【耐克对战阿迪达斯】第三集：行走的广告牌

中文文稿+英文翻译 

Nike V Adidas

耐克对战阿迪达斯

Episode 3: Walking Billboards

第三集：行走的广告牌

[SFX: telephone ringing]

 【特效：固定电话铃响】

HOST: It is Fall, 1972.

主持人：这是1972年的秋天。

In an office in Romania, a phone is ringing.

罗马尼亚的一间办公室里，电话响了。

An office that belongs to the agent of a tennis player named Ilie Năstase. (pronounced: eh-li-ay nass-tass-ey)

这是网球运动员伊利耶·纳斯塔塞的经纪人所在的办公室。

"Nasty" for short.

 为了方便，我们就叫他那厮吧。

Starting in the 1960s, "Nasty" clawed his way to the top of pro tennis, beating out the likes of the American great Stan Smith, and doing it with his trademark arrogance.

从20世纪60年代起，那厮就逐步跻身职业网球运动员前列，以他标志性的傲慢姿态，击败了世界上一些极富盛名的网球选手，包括美国的斯坦·史密斯。

Nasty is cocky and crude--but despite all that... He is also one of the most popular athletes in the world.

纳斯塔赛是又傲慢又粗鲁。尽管如此，他也确实是全球最知名的运动员之一。

Like a lot of European players, Nasty used to wear apparel made by Adidas, the German -based sneaker giant. But more recently, he’s taken to sporting a pair of shoes called Match Points, which are made by a young company out of Oregon, USA...

和大部分欧洲网球选手一样，那厮一般都穿由德国运动鞋巨头阿迪达斯生产的鞋。但最近他穿上场的一双鞋，是由美国俄勒冈一家年轻的运动公司生产的。

[SFX: A plastic phone coming off the cradle]

【特效：提起电话听筒】

HOST: Which, as it turns out, is the purpose of this particular call.

主持人： 这通电话正是和刚刚提到的鞋有关。

Agent voice: Allo?

经纪人：您好？

[SFX: A muffled voice]

【特效：低沉的声音】

[00:01:00]

HOST: The caller, in his brisk American accent, identifies himself as a one time runner named Phil Knight (pronounced: Fill Nite)---founder of along with his former track coach, Bill Bowerman (pronounced: Bau-er-mann), a Portland company called Nike….

主持人：电话另一头的人，操着轻快的美式口音，说自己名叫菲尔·奈特，曾是一名田径运动员，现在和之前的田径教练在波特兰共同建立了一家名叫耐克的公司。

Nike is only a few years old. But already, by focusing on technical improvements, Nike has made a big splash on the growing sneaker market: A market that includes, among others, New Balance, Diadora, Converse, Reebok, and what Knight likes to call "the biggest monster out there--- you know the one.

耐克虽然刚成立没几年，但凭借着技术上的革新，耐克已经在迅速发展的运动鞋市场上大放异彩。同样在这个市场里的，还有新百伦，迪亚多纳，匡威，锐步，当然还有奈特口中的“大魔头”，不说你也能猜到是哪家公司。

Adidas has deep roots in Europe, and they’ve succeeded in signing dozens of the world’s most popular athletes to endorsement deals – deals that ensure Adidas remains in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

阿迪达斯此时已经在欧洲已经站稳了脚跟，成功签下了数十个世界上最受欢迎运动员的代言，这些代言可以让阿迪达斯继续保持极高的曝光率。

Knight understands that if he is going to compete globally with Adidas, he’s going to need at least a few high-profile athletes endorsing Nike--even if they are, you might say...Nasty...

奈特知道，如果耐克想要在国际市场上和阿迪达斯竞争，就必须拿下一些知名运动员的代言，哪怕这运动员像那厮一样不招人喜欢。

And Nasty is a good bet, since he already *wears Nikes. Knight wants to seal this special relationship by paying him enough not to give so much as a thought to lacing up a pair of Adidas shoes.

那厮的确是一个不错的选择，他已经在穿耐克的鞋了。奈特想要通过高额的代言费让纳斯塔赛确定和耐克的独家合作关系，从此不再穿阿迪达斯的鞋。

 [SFX: Indistinct Knight talking here, and under the next track.]

【特效：奈特说话的声音】

HOST: Over the phone, he suggests to Nasty's agent that he would be willing to pay the tennis player *five thousand dollars for his exclusive endorsement. He breaks into a cold sweat as he makes the offer.  Truth be told: He doesn’t exactly have five thousand dollars lying around.

