Rugby charm
魅力橄榄球
When I was 10， there were two things I knew for sure： I loved football， and the Green Bay Packers were my favorite team. My family lived in sunny Miami， but I would have gladly moved to frigid Wisconsin just to see the Packers’play.
This was the 1967 season， and the Packers kept winning. The next thing I knew， they were coming to the Orange Bowl to play the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl. The game would be played on my 11th birthday right in my hometown. I couldn’t think of a better birthday gift than to go see the Packers win.
They had a bunch of my heroes. Bart Starr， the quiet， humble quarterback from Alabama who rose to stardom under the leadership of the great coach Vince Lombardi. And there was Max McGee， Willie Davis， and Jerry Kramer. All stars.
Someday， I wanted to play like these guys， and I wanted to see them play in person， not just on TV.
“Dad， can we go？” I asked.
“We’ll see， ”he said.
If I asked for anything and he said，“We’ll see，” I usually got it. If I asked to go fishing and he said that， I knew we probably were going to go.
So I thought we might go to see the Packers take down the Raiders.
But we didn’t. My dad tried every way he could to get tickets， short of getting scalped by some scalper， but tickets just weren’t available.
“Sorry， son， ”he said. “We’ll see what else we can do. ”
All that was left to do was watching the game on TV， I figured.
Then my father bought me a football. I was glad to get it， all smooth and brand-new. But I already had a football.
“This is going to be a very special ball， ” he said.
“How？ ”
“You’ll see. ”
The Packers came to town， and each day before the game， I read all the articles in the newspaper during the big pregame buildup. Almost everyone agreed that the Packers would win， but I wasn’t so confident——you never know till the game is over.
“Who do you think will win？” I asked my father.
“We’ll see，”he said.
Then， a couple of days before the game， my father took my new football to work with him. I didn’t know why.
When he brought it back， he presented it to me as a birthday gift. It was covered with the autographs of nearly every Packers on the team： Bart Starr， Boyd Dowler， Donny Anderson， Vince Lombardi， the coach. Even names I hardly recognized.
I couldn’t believe it.
“How did you do that？” I asked.
That Sunday we watched the game on TV， and I held the ball， signed by the very guys who were playing the game.
The Packers won： 33-14.
“Don’t ever play with this ball，” my dad advised me. “Just put it on your shelf and enjoy it. Someday it’ll be worth something.”
I kept it on my shelf for about a year， but there’s only so much enjoyment a boy can get from a football sitting on a shelf.
One day I took it outside and told a friend to “go alongó. He ran and I threw. Actually， I overthrew. The ball hit the road out front. We picked it up， and it had a huge scuff on it， right through the names of several Packers’ players.
“You ruined it，”my father said when he saw it. But he didn’t get mad. Or， if he did， he kept it to himself.
Once the ball was ruined， it became like any other football. I played with it often in backyard games， and eventually it went into the trash.
Today， the experts say the’67 Packers were one of the greatest teams in pro football history. The team was made up of players who became legends.
I guess that ball would be worth a lot of money now. But the memory of that gift from my father—and his quiet reaction after I had played with it—is worth a whole lot more.
