How Golden State Went to War Over Peanut Butter and Jelly
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The Golden State Warriors seem to have everything an NBA team could ever
want. Until recently, though, they still felt there was something missing
from another dream season: peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.
In an effort to defend their NBA title, Golden State’s training staff all
but eliminated sugar on the team’s private plane this season. The idea was
to make the Warriors eat healthier, and the players were willing to accept
the changes, saying goodbye to soda, cookies and candy while in the air.
What they weren't prepared for was a PB&J ban. And that began a months-long
battle by the Warriors to save their beloved peanut butter and jelly.
今年勇士队可以说是少有的什么都不缺的球队. 可是外人所不知道的是一直到最近勇士
队上缺失了最重要的一个元素: 花生酱果酱三明治
为了达到卫冕的目标,勇士队的队医们把包机上的含糖饮食几乎清得干干净净. 为了是让球
员有更佳的状态. 但是他们万万没想到球员们会为了能吃到花生酱果酱三明治而进行几个
月的抗争
“You gotta fight for your rights,” Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton
said about bringing back the PB&Js. “If you believe in something you gotta
fight for it.”
The loss of PB&Js may have been the most trouble anyone has given the
Warriors all year. Golden State’s 44-4 record makes the Warriors, at least
at the moment, the best team in NBA history. This is one way to sum up their
season: Other teams have real problems, and the Warriors have
peanut-butter-and-jelly problems.
助理教练Walton说: "为了能吃到我们应有的食物我们不惜一战"
勇士队今年没有遇到什么难关,相比之下为了吃PB&J反而是他们遇到的最大的问题.
The simple American sandwich has become a significant part of NBA culture.
PB&Js are as much a part of a player’s daily life as the pre-game nap. Even
rookies learn to subsist on them right away. New York Knicks sensation
Kristaps Porzingis, for one, had never tried a PB&J as a child in Latvia. Now
he’s yet another addict.
The Warriors are unlike most NBA teams in many ways, but there’s nothing
exceptional about their consumption of PB&Js. On the training table in their
locker room before their games are all the standard ingredients: bags of
whole wheat and 12-grain bread, a can of Smuckers strawberry jam, a jar of
extra crunchy peanut butter and a bigger jar of creamy peanut butter. The
Warriors, for the record, are a Skippy team.
Warriors players, coaches and executives swear by PB&Js. Stephen Curry left a
half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a plate in his locker as he
warmed up for a recent game. Walton has been known to carry several PB&Js
with him at the same time. Warriors general manager Bob Myers may enjoy them
more than anyone. “It’s my desert-island meal,” Myers says.
花生酱果酱三明治是NBA传统重要的一环,很多球员都是嗜吃者. 就算是之前从来不碰的新
人也很快的被感染. 像尼克的欧洲新秀Porzingis在来美国前从来没吃过,现在也吃上瘾
勇士队很多地方与众不同,但是在嗜吃花生酱果酱三明治这方面是跟别人一样的. 在被禁止
之前他们球队休息室的桌上有着所有原料: 草莓果酱,花生酱,以及吐司面包. 勇士队从球
员教练到主管都是爱好者. Curry会把吃不完的三明治藏在置衣柜里. Walton随身会带几
个三明治. 而GM Myers甚至说如果他在被困荒岛上的话只要能有花生酱果酱三明治可以吃
他就能活下去
The PB&J prohibition that rocked the Warriors’ came from the strength and
conditioning staff that was hired after Golden State won last season’s
title. One of the first things the new trainers did was rethink the team menu
—which meant no more post-game pizza, no more cookies and, worst of all, no
more PB&Js on the plane. “They cleaned house,” forward James Michael McAdoo
said. “Sugar has been done away with.”
The PB&Js weren’t the only thing to go. A smorgasboard of cheeses was
swapped out for organic chips made with avocado oil. Golden State’s coaches
now drink black herbal tea when their coffee runs out. Even the players gave
up Gatorade and replaced it with bottles of water sprinkled with Himalayan
rock salt.