主持人：奈特在电话中向那厮的经纪人表示，自己愿意支付五千美金，以成为那厮的独家赞助商。说这句话的时候奈特着实捏了一把冷汗，他其实根本拿不出五千美金。

AGENT: How about $15,000?

经纪人：一万五千的话，可以考虑一下。

KNIGHT:  $10,000. It’s absolutely as high as I can go. 

奈特：一万美金，不能再多了。

AGENT: Deal.

经纪人：成交。

[SFX: Whoosh of an airplane]

【特效：飞机的轰鸣声】

[SFX: Piano music]

【特效：钢琴声】

HOST: A few days later, Knight flies to Omaha, where Nasty is competing in a tournament. Over dinner with Nasty and his wife, who is a model, Knight presents Nasty with the papers...and he signs them.

主持人： 几天后，奈特飞到奥马哈，那厮正在那儿比赛。那厮带着模特妻子和奈特共进晚餐，签下了奈特递出的合同。

[SFX: Cork pops]

【特效：软木塞弹出的声音】

HOST: One bottle of wine is consumed, and then another.

主持人：奈特喝了一瓶又一瓶。

That evening, Knight returns to his hotel room, more than a little ---tipsy.

那天晚上，奈特回到酒店时已经醉得厉害。

He feels ---well, grand...wouldn’t you?--- Kingmaker! A tycoon!

他觉得自己简直是个大人物，是个实打实的商业大亨！

Which brings to mind another feeling almost instantly.... Thanks to Nasty and his agent, there’s a feeling of lightness in his wallet.  But as queasy as he might be in this wee small hours of inhebrated reflection...Knight has no idea how much worse he could be feeling right now if only he knew what Adidas was doing right now...as it happens---the German firm has been collecting hundreds of endorsements.

不过，另一种感受很快向他袭来，由于那厮和他的经纪人提出的高价，奈特的钱包已经被掏空了。奈特醉醺醺的，恶心得想吐，却还是要努力做着打算。要是他知道阿迪达斯现在在做什么，他不知道得有多难受。因为阿迪达斯已经签下了数百笔代言。

SEGMENT ONE

第一部分

HOST: From Wondery,I’m ________, (insert Host’s name) and this is Business Wars. The multi-million dollar rivalry between the two biggest sneaker manufacturers on earth, Nike and Adidas, is heating up.

主持人：您正在收听的是由 Wondery 授权、喜马拉雅制作播出的《商业战争》。

This is Episode 3: Walking Billboards.

请听第三集：行走的广告牌。

In the last episode, we looked at the origins of these two corporations born on separate sides of the Atlantic, in very different eras-- and run by very different kinds of executives.

在上一集中，我们了解到了这两家公司的起源。两家公司分别起源于大西洋的两岸，创立的时代背景迥异，管理风格也十分不同。

Today we’re going to fast-forward a bit, to the 1970s, and the first real collision between the two, which took place, not coincidentally, at the dawn of the era of the big ticket endorsements by top athletes.

在这一集中，我们将快进到20世纪70年代，这个时期，运动品牌公司开始给顶尖运动员巨额代言费，两家巨头的第一次正式对战也由此拉开帷幕。

Of course, as long as there have been professional sports, there have been professional athletes willing to accept money to wear certain clothes, or attach their fame to other brand names...

当然，从职业运动诞生起，就有运动员愿意收钱为品牌代言或者和运动品牌合作。

Consider the case of Honus Wagner, the early 20th century baseball player who famously allowed his likeness to be affixed to cigars and razor blade advertisements. In 1905, Wagner was paid to endorse a certain bat company called Louisville Slugger.

棒球运动员霍纳斯·瓦格纳就是一个例子。20世纪初，他同意将自己的头像放在雪茄和剃须刀的广告上，这在当时十分轰动。1905年，瓦格纳还跟一个叫路易斯维尔的球棒公司签下代言。

[00:05:01]

But the deal Wagner and Louisville struck was little more than nominal compared to the endorsement machinery that comes online starting in the 1960s.

不过和后来20世纪60年代开始兴起的线上代言相比，瓦格纳和路易斯维尔的合作规模简直是微不足道。

Across the globe, television networks are signing syndication deals with various sports leagues: In Europe, it’s rugby and soccer. In the US, it’s Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League. 

