by blogger@arseblog.com (Arseblogger)
The Green
綠意盎然的草地
The green of the grass. Every time. It’s greener at Arsenal than anywhere else. The only time I can remember it being as green somewhere else is the first time I saw Arsenal play live. It was some time in the mid-80s, in a pre-season game against Shamrock Rovers here in Dublin.
我喜歡那草地的翠綠，而且是每一次。在 Arsenal 球場的草地總是比其他地方還來得綠意盎然。我唯一記得最清楚的是，第一次去現場看 Arsenal 比賽時顯得綠意的場地。那是在80年代中期的事了，而且是季前賽事於 Dublin 對上 Shamrock Rovers 球隊的時候。
Under floodlights, a packed terrace in a south Dublin suburb, a battle of the O’Leary brothers if I recall correctly (of course it’s possible I’ve just augmented my memory of it). David the Gooner, Pierse playing for Rovers. The pitch was amazing that night.
在照明燈之下，Dublin 南側的草坪上擠滿了觀賽的球迷，我沒記錯的話，那是 O'Leary 兄弟之爭的賽事。(當然也有可能我記性變好了)。哥哥 David O'Leary 是當時的槍手球員，弟弟 Pierse O'Leary 則為 Rovers 的球員。那一次的比賽是如此的引人注目。
We lost.
不過我們輸了。
The Red (and white)
紅色(和白色相間)
I love our kit. Red shirt, white sleeves. It’s timeless, classic and simple. Which is why it’s annoying when Nike get it so wrong sometimes. I like that Chapman added the white sleeves not for aesthetic reasons but to make it easier for our players to pick each other out,
我超愛我們的球衣。紅色上衣，白色袖套。如此的永恆、經典又簡單。有時 Nike 胡亂設計球衣會惹人嫌惡。我喜歡 Chapman 於設計時加上了白色袖套，不是基於審美觀，而是要讓槍手們能清楚地辨識球場上夥伴的位置。
※Herbert Chapman (1878-1934)於1925-1934年間擔任槍手的總教練。
My favourite kit is the one we wore in the 1979 FA Cup final though. Maybe it’s because it’s the first game I remember properly but maybe it’s just because it’s awesome. It’s timeless, classic and simple. Which is why it’s annoying when Nike foist yet another blue monstrosity upon us because of its leisure wear properties.
我最喜歡的球衣是我們在 1979 FA Cup(足總盃) 冠軍賽所穿的球衣。也許那是我還回憶的第一場比賽，也許是因為它太棒了。球衣看上去是如此永恆、經典又簡單。這也是為什麼當 Nike 偷偷加上醜陋的藍色在休閒服裝上時會令人如此地惱怒。
And if I could find a pair of the hooped socks from the mid-90s I’d buy them in a flash.
如果我還能找到 90年代中期的環紋長襪，我一定會立刻買下來的。
The Fans
槍迷們
As difficult as things are at the moment, and as depressing as I find it that people speak to each other online in the ill-mannered, pig-ignorant way they seem to think is acceptable, in real life the Arsenal fans I have met, and meet, are brilliant.
處在艱辛日子的此刻，更令人沮喪的是當我看到有人在網路上用踰矩、粗俗的話謾罵，而且還認為這是應該的。在真實生活中，我所見過的槍迷們都是**很nice的**。
Generous, funny, passionate and intelligent. The first time I ever did that weird thing of ‘meeting people off the internet’ was for the Arsenal v Barcelona Champions League game at Wembley. As part of the Arsenal Mailing List a meet-up had been arranged and off I went to a bar within sight of the stadium. Nobody touched my special area. I drank beer with people I hadn’t met before and despite the result it was fantastic. I’m still in touch with some of those people.
大方、有趣、富有熱情及聰穎。我第一次做了罕見的事─『會見網路之外真實的槍迷們』，那是於 Wembley 球場 Arsenal 對上 Barcelona 的歐冠決賽之後。作為 Arsenal Mailing List 上的成員，都會被安排在一個見面的小活動裡，結束後朝著球場旁的吧台前去。沒有人來騷擾我的沮喪心情。和不認識的人一起喝啤酒，除了比賽結果以外，都是很棒的經驗。至今我仍和那些人有聯繫。
Through Arseblog I have met hundreds more, many of whom I would consider my friends, and those friendships are borne out of one thing and one thing only, Arsenal Football Club.