在去年勇士队夺冠后球队特别聘请营养师来重新设计球队的菜单. 所有垃圾食物: 批萨,
饼干,花生酱果酱三明治跟起士拼盘都被替换成酪梨油拌有机脆片. 勇士队教练们的咖啡
被换成黑药茶,就连开特力都变成矿泉水配喜马拉雅岩盐
Every team in the NBA is trying to eat healthier, but the stakes for the
Warriors are higher than they are for anyone else, and not only because they’
re chasing back-to-back championships and the NBA-record 72 wins. There’s
another reason for their added incentive: The Warriors will fly more than
50,000 miles this season—the most in the NBA.
That’s why the Warriors weren’t completely opposed to watching what they
ate while in the sky. They just couldn’t let the PB&J ban stand.
“We had to get those back,” Golden State guard Shaun Livingston said.
当然,NBA每个球队都尽量让球员们吃得健康. 但是勇士队不但是卫冕队,追逐历史纪录,同
时他们今年会是联盟中飞最多哩程的球队. 因此球员们了解营养师们的苦心. 但是不让
他们吃花生酱果酱三明治却超过了他们的底线.
Livingston说: 我们一定要吃
The backlash began with Walton. When he wasn’t coaching as Steve Kerr’s
interim replacement, Walton went out of his way to bother everyone he could
about the PB&Js, even though he’s well aware of the sugar in jelly, fat in
peanut butter and all that awful gluten in bread. “I stuck to my guns,”
Walton said, “and I kept complaining.”
He complained to performance coach Lachlan Penfold. He complained to flight
attendants. He complained to anyone who would listen. Walton didn’t have to
enlist any Warriors in the effort, he said, because he already knew whose
side they were on. “Every player loves them,” Walton said.
But he wasn’t the only person in a position of power with an opinion on the
matter. Myers, too, is picky about his perfect peanut butter and jelly. He
likes homemade bread from a farmers’ market. He prefers crunchy peanut butter
—but almond butter is better. And he always eats the crusts. So any policy
outlawing PB&Js would be unacceptable to the NBA’s reigning executive of the
year.
Walton开了抗争的第一枪. 当他没有在带球队时他到处为了花生酱果酱三明治请命. 从
营养师到空服员他抓到人就抱怨. 而他也不须要怂恿球员们加入他的抗争,因为他知道球
员是站在他这边
而Walton也不是勇士队决策单位中唯一不满的人. GM Myers不但是爱好者,他更是一个挑剔
的老饕. 因此PB&J禁令可以说把球队上下都惹毛了.
That left the trainers in a jam. Once they learned that some rituals are
impossible to interrupt, the inevitable occurred last month: the PB&J embargo
was lifted. The Warriors had won yet again.
“Cookies are gone, soda is gone, all that’s gone,” Walton said as he
carried a cupcake into the coaches’ locker room after another Warriors win.
“But the PB&Js are back.”
当营养师们发现PB&J对球队的重要性后,他们在一月决定取消禁令. 勇士队再一次获胜
Walton现在自己外带cupcake给教练们. 他说: "饼干跟汽水都没了,但PB&J回来了"
It’s still a mystery to some Warriors players why PB&Js were suddenly
available again. They didn’t know if the pressure from Walton really worked
or if someone else was pulling strings behind the scenes. “Somebody made a
call,” Livingston said. “Probably Steph.”
Golden State guard Andre Iguodala has a similar theory. Iguodala said the
Warriors are smart to avoid eating sugar—with one exception.
“Steph likes peanut butter and jelly,” he said, “so we’re gonna let that
slide.”
Curry was sitting in the adjacent locker when he overheard Iguodala. He
immediately looked up from his phone and over at his teammate. And then he
nodded along in agreement.
很多球员不知道这后面的内幕. 他们不知道这一切是因为Walton的斡旋还是有更大尾的有
力人士施压. Livinston说: "我认为是有人说话了,八成是Steph"
Iguodala同意这个理论: "Steph爱死PB&J了,虽然我们知道里面含糖量高但是还是算了"
Curry在旁默默点头