当时，全球各地的电视网络都在与各大体育联盟签订联合协议。欧洲的电视台签了橄榄球和足球队。美国的电视台则与美国职业棒球大联盟、国家橄榄球联盟和国家曲棍球联盟达成合作。 

[SFX: Clip of the "Game of the Century”]

【特效：世纪之战比赛片段】

ANNOUNCER: ...The largest paid audience to ever see basketball anywhere at any level...three seconds...UCLA’s winning streak... and pandemonium at the Astrodome!

播音员：这是史上最多观众购票观看的一场篮球赛… 最后三秒… 加州大学洛杉矶分校连胜失败… 哦太空人体育馆翻天了！

HOST: In January of 1968, a now-defunct syndication network called TVS broadcasts the first nationally-viewed college basketball game. It’s an exhilarating match between the UCLA Bruins and the Houston Cougars that goes down in history as the "Game of the Century."

主持人: 1968年1月，TVS，这家现已不复存在电视网络，首次在全国范围内播出了大学生篮球赛。这是一场激动人心的比赛，加州大学洛杉矶分校棕熊队对战休斯顿大学美洲狮队，这场比赛后来被称为“世纪之战”。

The game is so dramatic that it is broadcast daily around the country for the next week. And the number of fans explodes.  So do the number of broadcasts of college games.

这场充满戏剧性的比赛在之后的一周中每天都被全美各大电视台不断转播。粉丝数量迅速增长，大学生篮球赛的转播量也因此增加。

It’s a revelation for the entertainment industry, and for Americans who can watch their favorite athletes compete too.

这不仅给娱乐行业提供了一个全新的思路，也让喜爱运动员竞技的美国球迷们眼前一亮。

In real time.  Almost any day of the week. Fans can just flick on the television sets to watch their favorite teams, tracking players on basketball courts, football fields and baseball diamonds.

几乎是每一天，球迷们只要打开电视，就可以观看自己喜欢的球队的比赛直播，不管他们喜欢的是是篮球、足球、还是棒球。

Of course, athletic companies see something else here: the world’s largest billboards--not just on the walls of the stands... but running, passing, dribbling, batting, kicking 3 dimensional ambassadors of all things in athletic wear...

当然，体育公司看到的就不仅是比赛了，他们在比赛中看到了世界上最大的广告牌。看台墙上的平面广告只是一部分，那些在场上奔跑着的，不断传球运球击球踢球的运动员们，才是运动服饰的立体广告。

A marketing revolution is about to take hold .

一场营销革命即将爆发。

And it’s the Dassler (pronounced: Dass-lerr) family that first leverages these developments on a mass scale.

而达斯勒家族在这场营销革命中抢占了大量先机。

When we last checked in with the Dasslers, Rudi and Adi had parted ways, with Rudi (pronounced: Roo-dee) starting Puma, and Adi (pronounced: Ah-dee) founding Adidas.

关于达斯勒家族的故事，我们上次停在了阿迪和鲁迪两兄弟分道扬镳的地方。鲁迪创立了彪马，阿迪则建立了阿迪达斯。

By the 1960s, Adi is still an active presence at Adidas headquarters in Germany, but born at the turn of the century, he’s getting on in years. He’s taking more of a backseat at his own company, leaving most of the day-to-day decisions to his thirtysomething son, Horst.

19世纪60年代，阿迪仍然活跃于德国阿迪达斯总部。但出生于世纪之交的阿迪，此时已经上了年纪，他在公司管理中逐渐退居二线，将大部分的日常事务交给三十出头的儿子霍尔斯特来打理。

In temperament, Horst is less like his father than his estranged uncle, Rudi. He’s happier cutting deals than he is at a drafting table. His motto: Business is about relationships.  

比起父亲，霍尔斯特的性格倒更像他疏远已久的伯伯鲁迪。霍尔斯特更喜欢谈判桌而非设计台。他把“人际关系就是生意的一切”奉为座右铭。

Decades on, Horst remains famous for his *business acumen. He understands that it is all fine and good to make a nice shoe. But in the television age, with millions of people around the world having color tv’s parked in their living rooms, if your shoe isn’t on that box, you might as well not bother making it all.