藉由 Arseblog 我見過數百位槍迷，其中不乏許多值得結交的朋友，而這些友誼都出自於唯一的事物：Arsenal F.C.。
The Irish connection
愛爾蘭雙親
Clearly this is what made me an Arsenal fan. I don’t remember clearly why I became an Arsenal fan but as a child of Irish parents living in England I’m sure I was searching for some kind of identity. Much as you might laugh now, Terry Wogan wasn’t it. Remember, this was a world in which I was a Paddy when I lived in England (in spite of my Yorkshire accent) but I was a Brit the moment we returned home.
很顯然這才是使我成為槍迷的緣故。至於成為槍迷的過程就不太記得，但身為雙親都是愛爾蘭人，在孩童之際於英格蘭長大的我，一直都在尋求同儕認同感。也許說來會令你發笑，但我不是以 Terry Wogan 作為志向來尋求認同。記得當時在英格蘭生活的日子，大家嘲笑我帶著愛爾蘭的口音，儘管那是我在約克郡的口音，而回到愛爾蘭時又被譏笑帶著英國的口音。
註：推測是指 Terry Wogan 這名同時有愛爾蘭籍和英格蘭籍、聲名遠播的BBC播報員。
Brady, O’Leary, Stapleton, Devine, Rice, Nelson, Jennings. All just Irish to a small boy. There are a generation of Arsenal fans here whose first real trauma in life was the departure of Liam Brady to Juventus. A player that many of us never saw play except on TV moving to a club in Italy, played out in tiny snippets in the newspaper, and it was enough to cause heartbreak.
Brady、O'Leary、Stapleton、Devine、Rice、Nelson、Jennings，對當時還是小孩的我，清一色的愛爾蘭籍球員令我印象深刻。有不少槍迷第一次經歷心靈創傷是在 Liam Brady 離去而加盟義甲 Juventus 的那次。球員轉會到義大利的俱樂部時─除非在電視轉播否則我們都沒辦法看到過程─只出現在報紙的一小欄，就足以讓我們傷心至極。
※愛爾蘭籍的槍手球員照片：http://www.worldeasy.com/arsenal/irish.htm
I can only imagine how torturous it might have been to have blanket coverage, rolling news and non-stop rumour and gossip for the duration of the saga. Oh wait, I don’t need to imagine at all.
所以我可以想像現今一堆無止盡的轉會傳言和風聲。呃，等等，我不需要去想像才是。(已經經歷過)。
The Records
紀錄
I don’t remember the name of the book (was it the Rothman’s one?) but I had one at home as a kid and it listed each club and gave their various records. For example, record win, record loss, record attendance etc.
我不太記得書名了，似乎叫做 Rothman's One？但我小時候確實有一本，書中列出所有的足球俱樂部以及各項記錄。比方說，像是記錄了勝場數、敗場數，觀眾出席率、...等等。
I used to know that book off by heart and back to front. I knew that our biggest win and biggest defeat had come against Loughborough Town and that our record attendance was somewhere in the mid 70,000s for a game in the 30s or 40s and that no other team could beat it.
過去我能闔上書本把裡面的數據倒背如流。像是當時最多進球的勝場、被血洗的敗場都是在對上 Loughborough Town 時，還有著在30年代或40年代時 70,000人的出席人數無人能擊。
I played football stat Top Trumps against all the other teams in the book and Arsenal could win lots of times. And if we didn’t I’d just make them up so we did.
我還曾玩過足球數據的卡牌遊戲，以數據來擊敗書中其他球隊的紀錄，而 Arsenal 幾乎是常勝軍。就算沒辦法辦法贏，還是有機會不致成為最後輸家。
Our record appearance holder is an Irishman, David O’Leary who, as I say, blotted his copybook a bit as manager of Leeds. Particularly when he dared have a go at our dreamiest ever player. What was he thinking?
