Bob Richards, the former pole-vault champion, shares a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.

 

鲍勃·理查兹，前撑杆跳世界冠军队成员，一个极其瘦弱但非常热爱橄榄球的男孩，有一个非常感人的故事。

 

Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had.

 

每次球队训练，他都全身心地投入。

 

But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere.

 

但由于他的身材不及其他孩子的一半，几乎没有上场的机会。

 

At all the games,this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.

 

所有比赛他都满怀希望地坐在板凳上，却从来没有上过场。

 

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship.

 

这个十几岁的少年和父亲住在一起，他们俩之间有一种特殊的关系。

 

Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always standing with cheering.

 

即使儿子总是坐在板凳上，他的父亲也总会在看台上为他欢呼。

 

He never missed a game.

 

他从没错过一场比赛。

 

This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school.

 

当升入高中时，这个年轻人仍然是班里最小的。

 

But his father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn’t want to.

 

他的父亲一如既往地鼓励他，同时也对他说明，如果男孩不想再踢球，他不会强迫他。

 

But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there.

 

但这个男孩非常喜欢踢球，并决定坚持到底。

 

He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior.

 

他决心每次训练都要尽全力，也许等成为老队员时，他就会有机会上场。

 

All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a bench-warmer all four years.

 

整个高中四年，他没有错过一堂训练课，也没错过一场比赛，但一直都是“冷板凳”球员。

 

His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him.

 

他善良的父亲总是站在看台上，鼓励着他。

 

When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on”.

 

当这个年轻人升入大学时，他决定尝试加入足球队成为一名“替补队员”。

 

Everyone was sure he could never make the cut,but he did.

 

所有的人都认为他做不到，但他做到了。

 

The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed.

 

教练同意把他留在比赛名单中，因为在每一次训练中，他总是全身心地投入，把全部心灵和灵魂都投入进去，这是其他球员很难做到的。

 

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father.

 

当听说他没有被球队裁掉的消息时他激动万分，飞奔到最近的电话亭把这个消息告诉了父亲。

 

His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games.

 

父亲和他一同分享着喜悦，并收到了整个赛季的所有门票。

 

This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game.

 

在大学四年，尽管从未上过场，但这个坚持不懈的年轻运动员没有错过一次训练。

 

It was the end of his last football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a telegram.

 

在赛季末，最后一场季后赛前的训练课，当他急匆匆跑进训练场准备参加训练时，教练给了他一张电报。

 

The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.

 

这个年轻人读着电报，陷入了死一般的沉默。

 

Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?”

 

忍受着巨大的悲痛，他咕噜着对教练说：“今天早晨我父亲去世了。今天我可以不参加训练吗？”

 

The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”

 

教练轻抚他的肩膀，说：“孩子，接下来的一周你都可以不用来了。甚至可以不用回来参加周六的比赛。”

 

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well.

 

周六到了，比赛进展得非常不顺。

 

In the third quarter,when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear.

 

在第三节，当球队落后10分时，一个安静的年轻人悄悄溜进空荡荡的更衣室里，换上了比赛装备。

 

As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon.

 

当他回到场边时，教练和球员都为这个忠实的同伴这么快回来而惊讶万分。

 

“Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today.” said the young man.

 

“教练，让我上场吧，今天我一切都准备好了。”年轻人说。

 

The coach pretended not to hear him.

 

教练假装没听见。

 

There was no way he wanted the worst player in this close playoff game.

 

因为他没有任何理由让这个最差的球员参加赛季的收官之战。

 

But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.

 

但这个年轻人仍然坚持要上场，最后教练也觉得对不住这个孩子，作出了让步。

 

“All right.” he said.“You can go in.”

 

他说：“好吧，你可以上场了。”

 

Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes.

 

没多长时间，教练、队员以及所有的观众都不敢相信自己的眼睛。

 

This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right.

 

这个默默无闻的小球员，虽然在此之前从未参加过比赛，却把一切都做得非常完美。

 

The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked like a star.

 

对方球员根本阻挡不了他，他跑动、传球、阻击都像一个球星。

 

His team began to triumph. The score was soon tied.

 

他的球队开始反击得分，比分很快就被扳平了。

 

In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.

 

在比赛的最后几秒，他截断对方传球，并长途奔袭触地得分，取得了胜利。

 

The fans broke loose.

 

球迷悬着的心落地了。

 

His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders.

 

队友们把他扛在肩膀上。

 

Such cheering you never heard.

 

场地中一片前所未有的热烈欢呼声。

 

He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?”

 

他看着教练，眼里饱含着泪水，说：“你知道我父亲去世了，但你知道我的父亲是个盲人吗？”

 

The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!”

 

这个年轻人忍着悲伤，迫使自己微笑着说：“爸爸每场比赛都来看，但今天是他第一次能看到我真正上场比赛，我也想用我的行动向他证明，我可以做到！”