数十年来，霍尔斯特一直以他敏锐的商业直觉而闻名。他知道，制造出一双好鞋固然是好事。但在电视时代，如果鞋不能出现在电视上，那么它被生产出来也没什么意义。

He goes hard after contracts with top athletes, often competing directly with Puma, which is now controlled by Rudi Dassler’s son – and Horst’s cousin – Armin.

因此，霍尔斯特拼命争取和顶尖运动员签约，时常需要与彪马正面对峙。彪马当时的掌门人是鲁迪的儿子，也就是霍尔斯特的表哥，阿敏·达斯勒。

And Horst is not above playing rough, either.

霍尔斯特不会手软。

[SFX: Audio from the 1968 Olympic Trials]

【特效：1968年奥运选拔赛的音频】

HOST: 1968. The Mexico City Summer Olympics soon will be underway, and Horst and Armin have been doling out cash to athletes in various disciplines. They don’t ask much in exchange: Only that the athletes wear the right shoes when they compete.

主持人：1968年，墨西哥城夏季奥运会即将举行。霍尔斯特和阿敏都在忙着给各个领域的运动员送钱，条件很简单，只要运动员同意在比赛时穿自己品牌提供的鞋。

In advance of the Games, Horst travels to the Olympic trials, near Lake Tahoe, in California. There, he happens to note that a top US runner, Lee Evans, is wearing Puma sneakers known as “brush shoes,” which have dozens of tiny pins on the soles to improve traction. When Evans completes a record-setting 400 meter dash, Horst starts muttering aloud to everyone within earshot.

奥运会赛前，霍尔斯特去到位于加州太浩湖附近的奥运会选拔赛场。在那儿，他碰巧注意到当时美国最顶尖的短跑运动员李·埃文斯穿着彪马生产的“刷子鞋”。这种刷子鞋的鞋底附有十几根细针，可以提高跑步时鞋面和跑道的附着程度。埃文斯穿着这双鞋刚刚完成了一个破纪录的400米跑，站在一旁的霍尔斯特就开始大声抱怨起来，周围的人都能听到他嘀咕。

HORST: Those pins, they’re not that different from spikes, are they? And don’t Olympic track regulations forbid athletes from competing with more than six spikes on each sole? Well, that can’t be fair.

霍尔斯特：你看那鞋底的针，不是和鞋钉差不多吗？奥运会田径比赛不是规定，参赛运动员鞋底的鞋钉不能超过六个吗？那穿这样的鞋比赛，不公平吧。

HOST: Horst sits back and waits for what he knows will happen.

主持人：说完这些，霍尔斯特又坐了回去，他知道接下来会发生什么。

A game of telephone ensues, and soon, Horst’s objections have reached the ears of Olympic officials, who decide that Evans’ record is null and void. Not exactly a good look for one of Puma’s most visible celebrity endorsers.

几通电话之后，霍尔斯特的抗议很快传到了奥委会官员的耳中，他们宣布埃文斯刚刚创下的记录无效。彪马最知名的代言人，当下情况并不乐观。

Puma is left flat-footed.

而彪马也被打了个措手不及。

Still, it presses forward.

不过，游戏到这儿还没完。

By the late 1960s, it has become apparent to executives at both Puma and Adidas that if the companies are continue to grow, they will need to expand further into the United States, and particularly into the fastest *growing sports -- professional basketball and football.

20世纪60年代后期，彪马和阿迪达斯的高管都清楚，公司要扩张就得进军美国，尤其是要进军当时在美国迅速发展的篮球和橄榄球运动市场。

Fresh off the Olympic trials embarrassment, puma strikes first, paying a young quarterback named Joe Namath $25,000 to wear its sneakers on the gridiron.

就在奥运会选拔赛的丑闻之后，彪马立马主动出击，给一个名叫乔·纳马斯的橄榄球四分卫运动员开出两万五千美金的价格，让他在赛场上穿彪马的鞋。

[SFX: Clip of Super Bowl III]

【特效：第三届超级碗的片段】

Announcer: “NBC Sports presents the third AFL NFL world championships game the Superbowl”

播音员：NBC体育正为您带来第三届超级碗的转播。

[00:10:03]

HOST: When Namath’s New York Jets beat out the Baltimore Colts to win the 1969 superbowl, the man who’d be celebrated as “Broadway Joe” is sporting Puma shoes.

1969年的超级碗比赛上，纳马斯所在的纽约喷气机队击败了巴尔的摩小马队，夺得超级碗冠军。绰号“百老汇乔”的纳马斯由此捧红了脚上的彪马鞋。

The pay-off is immediate and big: 400,000 pairs of Namath-branded Pumas are sold that year.

