波特兰之战

Nick DePaula

Since shoe brands first set foot in the Rose City① over four decades ago， theyve had a close connection to the local pro team and its biggest players. One year after the Portland Trail Blazers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970， University of Oregon grad Phil Knight officially launched the Nike brand in nearby Beaverton.

自从40多年前球鞋品牌第一次在玫瑰城扎根，他们就与当地的职业球队以及最大牌球员保持着紧密联系。1970年联盟扩张时，开拓者加入NBA，一年后，俄勒冈大学毕业生菲尔·奈特在附近的比佛顿建立了耐克公司。

By the following NBA season， Nike was on its way to establishing itself in footwear through a series of running models， and Knight pegged the local teams first-ever Draft pick， a scoring wing out of Princeton named Geoff Petrie， as the Swooshs first hoops endorser. The debut hardwood shoe that Petrie headlined for the 1972-73 season？ The aptlytitled Nike Blazer②. As a young startup mostly selling sneakers out the back of Winnebagos across Oregon at running events， the 70s were humble times for Nike. At one point， the brand had fallen some $40，000 behind to Petrie and offered to settle their debt by giving him stock in the company. According to Petrie， he and his agent fought for the cash instead， turning down shares that some have since estimated to be worth tens of millions today.

在接下来的赛季，耐克通过跑鞋，逐渐在运动鞋市场确立了地位。奈特还签下了本地球队首位新秀，普林斯顿大学的得分型前锋乔福·皮特里。1972-73赛季穿在皮特里脚上完成篮球场首秀的鞋是什么？一双带有巨大耐克标志的Blazer球鞋。作为一家新创立、且主要业务是在俄勒冈附近的温内贝戈地区从事跑步活动，销售跑鞋的公司，上世纪70年代是耐克的蛰伏期。耐克一度拖欠皮特里40000美元，他们提出用公司股份支付债务的解决方案。据皮特里说，他和他的经纪人坚决要求现金，因此拒绝了现今估值超过千万美元的股份。

The growing pains of the industrys early days are now long forgotten， as Rip City played host to some of footwears premier stars. From Petrie and fellow early Nike endorser Sidney Wicks， to Bill Waltons Championship-winning adidas Pro Models in the late 70s， both Nike and adidas have long been repped by the Blazers.

这个产业初期的阵痛如今已成为历史，而那时，“撕裂之城”是鞋界超级巨星们的家。从皮特里到耐克早期签约球员西德尼·威克斯，再到上世纪70年代末穿着阿迪达斯Pro Models系列球鞋赢得总冠军的比尔·沃顿，开拓者一向不缺球鞋品牌代言人。

As the millennium wound down and after some slow years on the footwear front， it was the throwback-inspired Rasheed Wallace and his strap-dangling Air Force 1s that helped put the Blazers back on the KICKS map， while LaMarcus Aldridge has done work in a variety of Nikes since arriving in 06.

随着新世纪到来，球鞋市场在经历了几年低迷后，复古风的拉希德·华莱士和他的搭扣版Air Force 1，帮助Blazer系列重新回到了球鞋市场。自从2006年进入联盟以来，拉马库斯·奥尔德里奇也和耐克有好几次合作。

The Blazers newest star， PG Damian Lillard， is the latest to carry the shoe torch. Hes gone from little-known Lottery pick to All-Star Weekend headliner in just two years， and he even hosted his own launch event this past spring with adidas Basketball for a special quickstrike of the Crazy 1， all themed around the citys nickname.

开拓者最新出产的球星控卫达米恩·利拉德，则是最近一个接过球鞋火炬的人。只用了两年时间，他就从一个没名气的乐透秀成为了全明星周末的热门人物。甚至在今年春天，他还和阿迪达斯篮球一起举办了自己的专属活动，发布特别版的“快击”Crazy 1，活动的主题完全围绕着波特兰的城市绰号。

“Portland is the Rose City， and I love the color，” says Lillard. “Its fun to be able to interact with people in the city， because they dont always get the opportunity to meet us and see who we are. To have a shoe thats dedicated to the city and for people to come out and support me the way they do， I feel like I owe it to them to show up and let them see who I am off the floor.”

“波特兰是玫瑰之城，我很喜欢玫瑰。”利拉德表示，“能跟城市里的人们互动很有趣，因为他们不是总有机会见到我们，看到真实的我们。能有一双向城市致敬的鞋，能看到人们这样支持我，我觉得这是我欠球迷的，我必须来到这里，让他们看到我在场下的样子。”

Dame may be headed toward joining the long line of NBA greats to call Portland home， but hes also eager to put people onto the Three Stripes. “Representing adidas in Portland is a lot of fun，” beams Lillard， who is just as excited about the Blazers bright future in the wake of a shockingly successful 54-win， second-round-of-the-Playoffs season. “Ive come along as a player and contributed to our success as an organization the last two seasons， and its helped me shine some light on adidas.”

利拉德也许会成为，将波特兰视为家乡的众多NBA巨星中的一个，不过他也希望人们喜欢阿迪达斯。“在波特兰成为阿迪达斯的代表很有意思。”利拉德笑道，在令人震惊地打出54胜的常规赛战绩、并打进季后赛第二轮后，开拓者光明的前景同样让他很是兴奋，“过去两个赛季，我取得了进步，也为球队取得成功做出了贡献，这也帮助我为阿迪达斯争了光。”

Nike was the first major footwear brand to call Portland home， but companies have been flocking west since the early 90s， notably because of the hotbed of design talent， the states lax tax laws and the （relatively） short flying proximity to factories in Asia. After kickstarting their own Portland headquarters in 1990 with the hiring of former Nike marketing execs Rob Strasser and Peter Moore， adidas has based their North American design and marketing operations in the Northeast region of the city for the past 24 years.