至今出場紀錄保持人是愛爾蘭籍的 David O'Leary，就如我說的，決定在 Leeds 擔任主教練時帶給自己不太完美的紀錄。特別是他誓言要離開那時夢幻般的槍手陣容。不曉得他在想啥？
※這部分記載令人困惑，擔任教練是在他自由轉會到 Leeds 後，後因傷勢宣布退休後才開始的
Highbury
海布里球場
Football moves on and business more than ever calls the shots but there’s no place like home. I’ve always loved city centre stadia. One minute you’re walking down a residential street, you turn a corner and there’s a gigantic football stadium.
足球界的發展和商業蓬勃，已經遠超過了俱樂部對球員的控制，但是足球職涯和商業沒有像家的感受。我一直深愛著市中心的建築視野。當你走過住宅區的街道，轉個彎，你就來到了令人震撼、大型的足球體育場。
Highbury might not compare to the Grove in terms of facilities, ease of access (maybe we should make it more difficult for people to get out) and the rest, but it has all the character. It’s always worth a walk past, to see that amazing East stand facade, and a touch depressing to see the apartments and gardens where so much Arsenal history took place.
就設施來看，Highbury 不及 the Grove 的好，走道規劃也不及(或許我們應該設計成迷宮讓人們難以走出球場 XD)、以及其他各方面，但它仍有著特殊的意義。那值得我們走一趟，看看那美妙的東看台景觀(球場外)，以及觸景生情的各個部門和花園，想起 Arsenal 過去的點點滴滴。
※Ashburton Grove 是 Emirate Stadium 的名稱，The Grove 就是指 Emirates Stadium。
But who will ever forget it?
誰能忘了它呢？
The Cannon
大砲
I’ve never been one for tattoos but I always said if I got one it would be the old cannon. What a symbol of a club. It’s not a cock perching on a ball, nor any other kind of bird or wild animal of varying ferocity. I’ll see your wild animal and raise you a cannonball in the face. I think you’ll find there’ll only be one winner.
我未曾刺青過，但若要給我一個刺青，我會選擇以前的大砲圖徽。一個俱樂部的象徵。既不是一隻公雞棲息在球上(諷刺烙刺的隊徽)，也不是經常做出暴力行為的野生動物或鳥類。只要看到你那野生動物，我就送你吃個砲彈，讓你知道只有一個贏家，那就是我們。
I get why they changed it, business, copyright, blah blah blah, but the new sanitised, we’ll sue you if you use it anywhere, version just doesn’t come close.
我能理解為什麼要改變它的圖案，你會聽到如基於商業考量、基於版權、基於.....，但真正的目的是只要你模仿這圖案，無論版本為何，都會起訴你。
The The
獨一無二的
Not the band. The fact that we have a The in front of our name and nobody else does. There’s no The Chelsea. Certainly not a The Liverpool and definitely not a The Sp*rs.
我不是指《The The》樂團。僅此一家 Arsenal ，絕無二家。沒有唯一的 Chelsea。當然也不會有唯一的 Liverpool，更不會有唯一的 烙刺。
※譯註：其他名字是菜市場名，像 Chelsea 可以是人名、糖果公司的商標等等。
There is, however, The Arsenal. It’s ubiquitous and unique. It is ours. Sometimes you hear a pundit refer to us as ‘The Arsenal’ on the telly and even if that pundit is one who you would like to smear with meat paste then chuck into a pit with a pack of starving jackals it’s still nice to hear.
絕無僅有的 Arsenal，遍及全世界。它是我們的。有時你會看到權威人士在電視上用 'The Arsenal' 來稱呼我們，甚至那人是看了就心煩的權威人士，能聽到這字仍能感到驕傲。
Maybe it’s a small thing, maybe completely insignificant, maybe you could say we don’t even a need a ‘the’ but the fact is we have a ‘the’ and nobody else does.
也許這是個小事，甚至不起眼，或者你會說多一個 'The' 會有什麼差別，但事實是我們擁有著這唯一的 'The' 而別人沒有。
We are The Arsenal.
我們就是唯一的 Arsenal。
The Players
球員們
I know, in this day and age where all our players are shit and useless and should be sold/killed/minced up and fed to cats etc, people’s affinity with players isn’t what it was.