10岁时，有两件事情我最清楚：我喜欢橄榄球，并且“绿湾包装工”队是我最喜欢的球队。我家在阳光灿烂的迈阿密，但我宁愿搬到寒冷的威斯康辛州，以便去看“包装工”队的比赛。
1967年的赛季，“包装工”队一直在赢。我知道，下次他们将去参加“橘子杯”，与“奥克兰袭击者”队在“超级碗”中比赛。我11岁生日那天，这场球赛将在我的家乡拉开序幕。再也没有什么比看到“包装工”队获胜更好的生日礼物了。
他们中间有一大群我心目中的英雄。来自阿拉巴马州的巴特？斯塔尔，这位安静谦逊的四分卫在伟大教练文斯？伦巴迪的领导下一举成为明星，还有马克斯？麦基、威利？戴维斯和杰尔？克莱默，他们都是耀眼的明星。
我幻想有一天，自己能像这些大腕们一样去打橄榄球。我想亲自去现场看他们比赛，而不是在电视上。
“爸爸，我们能去现场看比赛吗？”我问道。
“会的，”他说。
每当我向父亲索要一些东西时，他总会说：“你一会儿就会看到了。”通常情况下，我也真地得到了自己想要的东西。如果我要求去钓鱼，他也会这样说的，我知道我们或许真的会去。
因此我想也许我们会去看“包装工”队击败“袭击者”队的比赛。
但这次我们却没有如愿以偿。爸爸千方百计去买票，由于一些票贩子投机倒卖，球票变得非常短缺。
“很抱歉，儿子，”他说，“让我们看一下还有没有别的办法。”
我想只好从电视上看这场比赛了。
后来，爸爸为我买了一个橄榄球。得到新橄榄球的我非常高兴。这个崭新的橄榄球非常圆滑。但我已经有一个橄榄球了。
“这将是一个非常特别的橄榄球，”他说。
“怎么特别？”
“你很快就会看到。”
“包装工”队来到镇上。每天在规模宏大的赛前集合期间，我都会阅读报纸上的文章。几乎每个人都认为“包装工”队会获胜，但我却没有那么自信——在比赛结束前什么事情都会发生。
“你认为谁会获胜？”我问父亲。
“我们将拭目以待，”他说。
在赛前好几天，父亲每天都带着新橄榄球去上班。我不知道这是为什么。
当他回来的时候，他把橄榄球作为礼物送给了我。上面几乎写满了所有“包装工”队队员的签名：巴特？斯达、博伊德？杜勒、多尼？安德森和教练文斯？伦巴迪。甚至有些名字我已经记不起来了。
我感到难以置信。
“你是怎么搞到这些东西的？”我问。
那个星期天我们从电视上观看比赛，我用手抱着橄榄球，那个正在打球的明星签过名的球。
“包装工”队以33：14的比分获胜。
“就不要打这个橄榄球了，”爸爸向我建议说。“把它放在你的柜子中，留做欣赏用吧。将来它会更宝贵。”
我让这个球在柜子中待了一年。但将橄榄球放在一个柜子中，这对于男孩来说乐趣毕竟太有限了。
一天，我把它带到外面，并约一个朋友“去打球”。他跑过来，我把球投了过去。然而我扔得太远了，球飞出去砸在了前面的公路上。我们将它捡回来时，上面已经有一大块皮被严重磨损，正好穿过几位“包装工”队队员的名字。
“你把它给毁了，”当爸爸看到橄榄球时对我说。但他并没有怒不可遏。要是那样的话，他会自己将球保存起来的。
一旦这个橄榄球上的签名被毁，它就变得非常普通。我经常在后院里打这个球，最终它成为一个无法再打的破球。
今天，行家说1967年的“包装工”球队是橄榄球历史上最伟大的球队之一。 球队是由那些传奇队员组成的。
我想那个橄榄球现在肯定很值钱。但对爸爸这件礼物的记忆——以及他在我打球后的平静反应——比什么都更珍贵。
Memorable moments
难忘的时刻
The old saying that you should live each day as though it’s your last is a nice sentiment， but it doesn’t work. Take it from me. I tried it once and here’s what I learned： if I pursued only happiness and lived just for the moment， I’d be a poor husband and father， a waster with a perpetual three-day growth on my chin. Cancer taught me that. Suffering， I learned， is as essential to a good life， and as inextricable as bliss.
Before cancer， whatever I imagined happiness to be， pretty soon I wore it out， took it for granted or threw it away. A portfolio， a Porsche， a coffee machine---- these things were important to me. So was my hair. Then I lost them； including the hair.
When I was， I was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer， which had metastasized into my lungs and brain. I sold my car， gave up my career as a world- class cyclist， lost a good deal of money and barely hung on to my life. When I went into remission， I thought happiness would mean being self-indulgent. Not knowing how much time I had left， I did not intent to suffer ever again.
I had suffered months of fear， chemotherapy so strong it left burn-like marks under my skin and surgery to remove two tumours. Happiness to me then was waking up. I ate Mexican food， played golf and lay on the couch. The pursuit of happiness meant going to my favourite restaurant and pursuing a plate of enchiladas with tomatillo sauce.