Chapter 837
The most influential sport in the world is undoubtedly football. Football is known as the world's largest ball. Whether it is the European League or the World Cup, or stars, famous legends, and surrounding areas, they all have infinite influence. The World Cup can even be compared with the Olympic Games, a luxurious feast held every four years. The 1994 World Cup is about to land in the United States this summer, and it will be a sleepless all-night carnival.
But in the United States, football has to stand aside. Americans are not interested in football at all. Not only does there not have a national professional league, but even football is not called football, but Soccer. The so-called "football" "In the U.S. it means football, the most popular national sport on the North American continent.
Football is an indispensable part of American culture. Whether it is TV series or movies, whether it is music or books, or even the most lifelike things such as slang and common sayings, you can feel the powerful influence of football anytime, anywhere. Not to mention football, even baseball, which is called "national football", has a fan base in the United States that is not as good as rugby.
Although Hugo had seen the madness of American football before, but only after he actually arrived at the scene could he feel what it means to be crazy.
Go south along Sunset Boulevard, turn into Manchester Boulevard (Manchester. Blvd), and immediately see the vision suddenly clear. On the right side of the road is a green planned green space, which stretches for nearly a mile within sight. The blue of the sky and the emerald green of the ground complement each other; on the left side of the road is an open space about 400 meters long and 300 meters wide. Both sides of the open space are either bushes or low-rise bungalows, with an exceptionally wide field of vision. There is an azure blue building in the form of a cake circle, which is the Great Western Forum Arena.
The Great Western Forum Arena in Inglewood is the most luxurious and advanced stadium in Los Angeles. After it was put into use in 1967, it has hosted NBA events for more than 20 years, and also hosted the Los Angeles 1984. The Olympic basketball game has been known to residents of the City of Angels as the home of the NBA Los Angeles Lakers since it was put into use.
The arena can hold 17,500 people, and the empty playground is flooded with thousands of vehicles and surging people on game days, and it's the same today, even more exaggerated.
Private cars were neatly laid out within sight like beetles, and the crowds were swarming towards the Great Western Forum Arena like waves. The arena can only accommodate less than 20,000 spectators, but there are at least 30,000 spectators in sight at this time, and the turbulence is so intense that patients with intensive phobia will definitely suffocate immediately.
Not only was the playground where the Great Western Forum Arena was occupied by the crowd, but the empty green space across the road was also occupied. People came to the green space with tablecloths, sandwiches and beers as if they were coming for a picnic, and then ordered Ann sat down and decorated the green in front of her into a colorful canvas, as if the painter poured all the colors of the world onto this canvas.
The surging crowd ignited the summer that had just arrived in Los Angeles and had not had time to warm up. It was like igniting a fire on the vast West Coast, and then it spread like a prairie fire, turning the lazy spring that was still unwilling to leave. Driven away in an instant, the scorching heat of midsummer July came to the City of Angels in May in a blink of an eye. The kind of scorching heat makes people feel that they may melt at any time when they are in it.
This is the real frenzy.
Looking at the faces that are excited, looking forward or excited, just a smile is enough to rub the air with flames; looking at the figures that are excited, nervous or worried, just one action is enough to move the air The fluctuations set off a hurricane.
30,000 people? This is just a rough estimate within Hugo's line of sight. Even if someone tells him that there are 50,000 people here, he will believe it without hesitation. No wonder there are already patrolmen three blocks away to maintain traffic order, so The grand occasion could not be driven by any concert or awards ceremony, and it even gave Hugo the illusion that the World Cup had kicked off a month in advance.
"It's nothing," Joseph said with a smile, looking at Hugo's stunned expression, "you should go to the Super Bowl to see, that heat wave, even if you just stand on the sidelines, you will feel as if you are standing there. Like a crater."
"Have you been?" Hugo turned his eyes from the window to Joseph who was sitting in the passenger seat in surprise. Today, because they were traveling in a low-key manner, they did not drive out the van, but drove Joseph's car and left it at home. Volkswagen Golf. But it was still Samora who was driving.
The smile on Joseph's face rose involuntarily, "In 1974, at Rice Stadium." At that time, Joseph was only ten years old, and childhood memories surged up in an instant, when Paul and Mary both Before he was born, his father took him and his brother Peter to the scene to watch the game.
