The voice of summer league
Superfan Brett Salap: the bard of Las Vegas Summer League
─超級球迷Brett Salap：夏季聯賽的吟遊詩人
By Kyle Weidie
ESPN.com 3:34 p.m. ET, July 25, 2013
Some in the crowd wonder if Brett Salap will ever shut up.
有些夏季聯賽的觀眾懷疑Brett Salap有乖乖閉嘴看球的一天。
Most accept that he’s part of an eclectic scene in Las Vegas. His sideline
antics are met with curious smiles, quizzical looks and, sometimes, annoyed
expressions. But the NBA junkies quickly fall in love. A dad tells his son to
get a photo with him. "This guy knows everything!"
不過多數人早已將他視為聯賽中獨樹一格的景象。Salap場邊看似古怪的舉動常引來旁人
好奇的微笑或疑惑的表情，有時候則是惱怒的回應。不過好些球癡愛上了這傢伙。
Salap has attended every single Las Vegas Summer League since 2004. For most
in attendance, summer league is a stop on the line, a step in the process, a
window of opportunity. For Salap, it's the only place where he can truly feel
comfortable watching the game he loves, and since the beginning, his act has
always been the same.
2004年以來，Salap參與了每一場在拉斯維加斯舉辦的夏季聯賽。對絕大多數的參與者而
言，夏季聯賽不過是人生路途中的一小站、籃球生涯中的一小步、或是一扇機會之窗。然
而對Salap，唯有這裡才能真正舒服的觀賞他所愛的籃球賽。而從開始到如今，他始終如一
。
If he sat quietly, merely observing the action, you wouldn't know Salap from
any other jersey-wearing aficionado. But he’s not quiet at all. Sitting in
the first row, he’s the gym’s self-appointed play-by-play guy. Salap calls
the game out loud with vivid accuracy, and is missing only a color analyst by
his side.
當Salap沉默的觀察球場上的一舉一動，你不會從一群穿著球衣的死忠球迷中看出他來。不過
別誤會，他可一點都不安靜。Salap自栩為場內主播，總坐在觀眾席第一排實況轉播比賽。
他總能以精準的大聲喊出比賽戰況，就只差一個正港的球評坐在身旁。
He announces the result of a referee’s whistle before the call makes its way
to the public address system. If points are accidentally assigned to the
other team by the scoreboard operator, it doesn’t get past Salap. A call
doesn’t go the way he sees it? He will give his opinion otherwise. But it’s
not just the action unfolding in front of his eyes, Salap has an incredible
ability to pull context out of thin air with his encyclopedic knowledge of
pro basketball.
Salap總能搶在裁判的哨音被廣播以前重複出來。給錯隊伍的分數一點也不能脫離他的法
眼。如果判決和他想的不一樣，他絕對不吝指教。不過Salap令人佩服的地方不只是他對
球場內動態的專注。他有項驚人的能力，乃是對職業籃球如百科全書般的知識，使他能憑
空講出許多背景資料。
Salap has Asperger's syndrome, which, according to the Mayo Clinic website,
is a "developmental disorder that affects a person's ability to socialize and
communicate effectively with others," and where the person has "an
all-absorbing interest in specific topics."
Salap是個亞斯伯格症患者。根據馬約醫院網站的資料，亞斯伯格症是一種「會影響個人與
他人社交與溝通的發展症候群」；而病人通常擁有「對特定主題有全方面吸收的興趣」。
Imagine you have trouble interacting with people on a social level. Most of
us do to some extent. To be quirky is to be human. Because of his condition,
Salap doesn't understand social graces; he isn't aware of nonverbal clues.
Everything for him is black and white.
想像一下一個有社交障礙的你。大多數的人說話會有弦外之音，因為人是總是瞬息萬變。
(但你都聽不出來) Salap也是如此。他的症狀也使他搞不懂社交禮節，和口語之外的蛛絲
馬跡(如肢體語言)。每件事情對他而言非黑即白。
Salap is 32 years old. His mother, Sharon Foster, takes care of him full
time. He is capable of holding down a job, but his condition doesn't make it
easy. He worked at a movie theater in Las Vegas at one point.
Salap已經三十二歲了，但他的母親Sharon Foster得全天候照顧他。他雖然能有份工作，
但因著亞斯伯格症並不輕鬆。他曾在拉斯維加斯的一間戲院工作。
"Boy, I really hate your team," he once blurted out to a customer wearing a
New York Yankees hat at the cinema. That didn't work out so well.
有一回Salap曾不假思索的對一位戴紐約洋基帽子的客人脫口而出：「天啊，我討厭死你那
隊了！」行不通的嘛。
Salap and his mother have lived outside of Denver for the past three years
after residing in Las Vegas for seven. Sharon has yet to find him a job in
Colorado. Salap doesn't really have any friends. Services for those with
Asperger's tend to disappear once the person reaches adulthood. Even grouping
Salap with others dealing with his condition isn’t ideal. He can't
comprehend how to interact with those less functional.
過去三年，Salap和他母親住在丹佛郊外；在這之前他們曾住在拉斯維加斯七年。Sharon
還沒替Salap在科羅拉多找到工作，Salap也沒有朋友。有關亞斯伯格症的幫助似乎在患者
成年之後便隨著消失。即使把Salap和其他與他有相同問題的人聚集起來也不是啥好點子，
因為他不懂得和那些比他更嚴重的人相處。
But once a year in Las Vegas, Salap is just another basketball addict. He
might attract funny looks, but by and large, it’s the one place where
Salap’s passion can be voiced without judgment. Summer league is his safe
haven.