我知道，在這個時候的球員，被批得一文不值，甚至應該被賣掉、剁掉、絞成飼料來餵貓 ....blahblah，球迷和球員的感情聯繫被毀得一去不返。
Yet under no other circumstances could I blindly worship another man the way I have with Arsenal players. The list goes back as long as I can remember. Liam Brady, of course. As a burgeoning centre-half I have to admit that Willie Young’s tackle on Paul Allen in the 1980 FA Cup final won him a place in my heart and taught me a football lesson I never forgot.
然而在沒有其他的辦法下只好盲目崇拜救世主來到，如同我以前對球員所做的那樣。期待球員加入的名單從以前到現在我都還記得。當然其中有 Liam Brady。我得承認，當時正受矚目的 Willie Young 於1980 FA Cup在 Paul Allen 的剷球那幕，贏得我對他的衷心支持，也給我上了永生難忘的一課。
I can remember fervently praying that when Charlie Nicholas left Celtic he’d choose us and not Man United or Liverpool or Sp*rs. I could barely understand why he’d want to go there anyway. They didn’t have a ‘the’ for goodness sake.
我還記得自己熱誠地祈禱，祈求 Charlie Nicholas 離開 Celtic 後選擇加盟我們而不是去加盟 ManUtd、Liverpool、或烙刺。我大概可以理解為什麼他選擇了我們。因為其他球隊都沒有『The』獨特的性質。
Rocastle, Bould, Merson (the glug-glug celebration did it for me, for some reason … ahem …), Bergkamp, Pires and Cesc were all obvious. But why, along the way, did I have soft spots just as big for Tommy Caton, Edu, Philippe Senderos and more? Players of varying quality who meant as much to me as the bone fide geniuses. I guess that’s the beauty of it.
Rocastle、Bould、Merson(為我做出喝酒的慶祝動作，基於一些緣故，...嗯...)、Bergkamp、Pires、和 Cesc 都是如此。那為什麼我也對 Tommy Caton、Edu、Philippe Senderos 以及其他球員情有獨鍾呢？這些不同性質的球員，對我而言就像是真正的天才球員。我想那正是足球的美妙之處。
—
I’m sure there are loads more if I stopped to think about it for longer, or if I had more time. But sometimes it’s worth stepping back and realising that Arsenal is something that you should cherish. It is, for all intents and purposes, a marriage, a lifelong relationship and committment.
我肯定還有很多可以說的，只是沒有多花時間去想想。但有時候值得去回顧、想想 Arsenal 對於自己有什麼是該珍惜。就意義上來說，它就是個婚姻，一生的聯繫和承諾。
For richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, and all that. We’re a bit sick at the moment and if you, like some columns I’ve read lately, want to leave your poorly partner because it’s all too much of a chore to lift him/her onto the toilet and then do the wiping, that’s entirely up to you. I’m sure you’ll be back once we’re on the mend though; when the good times return, which they will.
處於鼎盛或羸弱的狀態，病厭厭或蓄勢待發，或著一切。此時我們有點病厭厭的，如果你，就像我最近在評論上看到的，想要離開表現低下的夥伴，因為那就像照顧生病的夥伴，不但要帶他(她)去廁所還得幫他擦拭。至於要不要這樣做，決定都在你身上。我肯定你會在我們回復的時候回來，也就是在好日子回來的時候，我相信那一刻的到來。
We can all be concerned and worried about where we are and where we’re going but we’ve been here before and we’ll be here again. This is nothing new in the life cycle of this football club.
我們都擔心著現在的處境和將來的情景，但我們過去也曾經歷並且走出困境。這在足球俱樂部的週期來看，並非什麼新鮮事兒。
I offer no solution today though, and present this simply as something to counter-balance the bile, hatred and invective that has become far too large a part of supporting … wrong word … following the Arsenal at this moment in time.
我也拿目前的情形沒輒，乾脆就直接宣洩心裡的不滿(balabala....消音XD)多過於支持吧。阿！不對，應該是繼續支持 Arsenal 才是。
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