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How Golden State Went to War Over Peanut Butter and Jelly

http://goo.gl/s2PsdQ

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.

今年勇士隊可以說是少有的什麼都不缺的球隊. 可是外人所不知道的是一直到最近勇士
隊上缺失了最重要的一個元素: 花生醬果醬三明治



“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.

助理教練Walton說: "為了能吃到我們應有的食物我們不惜一戰"

勇士隊今年沒有遇到什麼難關,相比之下為了吃PB&J反而是他們遇到的最大的問題.

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.

花生醬果醬三明治是NBA傳統重要的一環,很多球員都是嗜吃者. 就算是之前從來不碰的新
人也很快的被感染. 像尼克的歐洲新秀Porzingis在來美國前從來沒吃過,現在也吃上癮



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.



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.

當然,NBA每個球隊都盡量讓球員們吃得健康. 但是勇士隊不但是衛冕隊,追逐歷史紀錄,同
時他們今年會是聯盟中飛最多哩程的球隊. 因此球員們了解營養師們的苦心. 但是不讓
他們吃花生醬果醬三明治卻超過了他們的底線.

Livingston說: 我們一定要吃

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.



而Walton也不是勇士隊決策單位中唯一不滿的人. GM Myers不但是愛好者,他更是一個挑剔
的老饕. 因此PB&J禁令可以說把球隊上下都惹毛了.

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.”



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.

很多球員不知道這後面的內幕. 他們不知道這一切是因為Walton的斡旋還是有更大尾的有
力人士施壓. Livinston說: "我認為是有人說話了,八成是Steph"

Iguodala同意這個理論: "Steph愛死PB&J了,雖然我們知道裡面含糖量高但是還是算了"

Curry在旁默默點頭

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So truly, if there's light then I want to see it
Now that I know what I am looking for
Truly, if there's joy then I want to feel it
Here in this world is where I want to be
'Cause I can't cry anymore
                             ------Delerium Ft: Nerina Pallot "Truly"

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