彪马的这次投资收获了快速且丰厚的回报。那一年由纳马斯代言的彪马鞋卖出了40万双。

Instead of attempting to follow Puma into the football arena, Adidas fires back with the release of a *basketball sneaker called the Superstar.

阿迪达斯没有跟随彪马进军橄榄球界，而是推出了一款名为 “超级明星”的篮球鞋作为反击。

Before the Superstar, the vast majority of professional basketball players wore Chuck Taylor All-Stars, floppy canvas shoes made by a Massachusetts company called Converse.

在“超级明星”球鞋面世前，绝大多数职业篮球运动员穿的都是“查克·泰勒全明星”的鞋，这是由马萨诸塞州一家名叫匡威的公司生产的软底帆布鞋。

But Horst and his designers determine that the All-Stars leave the ankles too prone to twists and strains. They also figure that players would be better served by stronger toe protection.

但霍尔斯特和公司的设计师认为，球员穿匡威的全明星球鞋打球，脚踝非常容易扭伤或者拉伤，同时鞋子对球员脚趾的保护也有待提高。

Working out of a lab in France, where Adidas had recently expanded, the company devises the first run of Superstars, with their iconic shell toe, triple stripe design, and thick cuff that encircles the ankle.

那时的阿迪达斯刚拓展到法国，也是在法国的实验室里设计出了首批“超级明星”球鞋。鞋头是标志性的贝壳头，鞋身印着三道杠，脚踝处加上厚实的包边作为保护。

And soon, most of the members of the Boston Celtics, winners of the 1969 championships, are wearing Superstars. By the early 1970s, approximately 85 percent of pro basketball players hit the courts in Adidas shoes.

没过多久，1969年NBA冠军得主、波士顿凯尔特人队的大多数成员，都换上了“超级明星”球鞋。到20世纪70年代初，大约有85％的职业篮球运动员比赛时都穿阿迪达斯的鞋。

Some are being paid a lot of money to do it. Example A: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (pronounced: Kah-reem Ahb-dool Jab-barr), a seven-foot-2-inch Los Angeles Lakers star, who is signed to deal rumored at $25,000-per-year.

有的运动员从中获利颇丰。来自洛杉矶湖人队、身高两米一八的卡里姆·阿布杜尔-贾巴尔就是一个例子。据说阿迪达斯每年会给他两万五千美金作为报酬。

Kareem is the face of a new generation of basketball talent, and he becomes the first NBA player to get his own custom sneaker---it’s dubbed---the Adidas Jabar.

卡里姆是篮球新星的代表，也是第一位拥有自己的定制运动鞋的NBA球员，他的定制鞋被称为 “阿迪达斯贾巴尔”。

When Kareem tears up the court in front of millions of viewers, it’s the three stripes the fans are seeing.

数百万观众在欣赏卡里姆在球场上的所向披靡的同时，也看到了他脚上的三道杠。

Still, no company can hang onto market control forever, and soon, a new challenger is rising out of the West Coast. And unlike Adidas, a big European corporation with only a small permanent footprint in the US, this *newcomer is American to the core.

不过，没有哪家公司可以永远在市场占据主导。一个新的竞争对手正在美国西海岸迅速发展。阿迪达斯说到底是一家欧洲的公司，目前在美国的稳定业务也还有限，而这个新公司则是一家彻头彻尾的美国公司。

SEGMENT TWO

第二部分

[SFX: Sneakers thumping on dirt, heavy breathing]

 【特效：运动鞋踩在尘土上的声音，伴着重重的喘息声 】

HOST: 1970. Hayward Field, home of the University of Oregon's track squad. A lean and angular runner races around the track, his legs gobbling up the meters. His name is Steve Prefontaine (pronounced: pree-fon-tane) – Pre for short – and he is destined to become one of the most famous runners in history.

主持人：1970年，在俄勒冈大学田径队的海沃德田径场上，一位身形瘦削的运动员正在赛道上飞驰。他名叫史蒂夫·普利方坦，可以叫他阿普。阿普终将成为历史上最著名的长跑运动员。

[SFX: Coach whistle, and a runner pounding the ground.]

 【特效：教练吹哨，运动鞋踩在跑道上的声音】

HOST: Nearby, stands his coach, Bill Bowerman.

