Why People Love Watching Sports | Kate Fagan | TED

翻译人员: Jia Z

Did you know that a crowd of New Yorkers once filled a hall,

你知道么，有一次， 成群结队的纽约人挤满了大堂，

with thousands more awaiting word outside,

还有成千上万的人在外面等着，

and that the police had to come

警察不得不来制止

and forbid the selling of additional tickets,

出售额外门票的行为，

and that the "New York Times" used the phrase --

《纽约时报》形容当时的情形，

a phrase not yet a cliché --

用了一个还未沦为陈词滥调的短语，

that people were "packed like sardines"?

人们“像沙丁鱼一样挤在一起”。

And did you know that this frenzy

而你知道么，人们这么狂热，

was all because people were desperate to watch

只是因为不顾一切地

a woman walk in circles on sawdust?

想看一个女人在锯屑上绕圈走？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The sport was pedestrianism --

这项运动就是徒步，

when watching people walk was America's pastime.

当时看人们走路是美国人的消遣。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I won’t get too deep into the story of our pedestrian, Ada Anderson,

我就不深入探讨我们的徒步者

艾达·安德森了，

and the breathless “New York Times” articles about her walk:

但是激动的《纽约时报》记者 是这样描写她徒步的场面的：

2,700 quarter miles in 2,700 consecutive quarter hours.

在连续的675小时内， 她完成了1086公里的行走。

I bring up this long-ago event for a singular purpose:

我之所以讲这个很久以前的故事， 只有一个原因：

to question what you think you know about why we watch sports.

那就是问问大家你们知道 我们为什么要观看体育赛事呢？

If people lost their minds watching someone walk in circles,

如果人们像发疯了一样看别人绕圈走，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

what can this teach us about the heart of sports?

那么这种狂热又反映了 体育怎样的内核呢？

Understanding what compels us to watch sports,

要理解吸引我们看体育赛事的原因，

it's not just a thought experiment, although it is that,

不仅仅是一个思想实验， 尽管是这样，

but it's more.

但远不止如此。

It could have tangible effects.

它会产生实际的影响。

If we're willing to inspect what actually spikes our heart rate

如果我们愿意探索到底是什么 导致了我们的心率飙升，

and pushes us to the edge of our seats,

并将我们推到了座位的边缘，

instead of just assuming we know,

而不是仅仅假设我们知道，

we can all, collectively, make the sports world a more equitable place.

我们就可以共同让体育世界 变得更加公平。

I didn't say "equal," I said "equitable."

我没有说“平等”，我说的是“公平”。

Fair, evenhanded, just.

公平、公正。

Often, if you ask someone why they watch sports,

通常，如果你问一个人 他们为什么观看体育比赛，

they will tell you because they want to watch the best of the best.

他们会告诉你， 因为他们想看巅峰对决。

Anything else ...

除此之外，

isn't worth their time.

不值得他们浪费时间。

This reasoning ...

背后缘由是，

it presents itself as biological.

它表现为生理性的。

The men’s sprint champion --

男子竞速赛冠军

always a half-second faster than the women's sprint champion.

总是比女子竞速冠军快半秒。

The men of the NBA --

NBA的男人们，

most of them can jump higher than the women of the WNBA,

他们中的大多数人都比 WNBA的女子球员跳得更高，

and on, and on ...

等等。

If we passively accept this premise

如果我们被动地接受这样一个前提：

that the only sports worth watching are those played at the apex of humanity,

唯一值得观看的运动是那些 在人类巅峰进行的运动，

then we have baked into our sports world a reason for why women's sports don't ...

那么我们就在我们的体育世界中 加入了为什么女子运动没有……

and can't ...

不能……

and won't matter.

也不重要。

For example:

例如：

"Call me when women can dunk"

“当女人可以扣篮时给我打电话”

is a thing that people have long said.

这是人们早就说过的话。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Yeah, alright, so we're dunking now.

