2020年经济学人 疫情对体育比赛的影响(2)（在线收听）

But the effect on consumer sentiment of the hiatus may be even greater. surveys suggest that 59% of Americans are sports fans. For many, the loss of their favourite sports events will compound the effect of being stuck at home. An important source of enjoyment will disappear. And alternative sources of entertainment are hard to find. Big movie releases, such as the latest James Bond film and Disney's “Mulan”, have been postponed. Broadway has been closed down. Many rock concerts have been cancelled or postponed. Classical recitals (traditionally a magnet for a nation's worst coughers) have gone the same way.

但这对消费者信心的影响可能更大。调查显示59%的美国人是体育迷。对许多人来说，失去最喜欢的体育赛事，将加重困在家里的影响。一个重要的乐趣来源将消失。而且很难找到其他的娱乐方式。最新的詹姆斯·邦德系列电影和迪士尼的《花木兰》等大片已经推迟上映。百老汇已经关闭了。许多摇滚音乐会已被取消或推迟。古典演奏会(传统上是吸引全国最差咳嗽者的地方)也无法幸免。

The cancellations are understandable. Allowing people to congregate in huge numbers during a pandemic seems like a big risk. Mass events also require a large presence of police and emergency services who maybe needed elsewhere.

这些取消都可以理解。疫情期间让人们大量聚集似乎风险很大。群众活动还需要大量警察和紧急服务人员，而其他地方同样需要这些人员。

John Maynard Keynes talked a lot about the importance of ·animal spirits? to economic growth. How will consumers feel when all forms of collective enjoyment are denied them? There are only so many Netflix shows one can binge-watch without going stir crazy. The Romans understood the importance of "bread and circuses”--keeping the public not just fed, but entertained, too. Hence the provision of gladiatorial games and chariot races in ancient times.

约翰?梅纳德?凯恩斯多次谈到“动物精神”对经济增长的重要性。当所有形式的集体享受都被剥夺时，消费者会作何感想？Netflix上的剧只有那么多，一个人可以一口气看完，不然就真疯了。罗马人懂得小恩小惠的重要性——不仅要让百姓吃饱，还要有娱乐活动。出于这个原因，古罗马就有了角斗和战车比赛。

In the second world war many sports were cancelled as players were conscripted into the armed services. But exhibition games were played where possible. A British services eleven played football in newly liberated Paris and Brussels in September 1944. In America a women's baseball league was organised. Tyler Cowen, an economist, has proposed that a small number of elite athletes could be tested for the virus and then cocooned. After a quarantine period, they could play all-star games to keep citizens entertained, with audiences watching via the internet or TV. It seems an idea worth exploring. If all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, then no work and no play risks making Jack (and Jill) depressed and discontented.

第二次世界大战期间，许多运动项目被取消，因为运动员被征召入伍。但表演赛是在可用的地方举办的。1944年9月，在新解放的巴黎和布鲁塞尔，一名英国军士在踢足球。美国还组织了一个女子棒球联盟。经济学家泰勒?考恩提出，可以对一小部分优秀运动员进行病毒检测，然后进行隔离。经过一段隔离期后，他们可以打全明星赛给人们带来点娱乐，观众可以通过互联网或电视观看。这似乎是一个值得探索的想法。如果只工作不娱乐会使男性变傻，那么不工作不娱乐男性女性都会愤懑。