 主持人：阿普的不远处，站着他的教练，比尔·鲍尔曼。

Bowerman sees something very special in Pre.

鲍尔曼看到了阿普的潜能。

BOWERMAN: He always wanted to race out front, from the start, like he was trying to get away from something. Just where and when this compulsion came from, no one can say for sure.

鲍尔曼：阿普像是在逃跑一样，他总是从一开始就想要跑在最前面。真不知道他的冲劲是从哪儿来的。

HOST: Pre and Bowerman grow closer, and when Bowerman joins Phil Knight to start Blue Ribbon which would later become Nike he asks Pre to wear his shoes. Pre agrees. Why not? The shoes are good.

主持人：阿普和鲍尔曼越走越近。那时鲍尔曼刚和奈特一起创立了蓝丝带体育，也就是后来的耐克。鲍尔曼邀请阿普试试自己生产的鞋子，阿普欣然同意，为什么不呢？毕竟鞋子看起来很不错。

In the summer of 1972, Pre sets the American record in the 5000 meters at an Olympic qualifying event, but in the actual Olympic race, he narrowly misses the podium altogether---not even a bronze.  He is furious at himself. Phil Knight tries to lift his spirits.

1972年夏天，阿普在奥运会预选赛中创下了美国5000米长跑的新纪录。但在奥运会的正式比赛中，他却与领奖台失之交臂，连铜牌也没拿到。阿普很不满意自己的表现，一旁的菲尔·奈特努力让阿普振作起来。

KNIGHT: Hey, the city officials in Eugene, did you know they’re naming a street after you?

奈特：嘿，尤金市的官员要用你的名字给一条街命名呢？

PRE: Great. What are they going to call it – fourth street?

阿普 ：哼，挺好，他们是打算把那条街叫做“第四名”吗？

HOST: But soon, with Knight and Bowerman’s encouragement, Pre is back on the track, setting records again. There’s a problem, though: the runner’s broke.

主持人：还好在奈特和鲍尔曼的鼓励下，阿普又回到了赛道，再次刷新记录。但很快阿普又遇到了新的问题，这个运动员现在没钱了。

KNIGHT: You can’t go around with a *begging bowl. We’ll get you a job.

奈特：你不可能去乞讨吧！我们会给你找到工作的。

PRE: Where?

阿普：在哪儿呢？

KNIGHT: Uhh---let’s not worry about that part right now....

奈特：这个嘛，现在咱先别想那么多。

HOST: Soon, Pre *is working, between races and training, out of a Nike storefront in Oregon. His annual salary is $5,000 a year. He gets a business card that reads, “National Director of Public Affairs.”

主持人：很快，阿普得到一份工作。在比赛和训练之外，他开始在俄勒冈的一家耐克门店上班，年薪五千美金，名片写着“全国公共事务总监”。

The reasons why some brands fall and others soar are many, of course. Sometimes it's the result of determination. And sometimes it's the result of something close to luck – you know, being in the right place at the right time. Or *finding the right person at the right time.

决定品牌兴衰成败的因素有很多。有时靠决心，有时也靠运气，正所谓天时地利，当然不能缺了“人和”。

And for Nike, which has a fraction of the market clout of Adidas in the early 1970s,

Steve Prefontaine *is that person--not *just an athlete---but charismatic, handsome, outgoing.

20世纪70年代初期，比起阿迪达斯，耐克的市场影响力非常小。而阿普的出现促成了耐克的“人和”。阿普不单是运动员，他很有个人魅力而且帅气开朗。

Remembering those years, Phil Knight once said that, "Pre preached Nike as a gospel, and brought thousands of new people into our revival tent."

回顾那个时期，奈特曾评论说，阿普就是耐克的传教士，他成功带领了成千上万人加入耐克的‘伟大复兴’。

[00:15:04]

He is a symbol of “rebellion and iconoclasm.”

 阿普是“反叛”和“挑战传统”的代言人。

Every new race he goes to, every athlete he meets, Pre makes sure to highlight the benefits of those new sneakers by that small company back in Oregon. Brand recognition grows, of course, and so do sales. Thousands of pairs of waffle racers disappear from shelves.

