马修·麦康纳2015休斯顿大学毕业演讲(18)
No. 10: A roof is a man-made thing.
第十点：“屋顶”是人设立的。
This may cut a little close to the bone, since the geography,
由于地理的原因，这话可能有点儿尖刻，
but I think we all were there and we’ll all remember where we were.
但我认为我们都在场，而且我们全都记得我们在哪里。
But in January 3, 1993 it was the NFL playoffs, and your Houston Oilers were playing the Buffalo Bills.
1993年1月3日，美国橄榄球联盟季后赛，你们的休斯敦油人队对阵布法罗比尔队。
The Oilers were up 28–3 at halftime, 35–3 early in the 3rd.
中场休息时油人队28比3领先，第三局开局时35比3领先。
Frank Reich and the Bills come back to win 41–38 in overtime for one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.
到加时赛时，弗兰克·赖克和比尔队以41比38扳回比分，赢了比赛，那是美国橄榄球联盟历史上最惊人的逆转之一。
The Bills won, but they didn’t really beat the Oilers.
比尔队赢了，但他们并未真正击败油人队。
The Oilers lost that game; they beat themselves. You all remember that, huh?
油人队输了比赛，他们自己打败了自己。你们都记得吧？
Why? Why’d they beat themselves, or how?
为什么呢？他们为什么会被自己打败，或者他们是怎么被打败的？
Was it because at halftime they put a ceiling, a roof, a limit on their belief in themselves, a.k.a the prevent defense?
是不是因为在中场休息时，他们在对自己的信心上加了一个天花板，一个屋顶，一个限制，也就是采用了预防式防守战术？
Or maybe they started thinking about the next opponent in the playoffs at halftime, I mean, they were up.
或者他们在中场休息时已经开始考虑季后赛的下一个对手了，我是说，他们当时处于领先地位。
Then they came out, played on their heels, lost the mental edge the entire second half. And voila: they lost.
然后他们上场了，小心翼翼地打球，在整个下半场失去了心理优势。看，他们输了。
In a mere two quarters, defensive coordinator Jim Eddy went from being called the defensive coordinator of the year
在短短两节的时间里，防守协调员吉姆·埃迪从被称作年度最佳防守协调员
and the man first in line to be a head coach next year, to a man without a job in the NFL.
和下一年总教练的首要人选，变成了美国橄榄球联盟中的失业人员。
You’ve choked? Nobody has ever choked? I have.
你曾经哽住过吗？没人吗？我哽住过。
You know I’m talking about: fumbled at the goal line, stuck your foot in your mouth once you got the microphone,
你们知道我的意思：在球门线上漏接球；一拿到麦克风就说错话；
had a brain freeze on the exam that you were totally prepared for,
在准备充分的考试当中大脑停顿；
forgot the punch line to a joke in front of four thousand graduating students at the University of Houston Commencement?
在休斯敦大学毕业典礼上，当着四千毕业生的面开个玩笑却想不起来其中好笑的句子？
Or maybe you’ve had that feeling of “Oh my God, life just cannot get any better than this moment.”
或者你可能曾经有过那种感觉：“哦，天哪，人生再没有比此刻更棒的时候了。”
And asked yourself, “Do I deserve this?”
你问自己：“我配得到这一切吗?”
Now what happens when we get that feeling? We tense up.
现在，当我们有那样的感觉时会发生什么？我们会紧张。
We have this sort of outer body experience where we are literally seeing ourselves in the third person.
当我们真的以第三人视角看自己时，我们会有这种脱离自身的感觉。
And we realize that the moment just got bigger than us. You ever felt that way? I have.
我们意识到那一刻超出了我们的预期。你们有过那样的感觉吗？我有过。
And it’s because we have created a fictitious ceiling, a roof, to our expectations of ourselves,
那是因为我们为自己制造了一个虚假的天花板，一个屋顶，加在自我期许之上；
a limit where we think it’s all too good to be true.
我们设立了一个限度，到了那个限度时我们就认为事情好得不真实。
But it’s not. And it’s not our right to say or believe it is.
但事实并非如此。我们无权那么说或者那么认为。
马修·麦康纳2015休斯顿大学毕业演讲