膠磁磚在學生觀眾席附近拼起來－為了不傷害草皮而離美式足球場
有段距離。女籃教練Gary Blair引導觀眾入場並一一介紹女籃成員

Yell practice started about 20 minutes later and five male students, wearing
overalls and t-shirts, assembled at midfield. Two junior yell leaders did 107
pushups while three senior yell leaders watched. Reveille, the school's
American collie mascot, was escorted on the field. The dog, considered the
first lady of Aggie land, is the highest-ranking member of the corps of
cadets and is a five-star general.

約20分鐘後yell practice正式開始，五位穿著連身吊帶褲和T恤的男性學生在球場中央
集合。兩位大三yell leader在三位大四yell leader的注視下做完107個伏地挺身。
身為學校吉祥物的美國牧羊犬(靈犬萊西那種)Reveille則在此時被護送進場。這隻被稱
作Aggie land第一夫人的狗，是所有軍校生中階級最高的，而且還是五星上將

Company E-2 is charged with caring for the dog; if Reveille sleeps on a
cadet's bed, then the cadet sleeps on the floor. The dog also attends class
with its handler. In the past, if the dog barked during class, the professor
was to immediately dismiss the students, but the tradition stopped when the
dog mysteriously started barking before too many tests.

E-2連是負責照顧Reveille的單位；如果Reveille睡在某軍校生的床上，這個軍校生就
睡地板。Reveille也和帶她的學生一起上課。以前如果她在上課時吠叫，教授必須立刻
解散學生，但在某代Reveille離奇地在太多考試吠叫後就取消了 XD

With Reveille watching, the yell leaders made their way to the stands and
started leading the cheers. Everything is done with hand signals. At one
point, each person in the crowd of more than 25,000 started "humpin' it,"
leaning forward to maximize their voices.

在Reveille的注視下，yell leader走向觀眾席並且開始帶動唱。所有指示都是手勢下
達。在某一刻，超過兩萬五千名觀眾開始"humpin' it"，膝蓋微彎，雙手放在膝蓋上
並微向前傾以喊出最大的音量

"It's the only place where you'll see five guys controlling 40,000 people,"
said Elmer Schneider, Texas A&M's chief of police.

"這是唯一一個能看到5個人控制四萬人的地方" Texas A&M的警長Elmer Schneider說

Mike Fossum, the first Texas A&M astronaut to travel into outer space,
addressed the crowd. School president Robert Gates, former director of the
CIA, watched from courtside. Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush wasn't
there, but was probably sleeping nearby in his apartment at the George Bush
Presidential Library and Museum on campus. Hopefully, the cannons and
fireworks didn't wake him.

首位Texas A&M太空人Mike Fossum帶領著觀眾。前CIA大頭，校長Robert Gates則在球
場邊注視著。前米國總統老布希雖然不在場，但大概就在他位在校園內喬治布希紀念圖
書館的公寓就寢。希望那些大砲跟煙火聲響別吵醒他

Around 12:30 a.m., Gillispie's team took the court. The Aggies return four
starters, including senior guard Acie Law and Jones, both preseason All-Big
12 choices by the league's coaches. There are five new freshmen, all from
Texas, and a junior college transfer -- a recruiting class that was ranked in
the top 25 nationally and considered the best in school history.

約凌晨12點半，Gillispie的球隊進入練習場。包括大四後衛Acie Law和Jones，兩位在
聯盟教頭們季前預測是Big 12第一隊成員在內，今年一共有四位返校先發球員。另外還
有五位來自德州的新生及一位從二年制學院來的轉學生，組成被評為全國前25和校史最
佳的新生團隊

"Our expectation is to win the national championship," said Law, who became a
crowd favorite when he hit a game-winning shot to beat rival Texas last
season. "We're as talented as any team in the country. We might not be on
paper, but we're tougher than anybody and closer than anybody."

"我們被期望贏得全國冠軍" 因上季對世仇UT Austin投進致勝三分球而成為球迷最愛的
Law說到。 "我們跟國內任何球隊一樣有天份(小弟不這麼認為...)。我們也許不是檯面
上的球隊，但我們比任何人都強韌，比任何人都都團結(同意!)"

Recruiting the Lone Star State has been Gillispie's biggest priority; the
Aggies already have three players from the state committed to sign this fall.
One of them, 7-foot center DeAndre Jordan of Christian Life Center in
Houston, is ranked among the top 10 prospects nationally and might have been
an NBA lottery pick next year if not for the league's new age requirements.

Gillispie一直以招募德州境內的新生為優先。Aggies已經有三位德州高卒生答應在秋天
入學。其中一位，來自休士頓Christian Life Center的七呎中鋒DeAndre Jordan被評為
擁有全國前十的潛力(記得是中鋒第十...)並且若不是因為NBA新的年齡規定，有可能會是
明年的樂透人選

"There's so many good players here," Gillispie said. "We're not only
recruiting Texas, but we'd be crazy not to get a large percentage of our
players from Texas. One of the things we've been able to do is get a lot of
people to make unofficial visits here because we're close to so many cities.
Once they're here, a lot of them fall in love with the place."

"這邊有太多好球員了" Gillispie說。"我們並不是只在德州招生，但如果說我們沒辦法
招來許多德州好手，那你一定是瘋了。因為我們鄰近許多大城，所以能讓許多球員來這邊
做非官方的參訪。許多人一到這邊後就愛上這個地方(其實有點鄉下...)"

And, finally, Texas A&M has fallen in love with its basketball team. There
has never been much to embrace. The Aggies haven't won a conference
championship since 1986 and have played in the NCAA tournament only seven
times.

終於，Texas A&M愛上了自己的籃球隊，一隻他們不曾擁抱過的球隊。Aggies自1986年後
就從來沒贏過分區冠軍，並且總共只打過七次NCAA tournament

The 1979-80 season was largely considered the greatest in school history,
when the Aggies beat Bradley in the first round and upset North Carolina in
double-overtime in round two before losing to eventual national champion
Louisville in overtime in the Sweet 16

79~80球季是普遍被認為校史上最佳的表現，當時Aggies在第一輪打敗Bradley大學，並且
在甜蜜16強的延長賽輸給後來的冠軍Louisville前，在第二輪於第二次延長賽中爆冷門擊
敗北卡(!!!)

Shelby Metcalf, the coach of that team, was fired midway through the 1989-90
season, and the Aggies have had five coaches since then. They believe they
finally have the coach who will get it done.

當時的教練Shelby Metcalf在89~90球季中遭到開除，之後Aggies換過5任教頭。他們相信
最後一定能找到一個能帶領球隊的教練

"Everyone has expectations," Gillispie told the crowd early Saturday morning.
"Expectations that we've never had here. A lot of people get scared of
expectations. But our guys are tough and they say, 'Bring it on!' "

"每個人都抱持著期待" Gillispie在星期六凌晨對著觀眾說。"這些我們從來不曾擁有的
期待。很多人會被期待嚇到，但我們的小夥子們不但堅強，他們還會說'放馬過來吧!'"

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ps1:Gillispie已經連兩年獲得Big 12最佳教練

ps2:隊中的Josh Carter和Dominique Kirk今年夏天有來台灣打瓊斯盃，對台灣的印象就
是令人難以置信的食物，Carter不太敢吃，Kirk對排骨飯評價甚高

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