 每参加一次比赛，每遇到一个运动员，阿普都会尽力向他们展示俄勒冈州这家小公司生产的运动鞋有哪些优点。耐克的品牌知名度由此增长，它的销售额也随之增长。成千上万双带有华夫饼鞋底的跑鞋从货架上被买走。

But now---Knight has a dilemma---a choice, you might say: He can position Nike as a running shoe company – Or he can go big time-- expand into othersports and try to run  head to head with  Adidas and Puma and Converse on their *own turf..

现在，奈特面临两个选择。他完全可以只把耐克定位为一家跑鞋公司，或者他也可以拓展到其他领域，尝试与阿迪达斯、彪马和匡威在美国的地盘上展开一场正面交锋。

Knight decides to play long ball-- and take on the competition.

最终奈特决定做大，加入这场商业竞赛。

[SFX: Shudder of a jet plane on either take-off or landing]

【特效：飞机起飞或者降落时的轰鸣声】

HOST: In September of 1971, Knight flies back to Japan, the country where Nike’s precursor, Blue Ribbon Sports – had been born. There, he places orders, with a manufacturer called Nissho (pronounced: NEE-show)  for several new styles of sneakers.

主持人：1971年9月，奈特飞回日本，那儿是耐克的前身蓝丝带运动诞生的地方。在那儿，奈特向一个名叫日商岩井株式会社的制造商定制了一些新款运动鞋。

[SFX: Street sounds: shouts, car traffic, buses passing by]

【特效：街道上的声音：说话的声音，车辆来往的声音，大巴经过的声音】

HOST: The sample versions of the shoes are finished a few days later, on a Sunday. There’s no one in the Nissho offices, but it doesn’t matter – Knight has a key. So he heads out to the company’s headquarters on his own, and lets himself into the lobby. For hours, he stares at the shoes that will make Nike or break it.

主持人：几天后的一个周日，样鞋做了出来。日商岩井株式会社的办公室里空无一人，不过没关系，奈特有钥匙。他独自前往公司总部，进了公司大厅。接下来的几个小时，他一直盯着这些样鞋，它们将决定耐克的成败。

Some of the sneakers, like the Cortez racer, already have names. But others don’t. Over the course of the day, shuttered away in the empty office, Knight embarks on a naming spree, removing each pair from its box, and holding it up to the light.

其中像阿甘鞋这样的鞋子已经有名字了，但有的鞋还没有。这天，奈特把他自己关空荡荡的办公室里，把一双双鞋从盒子里拿出来，放在灯光下，玩起了起名游戏。

[SFX: Cardboard box opens; packing paper rustles]

【特效：纸盒打开的声音，包装纸的沙沙声】 

HOST: He names one pair of white leather tennis sneakers the Wimbledon, and another Forest Hills, after the location of the first US Open. He names one of the running shoes the Marathon.

主持人：他把一双白色皮革网球鞋命名为 温布尔登，另一双网球鞋的名字则叫做 森林小丘，是美国首届网球公开赛举办地的名称。他还给一双跑鞋取名为马拉松。

And for his biggest gamble, a mid-top basketball shoe that will compete directly against the Adidas Superstar, he goes with Blazer, a nod to his hometown basketball team, the Portland Trailblazers.

而奈特最大的赌注，是一款直接与阿迪达斯“超级明星”球鞋竞争的中帮篮球鞋，他将其命名为 开拓者，致敬家乡篮球队波特兰 开拓者队。

[SFX: Door creaks open; Tokyo street noise filters iN]

【特效：开门声，东京街头的嘈杂声】

HOST: Exhausted, Knight ducks back outside. In the neon darkness, Tokyo’s streets are buzzing with activity.   And Phil Knight’s head is buzzing too...

主持人：奈特离开时已经精疲力尽。在闪烁着霓虹灯的夜色里，东京的街道上熙熙攘攘，奈特的头脑中也思绪不断。

It’s a transformative moment. And he knows it.  He feels spent, but he feels---proud.

奈特知道这一刻可能带来翻天覆地的改变。他感到疲惫，同时也感到骄傲。

KNIGHT: I felt everything I ever hoped to feel after a day’s work. I felt like an artist, a creator. I looked back over my shoulder, took one last look at Nissho’s(pronounced: nee-show) offices.

奈特：这一天的工作让我感受到了自己想要体会的一切。我觉得自己像一个艺术家，一个创造者。我回头，最后看了一眼日商岩井株式会社的办公室。

HOST: Under his breath, Knight mutters, “We made this.”

主持人： 奈特低声咕哝了一句，“我们做到了。”

It takes some time for Adidas to feel the heat from its newest competitor. But when it does, it acts quickly.