是的，好吧，所以我们现在扣篮了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"Actually, you know what?

“其实，这样吧，

Call me when women can do 360 dunks."

当女人可以完成 360 度扣篮时 给我打电话。”

2050 here, on the line.

期限到 2050 年。

“Yeah, alright. We’re doing 360 dunks now too.

“好吧。我们现在 也能 360 度扣篮了。

Ah, yeah, alright. We’ll call you, then.”

是啊，好吧。 那我们就给你打电话。”

You get it.

你懂了吧。

So let me lay out my theory for you.

那么让我告诉你我的理论。

My theory about what actually compels us to watch sports.

关于到底是什么让我们 观看体育比赛的理论。

I spent seven years as a columnist and feature writer at ESPN,

我在 ESPN 担任专栏作家 和专题作家七年，

and I did shows like "Around the Horn," "Outside the Lines," "First Take."

我做过节目"Around the Horn"， "Outside the Lines" 和"First Take"

And we would always look at the sports calendar

我们总是会查看体育赛事日历，

and try to pinpoint moments when women's sports would be big --

并试着确定女子体育赛事的重要时刻——

like, really big.

比如，非常重要的时刻。

And it was always the same two events,

但总是同样的两个事件，

the Olympics, then the World Cup.

奥运会，然后是世界杯。

Then, the Olympics.

然后，奥运会。

Toss some tennis in there,

期间加入一些网球，

but mostly the Olympics and the World Cup.

但主要是奥运会和世界杯。

And so we got to thinking: What is it about these two events?

所以我们必须思考： 这两个事件到底有什么关系呢？

What are the common factors that allow women's sports to transcend

是什么共同因素让女子运动能够超越

for these fleeting moments?

这些转瞬即逝的瞬间？

Because even at the Olympics,

因为即使在奥运会上，

the men's swim times

男子游泳时间

are just a fraction of a second faster than the women's.

也只比女子快几分之一秒。

These two events have two crucial elements in common:

这两个事件有两个关键的共同点：

stakes and storylines.

利害关系和故事线。

This is what burns at the center of sports.

这就是体育运动的核心。

In the Olympics, we have all agreed a gold medal matters.

在奥运会上，我们都同意金牌很重要。

Same with the World Cup.

世界杯也是如此。

And now, paired with these agreed-upon stakes,

现在，与这些共识的利害关系相结合，

we also have -- at the Olympics and the World Cup --

我们在奥运会和世界杯上也有了

very obvious storylines.

非常明显的故事线。

One person has a USA jersey on,

一个人穿着美国队的队服，

someone else has a different country's jersey on.

另一个人穿着不同国家的队服。

Alright.

好的。

We’ve got agreed-upon stakes, we’ve got very obvious storylines --

我们有了共识的利害关系， 我们有了清晰的故事线，

of course, now, we're going to have a commitment

当然，现在我们要有一个承诺

to even deeper storytelling,

来更深入地讲述故事，

which is how we end up teary-eyed

这就是为什么我们在看完NBC的

after a three-and-a-half-minute NBC vignette about a Romanian gymnast.

三分半钟关于罗马尼亚体操运动员的 小插曲后会热泪盈眶。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You have everything you need, now, for the next two hours of competition.

现在，你已拥有了接下来 两个小时比赛所需的一切。

An Olympic gold medal is on the line.

一枚奥运金牌悬而未决。

And you’ve got your storyline.

你已经有了你的故事线。

A Romanian gymnast desperately overcoming the odds.

罗马尼亚体操运动员拼命克服困难。

Boom.

炸场了。

Storylines drive up the stakes.

故事线提高了利害关系。

Higher stakes -- more storylines,

更高的利害关系——更多的故事线，

and on and up we go.

我们继续往上走。

Every so often, a female athlete or a team,

每隔一段时间， 一名女运动员或女子团队，

they will hit the tipping point.