That year, the Miami Dolphins defeated the Minnesota Vikings and successfully defended the Super Bowl, becoming the second team after the Green Bay Packers to defend the Super Bowl. He witnessed the birth of a miracle on that spot. Twenty years have passed, and that memory has begun to fade, but it still shines infinitely, but he and Peter are getting farther and farther.
When Hugo saw the smile on Joseph's face from blooming to bleak, and then lost, he suddenly remembered that in 1974, Joseph's younger brother and sister were not born, that is to say, Joseph remembered his brother. Last month, Joseph's brother Peter, who kept getting into trouble, got into trouble again: this time he joined the army directly.
Last year, the U.S. war in Somalia ended in a fiasco. The famous "Black Hawk Down" incident became the focus of major U.S. newspapers at that time. The civil war in Somalia became more and more turbulent, but the U.S. was forced to withdraw its troops. The sequelae of this war There has not been a complete recovery, and last month came the Rwandan genocide.
As the Sigmund-Baumann analysis pointed out after the release of "Schindler's List", the Holocaust broke out again. This time, the genocide broke out on April 6 and has continued until now. The negative actions of the United Nations in this incident have further contributed to the arrogance of the slaughter, and US President William Clinton because of the Black Hawk not long ago The fall operation failed because it said it did not want to intervene in the Rwandan civil war, and it is now getting worse.
It was against this backdrop that Peter Gibbs joined the military.
When Joseph knew about it, Peter had already entered the army to report. His whole person was as if his soul had been taken away. in situ.
Although Peter kept getting into trouble, and even experienced danger of life and death, he also affected his family because of huge debts; but...he was a family member after all. Peter is not only a family member, he is also the elder brother that Joseph has admired since he was a child. Now, Joseph is witnessing the collapse of the idol he worships little by little. Joseph's inner struggle and pain are more turbulent than anyone else.
Hugo looked at Joseph, and his eyes couldn't help slipping a bit of bitterness. Family, this is a problem that will never be solved.
Leonardo DiCaprio, who was sitting side by side with Hugo in the back seat, couldn't see Joseph's expression, but he saw a touch of obscurity in Hugo's expression, and he couldn't help but worry, although he didn't know it happened What, but he is very clear, Hugo's personality has always been positive, optimistic and bright, such a look of melancholy between the eyebrows is really not suitable for Hugo.
"What's so good about football? I still think basketball is good. If it wasn't for the Los Angeles Lakers, I wouldn't have come here." Leonardo broke the two-second silence just now, deliberately raising his voice, blabbering. said.
Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, Joseph and Hugo came back to their senses, and Joseph was the first to shout, "What do you know! Rugby is a man's sport!"
Hugo actually has a deep affection for basketball, but I don't know if it's because he has completely merged with Lancaster's soul, or because he has now fully integrated into American life, and his love for football has surpassed basketball now. , "Leo, rugby is a sport full of intelligence and physical strength. It is even more complex and intense than football. You should really learn how to appreciate rugby."
Leonardo didn't refute, just said with a face of disapproval, "Che, I don't think so! Wilt Chamberlain (Wilton. Chamverlain), Jerry. West (Jerry. West, Cary) A legend like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is not for any team."
Steven Spielberg took four tickets to Hugo. Originally, Hugo invited the members of the band Glory to the Dead to attend, but they were not American and had no particular idea about football, so Hugo invited Leonardo. No, Leonardo is here, but his passion for football is obviously not as good as basketball.
"I can't count the superstars in NFL history. I can count the glory of the Houston Miners for two hours!" Joseph looks like a typical "Los Angeles immigrant", he always supports his hometown team , not all teams currently in Los Angeles.
But Hugo looked at Leonardo up and down. He obviously knew more about this kid. He frowned and thought for a while, "Leo, to be honest, you like the Los Angeles Lakers because of Jack- Nicholson, right? You adore Jack, so you like his favorite team." Otherwise, Leonardo's basketball fanaticism should not be so obvious based on Leonardo's age and family background.
Leonardo was embarrassed by Hugo's exploratory gaze, so he could only shyly avoid his gaze, "Don't doubt my loyalty to basketball." But when he said this, he had already looked out the window, Obviously lack of confidence. This immediately made Hugo laugh happily, causing Leonardo to blushed, and he couldn't help laughing out loud.