阿迪达斯需要一段时间才能感受到这个新的竞争对手所带来的压力。不过，阿迪达斯一旦察觉到了威胁，就会迅速反击。

In the run-up to the twentieth olympiad in Munich – just a few months before Phil Knight makes his pitch to a tennis player named Nasty – Horst dumps thousands of dollars into paying and outfitting an estimated 80 percent of the athletes at the games in Adidas apparel, from shoes to track suits.

早在菲尔·奈特向一位名叫那厮的网球运动员抛出橄榄枝的几个月前，也就是第二十届慕尼黑奥运会的准备阶段，霍尔斯特已经投入了数千美元，让本次奥运会近80%的运动员都穿上阿迪达斯的运动装备，包括他们的运动鞋和运动服。

And then- the master stroke.

 紧接着，霍尔斯特又使出神来之笔。

[SFX: A swimmer splashing in a pool, a sharp whistle, the crowd howling]

 【特效：游泳运动员打水的声音，口哨声，人群吼叫声】

HOST: Do you remember Marc Spitz? He was kind of like the Michael Phelps of the 1970s – a handsome American swimmer with a dazzling smile and a disco moustache, his chest covered in gold medals. An athlete at the absolute pinnacle of his sport.

主持人：还记得马克·斯皮茨吗？他可以算是70年代的迈克尔·菲尔普斯。他是一个帅气的美国游泳运动员，有着灿烂的笑容，留着迪斯科风格的小胡子，脖子上挂满了金牌，是当之无愧的顶级运动员。

Well, after Spitz nets his first gold in the 1972 Games, Horst makes him a proposal.

当斯皮茨在1972年奥运会上获得第一枚金牌后，霍尔斯特就来找他了。

HORST: Look, we’d really like you to wear our shoes when you climb up there on the podium. It’s a great opportunity.

霍尔斯特：您看，您去领奖的时候能穿我们的鞋子吗？这对于我们品牌来说是一个绝好的机会。

SPITZ: That’s not going to work. You know those warm-up pants we wear when we get out of the pool? No one will be able to *see our shoes.

斯皮茨：这行不通吧，你也知道我们从水里出来之后就换上长裤了，鞋子会被遮住的。

HORST: OK. I’ve got an idea.

霍尔斯特：我有一个主意。

HOST: The next time Spitz gets up on a podium, he’s carrying --a pair of Adidas Gazelle sneakers ---in his hands.

主持人：当斯皮茨再次登上领奖台的时候，他拿着一双阿迪达斯的羚羊球鞋，用手拿着。

[SFX: Cameras clacking, flash bulbs whining]

 【特效：相机喀嚓声，闪光灯的声音】

HOST: And when he leaves the pool area, he carries those shoes with him too, making sure the cameras catch every stitch.

主持人：斯皮茨离开泳池区的时候仍旧提着这双鞋，他让鞋上的每一个针脚都可以被相机捕捉到。

The Olympic committee is furious. How could Spitz and Dassler turn a hallowed sporting ground into a fashion runway?

奥委会很生气。斯皮茨和霍尔斯特居然将如此神圣的比赛场地变成了时装秀场！

But Dassler is unapologetic. He's a businessman. And he's made a smart business move: By the mid-1970s, Adidas is selling more than 150 kinds of shoes, and has expanded heavily into the larger world of sports apparel.

对此，霍尔斯特并没有丝毫歉意。他是一个商人，而且他做的是个明智的商业决策：到了70年代中期，阿迪达斯在售的运动鞋多达150余种，同时向运动服装市场的其他领域迅速扩张。

At this point Adidas is raking in an incredible $500 million in revenue a *year.

至此，阿迪达斯年收入已高达5亿美元。

[00:19:58]

But as in the world of sports, no company is dominant forever- Phil Knight and Nike are about to take flight.

但是，就像体育赛场上一样，没有一家公司可以永远占据主导地位。菲尔·奈特和耐克即将腾飞。

Next time, on Nike vs. Adidas, Phil Knight makes *his move. And a young player named Michael Jordan gives the Americans--- a *very big boost.

在下集耐克对战阿迪达斯系列节目中，菲尔·奈特采取了行动。一位名叫迈克尔·乔丹的年轻球员为美国人带来了巨大的惊喜。

[00:20:23]

OUTRO

结尾

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