她们将达到转折点。

We understand their storylines, we’ve got the stakes.

我们了解他们的故事线， 我们有了利害关系。

Here, I'm thinking Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Ronda Rousey,

在这里，我想到了塞雷娜·威廉姆斯， 西蒙·拜尔斯，龙达·鲁西，

Megan Rapinoe.

梅根·拉皮诺埃。

Right?

对吧？

These are the outliers.

她们都是异类。

And having representation matters.

拥有代表性很重要。

But what tends to happen

但往往会发生的情况是，

is that these handful of female athletes

这些少数女运动员

carry the media burden for all of women's sports.

承担了所有女子运动的媒体负担。

Not only that --

不仅如此，

the media gets to say "Yeah, we checked that box, we're good.

媒体会说“是的，我们做了 那件事，我们很好。

We did that thing,

我们做了那件事，

we put so-and-so on the cover, like, seven years ago.

我们把某某放在封面上， 就像七年前一样。

We're good."

我们很好。”

What doesn’t happen is the pursuit of additional storylines,

而没有发生的是追求更多的故事线，

expanding the breadth of our storytelling,

扩大我们讲故事的广度，

which is what is continually happening on the men's side.

而这在男性运动员那边不断发生。

When I worked at ESPN and I would do a TV show,

当我在 ESPN 工作时， 我会制作一个电视节目，

I was in the production room,

我在制作室里，

and I was always pitching women's sports stories.

我总是在推销女性体育故事。

It almost never worked.

它几乎从来没有起作用。

Every once in a while, it would work.

每隔一段时间，它会起作用。

And the thing about doing sports on TV ...

还有关于在电视上做体育节目......

is that you are not actually an expert at everything you're talking about.

你实际上并不是你所谈论的 所有事情的专家。

(Laughter)

(Laughter)

But you read, you do your homework,

但你会阅读，做好功课，

you figure out a position.

找到一个位置。

But this thing would happen when we would do a women's sports segment:

但当我们做女子体育部分时， 就会发生这种情况：

Many of the other men on the segment ...

做这块的许多其他男人

didn’t really do their homework.

并没有做好功课，

So they were kind of "blah."

所以他们有点“废话”。

Then, the segment would be kind of "blah."

然后，这个片段就会有点“废话”。

There's actually a term for this,

其实有一个术语专门指这个，

it's called "gender bland."

叫做“性别平淡”。

And then, the segment would end,

然后，这个片段会结束，

and the producer would be like,

制片人会说：

"See? This is why we never do women's sports,

“看到了吗？这就是为什么 我们从不报道女子运动，

because they're boring."

因为很无聊。”

When a men's segment fell flat, the problem was us.

当一个男子片段表现不佳时， 问题出在我们身上。

We would redo it.

我们会重做。

"Alright, come on, do your homework. Pick it up. We're doing that again."

“好了，来吧，做好功课。 重来。我们再做一次。”

When a segment on women's sports fell flat,

当一个女子片段表现不佳时，

the problem was women's sports.

问题在于女子运动。

This is a microcosm for how this plays out across media.

这是跨媒体表现的一个缩影。

Never finding the new angle, never finding the new story.

一直找不到新的角度， 永远找不到新的故事。

So what you do

所以你要做的

is you rely on the millions of stories that already exist.

就是依赖现有的数百万个故事。

And you know what already exists?

你知道什么已经存在了吗？

Every men's sports story imaginable.

你能想象的每个男人的运动故事。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The reality is that just existing in our culture,

现实是，这已经存在于我们的文化中，

you will know a dozen men’s storylines.

你会知道十几个男人的故事线。

I mean, these things are literally push-notified to your phone.

我的意思是，这些实际上是 推送通知到你的手机上的。

Or you're sitting behind someone on an airplane,

或者你在飞机上坐在某人后面，

and you can’t help but see what they’re watching on ESPN.