但在每年一次的夏季聯賽中，Salap不過就是另一個籃球成癮者罷了。即便會引起一些看笑
話的眼光，但基本上Salap能在這裡盡情的展現對籃球的熱情而不會被任意論斷。夏季聯賽
是他的避風港。
“For a few magical days in the summer he can come here,” Foster says. “And
he’s not different with all these other people who feel so passionately
about that game as he does.”
Salap的母親說：「在夏季幾個神奇的日子裡他能來到這裡，而且和其他熱愛球賽的人沒有
多大的差別」
“The rims in Vegas this year seem a lot more bouncy than in years' past,"
Salap observes as shots continue to miss in a certain way. He pulls the names
of marginal players out of his head, often mentioning if said player has had
so much of a cup of coffee in the NBA and with what team.
「今年的籃框比過去幾年的還有彈性喔」Salap在看到幾顆投籃以特定模式持續打鐵後這樣
說。他開始提及腦海中許多小咖球員的名字，還會補充球員在NBA所屬的球隊以及哪怕是一
絲一毫的表現或經歷。
“He’s been watching basketball since he was 5 years old, and he would do
the same thing, he would watch it and he would call it,” Foster says. “And
then he has this amazing memory. ... Kids with Asperger’s have a really
remarkable memory, and that’s just one of the things that goes with it.”
「他從五歲起就開始看球。他總會做一樣的事：看球然後，喊出他知道的」母親說道，
「然後他驚人的記憶力便展現出來...，亞斯伯格症的小孩記憶都很強大，而這便是其中一
樣伴隨而來的結果」
Salap also will watch events such as the NBA draft as a primer for his time
in Las Vegas. He remembers obscure biographical details about more
recognizable players, the kind of stuff conjured by NBA broadcasters after
hours of digging and often with the help of a research staff.
Salap也會注意一些NBA例行盛事，像是選秀，作為參加夏季聯賽之前的預備。他總能記得
許多關於球員枝微末節的個人資料。一般主播總得要花上數小時的研究和工作人員的協助
才能完成。
“Waiters really killed my Clippers last year during Cleveland's early trip
out West,” he says after a basket by Dion Waiters of the Cleveland
Cavaliers. In early November, Waiters dropped 28 points on 7-for-11 3-point
shooting against the Clippers at Staples Center.
「Waiters在騎士上賽季一開始作客西區之旅的時候真是殺翻我家快艇了」，在Waiters投
進一球後他這麼說。去年十一月初時，Waiters在Staples Center對上快艇時三分11投7中
，砍了28分。
Prompted by my mentioning of Nick Young’s role in the Clippers’ amazing
comeback from a 12-point deficit against the Grizzlies with a little less
than three minutes left in a 2012 playoff game, Salap starts rattling off
other great comebacks in NBA history.
在迅速提及Nick Young在快艇2012年在季後賽，從比賽剩下不到三分鐘落後12分的劣勢中
神奇逆轉灰熊扮演的角色後，Salap開始細數NBA史上的超級逆轉秀。
“I remember back in 2002, Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals between
New Jersey and Boston, the Celtics were down like 20-something going into the
fourth quarter and they came back and won that game,” Salap recalled. Paul
Pierce scored 19 points in the final period to give Boston a 94-90 win after
being down 74-53 after three quarters.
「我記得2002年東區冠軍戰第三戰籃網對老賽，老賽落後二十幾分進到第四節，但後來他
們贏了那一場」，Salap回憶。PP最後一節砍了19分幫助老賽從前三節打完53-74落後到最
後94-90逆轉勝。
“Then again, they lost the next three and the Nets went on to the Finals, so
it really didn’t matter,” he added before going on to mention Reggie Miller
’s infamous "eight points in 9 seconds" heroics in 1995, and a 2002
regular-season game when the L.A. Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks after
being down 27 points to start the fourth quarter.
「不過老賽最後三場都輸掉了，然後籃網打進總冠軍，所以其實也沒差啦」，在提起大嘴
米勒1995年那聲名狼藉的九秒大砍八分的傳奇，以及湖人2002年例行賽從進到第四節落後
27分大逆轉之前，Salap補了那麼一句話。
Salap was born in Fullerton, Calif., and grew up loyal to his hometown Lakers
and Clippers. The “Showtime” days of Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar got him hooked on basketball, but it was the voice of former
Lakers play-by-play man Chick Hearn that sparked his passion for calling the
game.
Salap在加州的Fullerton出生，所以從小就是洛城兩支球隊的忠實球迷。魔術強森、火把
沃錫和天勾賈霸編織而成的"Showtime"使他迷上籃球，然而是前湖人播報員Chuck Hearn
點燃他對喊出比賽過程的熱情。
Salap calls Hearn, who passed away in 2002, the greatest in the history of
the NBA at his trade. “I learned so much listening to him,” Salap tells me.
“To this day, I miss him dearly.”
對Salap而言，2002年過世的Hearn是NBA史上最偉大的人。「聽他的播報我獲益良多，」
Salap告訴我「直到如今，我深深的懷念他」
As Salap has gotten older, it’s been harder and harder for him to watch
games live. He doesn’t handle losing so well. He can watch or attend a
regular-season game under one condition: two of his three teams