糙米蟲與世界的狂想曲

　　昨天午夜睡前，手機突然響起信件訊息，發現是鳳凰城太陽官網寄給球迷的一封訊息，署名者是太陽目前的擁有者 Robert Sarver，標題很簡潔，就是：「給太陽球迷的公開信」(Open Letter to Suns Fans)，一時間還真有點措手不及，我還以為是 Robert 突然想通「宣佈不玩了」，結果看完後發現劇情雖然沒有這麼展開，卻也還是讓人有種......看到幻覺的感覺？



　　這些話是很標準的公關話，可是講得非常得體，而且有種在燒成一片灰燼的球季中找到救贖的感覺，而我最想講的，是這些話本來是我期望能從 Ryan McDonough 口中說出（不論是對外還是對內），但最後卻從讓我最意外、過去幾年形象最黑、最讓球迷搥心頓首痛恨的 Robert Sarver 口中說出，在他和 Steve Nash、Grant Hill 等這些當初被他欽點遺棄球員突然好來好去的現在，著實讓人有種時空錯置之感.......

　　以下為全文：

As someone who grew up a Suns fan, I have great appreciation and respect for the unwavering loyalty this community possesses for its first professional sports team. With that loyalty comes a fair expectation that the Suns compete at a high level on a regular basis, while representing our city with the utmost integrity. Candidly, we have not lived up to either of those expectations in the past two seasons.

作為一個支持許久的太陽迷，我對於在這座城市所能擁有的首支職業球隊充滿欣賞與尊重。而伴隨忠誠而來的，是公平的期望，我希望太陽隊能處於一種高水平的狀態去和人競爭，因為這能夠在最大程度去代表我們的城市。而坦白的跟大家說，過去兩個賽季裡面我們並沒有達成這些期望。

One thing I have learned through both business successes and setbacks, is that victory is impossible without a culture of accountability, respect and trust. As a team woven into the city’s fabric, those principles must serve as a foundation for what our team, organization and brand stand for. All employees of our organization, including the players, will be held to those standards.

有一個道理，是在經歷很多商場上的成功與挫折後我學到的，就是當你沒有責任、尊重以及信任的文化，是不可能獲得勝利的。作為一支已經融入城市的團隊，這些原則必須成為我們團隊的基礎，我們的組織和品牌應該服膺這些原則，而團隊當中的每一份子，包括球員們也都該將其奉為圭臬。

I have also learned that in order to achieve success, you must take risks along the way. In time, certain risks will ultimately look like mistakes. It didn’t take long into my tenure as an NBA owner to understand that basketball decisions are not easy to make. It is my responsibility to hire the right personnel to make those decisions, and also to provide the financial resources and supportive environment to facilitate the success of our team. Our basketball decisions rest with Ryan McDonough, who I have full confidence in. Not every decision will be the right one, but he will continue to build our team around the young, talented players acquired through the draft and opportunistically in free agency. The best team in the NBA right now is a perfect example of that model.

同時我也學習到，為了取得成功有時你必須要有冒險的精神，雖然隨著時間的推移，有些冒險行為最終會被證明是場錯誤，在我擔任NBA球隊的老闆沒多久後就明白了這道理；作為老闆，在一些籃球方面的決定並不容易，我的工作是聘請合適的專業人員來做出正確決策，同時我也將為球隊提供充足的財政資源來支持我們的球隊。

而我們的籃球決策都由 Ryan McDonough 這位我對他充滿信心的人士來擬訂，雖然不是每個決策都能盡如人意，但是他將繼續圍繞著年輕人打造我們的球隊，這些球員也許是通過選秀、也許是從自由市場而來，現在在NBA當中最棒的球隊或許能夠作為我們的樣本。

That said, we will likely miss the NBA Playoffs for a sixth straight season this April. Many of you are disappointed in that lack of success, and for good reason. I can assure you that no one is more disappointed than I am, nor does anyone accept more of the blame. It’s important you know that we will not rest until we are competing at the highest level once again. In fact, we have swung for the fences once in each of the last two free agency periods, with my full support. While we have come up short, we have not compromised our goal of building long-term success with our young talent. Often that process takes more time, yet the rewards are that much sweeter and more enduring.

我必須很遺憾的說，我們很有可能連續6個賽季在4月和季後賽失之交臂，你們當中的許多人會對於我們始終無法成功而感到失望，這絕對是個好理由。可是我敢跟大家保證，我會是所有人當中最失望的那個，也不會有人比我需要去承受更多的責任。

因此在這裡，我有很重要的一件事需要向大家說明，就是我們將會不斷努力，直到能再次達到高水平的比賽。事實上，在我的全力支持下，我們在過去兩個賽季在自由市場大有斬獲，差一點點就能突破牢籠，儘管我們的收穫不如預期，但是我們絕對不會破壞球隊的長期目標，我們將會繼續跟我們年輕有才華的球員一起，通常這個過程會需要更多的時間，但是獲得的回報往往更甜美、更持久。


The journey back to the top certainly won’t be easy. It will come with its victorious moments and its frustrating ones. But it will come, just as it did shortly after I acquired the team, where we rebuilt from a 29-win season in 2003/04. Please know, that above all else, you have my word that we will do things the right way, and you and your family will be proud to be Suns fans.

重新回到巔峰並不是件容易的事情，當勝利來臨之前，我們勢必得歷經很多沮喪的時刻，但是勝利終將會有到來的一天，就像我剛接手球隊的時候，我們還只是一支在2003-04年獲得29勝的球隊。因此正如我所說的那樣，我們會在正確的道路上做些事，而你和你的家人們終將會為因成為鳳凰城太陽的球迷而感到驕傲。

It’s why We Are PHX.​

這就是為什麼，「We are PHX.」。

Robert
鳳凰城太陽隊老闆 Robert