你会情不自禁地看到他们 在ESPN上观看的内容。

Or you’re at a bar, or a doctor’s office,

或者你在酒吧或医生办公室，

and the talking heads are giving you the latest NBA drama.

那些人正在给你播报最新的NBA情况。

In America, osmosis will have you knowing men’s sports storylines.

在美国，你会潜移默化的了解 男人的体育故事线。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And by the way,

顺便说一下，

when men have a daughter and they finally get women's sports,

当男人有了女儿， 他们终于有了女子运动，

what they're really saying is,

他们真正想说的是，

they finally have a front-row seat to the stakes and the storylines.

他们终于在利害关系和 故事线中占据了前排席位。

Let's go back in time again.

让我们再次回到过去。

Philadelphia, 1931.

1931年，费城。

The Philadelphia Quicksteppers, an all-Black women's basketball team,

费城快步队是一支全黑人女子篮球队，

led by a legend, Inez Patterson.

由传奇人物Inez Patterson领导。

Patterson, she knows a thing or two about storylines.

Patterson多少懂些故事线。

She's ahead of her time.

她领先于时代。

So she goes to the local all-Black newspaper,

所以她去找了当地的全黑人报纸，

"The Philadelphia Tribune,"

《费城论坛》

and she proposes a deal.

她提出了一项协议。

Sponsorship.

赞助。

Storylines in exchange for naming rights.

用故事线换取冠名权。

This may very well be the first naming-rights deal in history.

这很可能是历史上第一笔冠名权交易。

The Philadelphia Quicksteppers become the Philadelphia Tribunes.

费城快步队更名为费城论坛队。

And I bring this up because the very next year, 1932,

我之所以提这个是因为 就在第二年，即 1932 年，

there's an intracity rival --

出现了一个同城竞争对手——

the Germantown Hornets with Ora Washington, very famous player.

日耳曼敦黄蜂队，队里有 奥拉·华盛顿，非常著名的球员。

And they decide, the two of them -- Germantown, the Tribunes --

然后黄蜂队和论坛队双方决定，

to play a five-game series to determine the best team in Philadelphia.

通过五场系列赛来确定 费城最好的球队。

Remember, storylines was part of the deal.

请记住，故事线是交易的一部分。

Five-game series goes to a fifth game.

五场系列赛进入第五场比赛。

And this is how the "Tribune" writes about the atmosphere in game five, 1932:

“论坛队”是这样描述 1932 年 第五场比赛的气氛的：

"The cash customers fanned to fever heat by the ardor and closeness of combat

“现金观众因比赛的热情和激烈而狂热，

gave outlet to all kinds of riotous impulses."

释放出各种暴躁的冲动。”

Alright?

对吧？

This may not sound familiar yet, but our girl, Ada Anderson?

这听起来可能还不熟悉， 但是我们的女孩，艾达·安德森？

1879, the "New York Times" writes about her walk.

1879年，《纽约时报》 报道了她的行走。

Her walk.

她的行走。

"Many women were seen to faint in the dense crowd,

“很多女人在密集的人群中晕倒，

but as they could not be carried out,

但由于无法被抬出，

it is not known what became of them."

所以不知道她们的情况如何。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Hot damn, y'all, people loved ladies' sports, right?

大家没想到吧， 人们喜欢女子运动，对吧？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I mean ...

我是说 ...

(Applause)

（掌声）

Who knew?

谁能想到？

Well, wherever you find compelling storylines

无论你在哪里发现引人入胜的故事线

and agreed-upon stakes,

和商定的利害关系，

you will find people on the edge of their seat.

无论参与者的背景如何，

No matter the vertical leap of the participant.

你都会发现紧张激动的人们。

So ...

那么……

Who tells the storylines of women’s sports today?

谁在讲述当今女子体育的故事线？

Many of you will know the statistic I'm about to put up.

