觀看花樣滑冰比賽，經(jīng)常能看到現(xiàn)場觀眾向場內(nèi)拋灑毛絨玩具的畫面。這些玩具都是粉絲們送給自己喜愛的花滑運動員的禮物。為什么扔的是毛絨玩具而不是鮮花或其他東西呢？

Moments after a figure skater finishes their program, adoring fans fling gifts onto the ice. There have definitely been some weird ones over the years. As NBC Sports reports, Sasha Cohen was once given multiple cashmere sweaters; Canada’s Elvis Stojko and Patrick Chan have walked away with lingerie; and Debi Thomas even got a box of Domino’s pizza after her performance at the 1987 world championships. (Another skater, Doug Mattis, had tossed it onto the rink because Thomas had jokingly wondered why people “don’t throw something good, like pizza?”)

在一名花樣滑冰運動員表演完節(jié)目后不久，喜歡這位運動員的粉絲們就會開始往冰場上扔禮物。過去這些年粉絲們還真扔過一些不尋常的禮物。據(jù)NBC體育臺報道稱，薩莎·科恩曾收到過幾件羊絨衫，加拿大的埃爾維斯·斯托伊科和陳偉群曾收到過女用內(nèi)衣，黛比·托馬斯在1987年世界花樣滑冰錦標賽表演結(jié)束后甚至收到了一盒達美樂披薩。（因為托馬斯曾經(jīng)開玩笑說，為什么人們“不扔一些好東西，比如披薩？”于是另一位滑冰運動員道格·馬蒂斯就把一盒披薩扔到了冰場上。）

Carbs and clothing aside, the post-program offerings are mostly stuffed animals. Though it’s not clear exactly how or when this custom began, there are a couple of factors that help explain why it’s so popular. First and foremost, flowers, once the go-to item to toss at skaters, are messy. The “sweepers”—the kids who skate around collecting all the gifts between each program—have a much easier time grabbing plush toys than scrabbling at every petal and leaf that fell off its flower.

除了碳水化合物和衣服以外，節(jié)目結(jié)束后粉絲們?nèi)拥拇蠖嗍敲q動物玩具。盡管不清楚這種習俗是怎么來的或從何時開始的，以下兩個因素可以幫助解釋為什么毛絨玩具這么受歡迎。首先，過去粉絲們也曾向花滑運動員扔過鮮花，結(jié)果把場地弄得很凌亂。其次，在節(jié)目的間隔時間負責清場的冰童需要一邊滑冰一邊收集所有禮物，撿毛絨玩具比收拾花束上掉下來的花瓣和葉子要容易得多。

There’s no global ban on chucking bouquets, but organizations have made attempts to discourage the practice in the past. In 1989, US Figure Skating banned arenas hosting national championships from selling flowers. And ahead of the 2002 national championships, the association outright prohibited fans from bringing their own flowers (and other items) to the arena at all.

國際上對于往冰場上扔花束并沒有禁令，但是過去多個組織曾試圖阻止這一行為。1989年，美國花樣滑冰協(xié)會曾禁止舉辦全美花滑錦標賽的場館銷售鮮花。在2002年全美花滑錦標賽舉辦前夕，該協(xié)會完全禁止粉絲自帶鮮花（或其他物品）進入場館。

"Flowers have always been a problem. Even when they’re wrapped, the staples pop out and become a hazard,” Larry Kriwanek, chair of the event’s organizing committee, told the Los Angeles Times. “Flowers were going to be eliminated. It was just a question of when.” Instead, fans could purchase already-authorized stuffed animals inside the arena and shower their favorite skaters with those.

這場賽事的組委會主席拉里·克里瓦尼克對《洛杉磯時報》記者說：“往冰場上扔鮮花一直是個問題。即使是包裝好的花束，花朵和葉子也會掉出來，從而造成隱患。應(yīng)該讓鮮花從冰場上消失。這只是個時間問題?！弊鳛樘娲?，粉絲們可以在場館內(nèi)購買官方授權(quán)的毛絨動物玩具，然后拋給他們喜歡的花滑選手。

Stuffed animals also give supporters an opportunity to choose presents that seem more personal. "We sometimes will get stuffed animals made in custom costumes to match what we’re wearing,” American ice dancer Meryl Davis, who won gold with partner Charlie White in 2014, told NBC Sports. It turns out that skaters often do try to take especially meaningful or thoughtful gifts home with them.

選擇送毛絨玩具還有一個好處，粉絲們可以有機會選擇更個性化的禮物。曾在2014年與搭檔查理·懷特一起贏得奧運會金牌的美國花滑運動員梅麗爾·戴維斯告訴NBC體育臺說：“我們有時候會收到與我們的服裝相配的定制款毛絨動物玩具。”事實證明，花滑運動員往往會把特別有意義或貼心的禮物帶回家。

注：今年北京冬奧會出于防疫的要求，取消了花滑比賽的扔玩具環(huán)節(jié)

英文來源：Mental Floss

翻譯&編輯：丹妮