耐克是第一家将波特兰定为总部的主要运动鞋品牌，不过从上世纪90年代早期开始，各大公司开始集聚到西部，这主要是因为那里有大量设计人才，相对宽松的州税，以及距离亚洲生产厂更近的飞行距离。1990年，阿迪达斯聘请前耐克市场运营管理罗伯·斯特拉瑟和彼得·摩尔，在波特兰设立了自己的总部，在过去24年里，阿迪达斯将自己的北美设计和营销部门扎根在了波特兰的东北地区。

Soon after， several brands followed suit. AND 1， then based in Philadelphia， launched its own design and development satellite office in downtown Portland for a decade-long stay that began in the late 90s. Li-Ning， one of Chinas premier sportswear brands boasting nearly 8，000 retail stores of their own in Asia and a sprawling Beijing-based corporate campus， also launched a design space in Portland in 2008 to service its NBA athletes， like Baron Davis and， eventually， Dwyane Wade. More recently， Baltimore-based Under Armour opened its own Portland innovation center， picking off longtime footwear vets to lead new materials and construction methods.

没过多久，这一做法得到了其他品牌的效仿。AND 1总部原本在费城，上世纪90年代末，他们在波特兰市中心开设了设计和发展分部，而且一待就是10年。作为中国顶级的体育用品品牌之一，李宁在全亚洲共有近8000家零售店，在北京还有一个大型公司总部，2008年，李宁也在波特兰开设了设计分部，用以服务签约品牌的球员，比如拜伦·戴维斯，以及现在的德韦恩·韦德。最近，总部在巴尔的摩的Under Armour在波特兰开设了创新中心，希望通过领先的新材料和构造设计对抗老牌运动品牌。

“Portland is an interesting and diverse city that has great art exhibits， nature all around， extreme sports， and a music and design scene，” says Marc Dolce， Nike Sportswears Design Director. “The city is all about connecting creatives， bright minds and people looking to do things different.”

“波特兰是个有趣而多元化的城市，有着高水平的艺术展，到处都有自然风光，有极限运动，还有音乐和设计原色。”耐克运动设计主管马克·多尔西表示，“这座城市强调的就是创意、智慧和寻求改变的人联系在一起。”

One of the major benefits of having so many brands centrally located in the city is undoubtedly the impact that current Blazers and visiting NBA players alike can have on future product. Brands generally meet quarterly with their biggest out-of-town endorsers， while Nike and adidas also take advantage of close relationships with Blazers just a short drive away. “It helps a lot having the HQ here， because I can be more hands on with everything Im involved with，” admits Lillard. “What shoes I wear， the colorways and patterns， and also to shop at the adidas store.”

这么多品牌将总部设在这座城市，一个主要的获益，就是现役的开拓者球员和到访的其他NBA球员能够对未来的产品施加影响力。各品牌一般一个季度就会在波特兰同重要的签约球员进行会面，耐克和阿迪达斯更是利用距离上的优势，和离总部不远的开拓者队建立了良好的关系。“总部在这里确实有很大帮助，我因此可以参与到任何与我有关的产品设计。”利拉德表示，“我要穿什么样的鞋，什么配色和样式，我还可以到阿迪达斯的商店里购物。”

The citys hoopers are at the unfortunate mercy of rain， which falls throughout the year， leaving the summer months of June， July and August as the best time to try and get consistent outdoor runs in. Even then， the weekend can still be rained out at a moments notice.

无情的大雨总是给这座城市的篮球手们带来麻烦，波特兰一年四季都会下雨，只在夏天的六七八月才有连续在室外打球的机会。可就算在那三个月里，周末时不时也会出现大雨倾盆的状况。

Wallace Park holds down games in the Northwest on weekends， and both Irving Park and Woodlawn Park in the Northeast historically have served as proving grounds for the areas best. Around town， the games have come and gone over the years， with the citys best young players opting for gyms and the AAU circuit instead.

西北部的华莱士公园会在周末举办比赛，东北部的欧文公园和伍德劳恩公园则是当地最好的场地。在整个波特兰地区，过去这些年断断续续也会举办一些比赛，而全市最优秀的年轻球员一般选择在体育馆或AAU联赛里打球。

“Irvington Park was definitely a hotbed for the talent back in the day， and playing at the parks， thats where you learn to get an edge in playing basketball. You learn how to be competitive at the parks，” says Strickland. “If you can shoot at the parks， then youre going to be shooting a high percentage in the gym. Thats a lost art these days with the kids not really playing at the parks anymore， though.”

“过去欧文公园绝对是诞生天才球员的温床，在公园打球，你在那里能学到最好的篮球技术。你学会了如何在公园成为有竞争力的人。”斯特里克兰德说，“如果你在公园里能投篮，那你在体育馆里打球就会有很高的命中率。现在的孩子不太去那里打球了，这已经成了一种消失的艺术。”

“You may not find the culture and fashion that youll see in New York， L.A.， Paris or Milan， but in many cases， were not chasing trends， were looking to create them，” Dolce says. “Its about leading the industry and trying to define the next innovations for both sport and life， and Portland is at the heart of influencing that.”

“也许你找不到纽约、洛杉矶、巴黎或者米兰那样的文化和时尚，但很多情况下，我们不是在追逐潮流，我们想的是创造潮流。”多尔西说，“重要的是引领整个产业，力图为体育和生活定义下一代创新，而波特兰就处于这样影响力的心脏地带。”