你们中的许多人会知道 我将要提供的统计数据。

University of Southern California, Purdue University,

南加州大学、普渡大学

released in 2021,

研究了

studying the year 2019 in sports media coverage.

2019年体育媒体报道情况， 并于2021年发布。

Of all of the minutes of ESPN's SportsCenter in 2019,

在2019年ESPN体育中心 的报道时长里，

5.1 percent of them given to women's sports.

其中5.1%给了女子运动。

You know what's really sad about this number?

你知道这个数字 真正令人悲伤的是什么吗？

It's that it's not even as high as it looks,

就是它根本没有看起来那么高，

because 2019 was a Women's World Cup year.

因为2019年是女足世界杯年。

Audience: Woo-hoo.

观众：呜。

KF: What happens when you take out the Women’s World Cup minutes?

当你拿掉女足世界杯的时长会发生什么？

3.5 percent

3.5%

of all of the minutes of SportsCenter ...

SportsCenter 总时间的 3.5%...

given to women's sports.

给了女子运动。

Now what if I told you that number is even higher than it seems?

现在，如果我告诉你 这个数字比看起来还要高呢？

Because what mostly makes up that number

因为这个数字的主要组成部分是

is, like, a game recap,

比赛回顾，

a quick highlight.

亮点速递。

We call these "one-and-dones."

我们称这些为“一劳永逸”。

There is nothing to think about.

没有什么可以思考的。

There's no follow-up.

没有后续。

It is a “storyline” for a reason,

叫“故事线”是有原因的，

because a "line" keeps going.

因为有一条“线”延续下去。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

A game recap is not a storyline.

比赛回顾不是故事线。

What drives interest in sports are the heroes and the villains,

激发人们对体育运动兴趣的 是英雄和坏人，

and the "Were they paid too much?"

以及“他们的报酬是否太多？”

and "Should that coach be fired?"

以及“那个教练应该被解雇吗？”

Something to really sink your teeth into

一些值得你真正投入

and to stake a position on.

并坚定立场的事情。

Do you know that ESPN has had the rights to the WNBA

你知道WNBA成立26年来，

all 26 years of the league's existence?

ESPN一直拥有该赛事的转播权吗？

And in that time,

那时，

not one studio show was ever made to introduce people to these storylines

还没有制作过任何一部演播室节目 来向人们介绍WNBA的这些

of the WNBA.

故事线。

People will tell you that number reflects consumer demand.

人们会告诉你这个数字 反映了消费者的需求。

But that number reflects one thing --

但这个数字只反映了一件事——

that number.

那个数字。

Who can want more of something they have never been given?

谁能想要更多他们从未得到过的东西？

And how can we believe we want more of something

我们怎么能相信我们想要更多的东西，

if the reasons for not wanting it are biological?

如果我们不想要某样东西 是出于生理原因？

That feels pathological.

这感觉很病态。

Remember Ada Anderson?

还记得艾达·安德森吗？

Remember the Philadelphia Tribunes?

还记得费城论坛吗？

"The cash customers fanned to fever heat."

“现金观众因比赛的热情 和激烈而狂热。”

And why did they fan the fever heat?

他们为什么狂热？

Because our collective love of sport is deep, and it's human,

因为我们对运动的集体热爱 是深厚的，而且是人性的，

and it's driven by deep and human motivations.

它是由深刻的人类动机驱动的。

The physical expression of athleticism

运动能力的身体表现

is just one element of the equation.

只是其中的一个要素。

But somehow, for reasons we know,

但不知何故，出于我们所知的原因，

it has been elevated above all else to justify our current model.

它已经被提升到高于一切的程度 来证明我们当前模型的合理性。

This is a model built ...

这个模型的建立

without vision,

并没有远见，

meant to, reluctantly, provide women a small place.

目的是不情愿地 为女性提供一个小空间。

But never ...

但从未有过...

not really, a chance.

从来没有，一个机会。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼声和掌声）