疫情時期的別樣球賽：紙板人當觀衆
新冠肺炎疫情已經讓世界各地的體育賽事中斷了好幾個月，近期當各大比賽迴歸時，你在座位上看到的將不是粉絲，而是代表粉絲的紙板人。
When Major League Baseball kicks off its abridged season this month, its fan base is going to look dramatically different and they won’t be nearly as loud.
美國職業棒球大聯盟複賽於本月開幕時，現場的粉絲團看起來將會大不一樣，而且會安靜得多。
That’s because teams like the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and a handful of others will be filling their stands with cardboard cutouts of fans. The trend, which we first saw in European soccer leagues, has now made its way to the United States.
這是因爲奧克蘭運動家隊、舊金山巨人隊和其他幾支棒球隊將會在觀衆席位上放上粉絲們的紙板人。這一潮流首見於歐洲足球聯賽，如今也傳到了美國。
When MLB returns after a lost spring due to coronavirus, fans will not be permitted in the stands. That has forced teams to look for creative solutions to recoup in-stadium revenue and create fan engagement.
因爲疫情而損失了春季球賽的美國職業棒球大聯盟歸來後，現場看臺不允許粉絲進入。這迫使棒球隊尋找創意方式來找補球場收入、增加粉絲參與度。
recoup[rɪˈkuːp]: vt. 收回；恢復
The A’s announced the start of the “Coliseum Cutouts” program on Monday, which allows fans to put their image on an 18 x 30 cardboard cutout and for the chance to see their cutout appear on television. In 24 hours, the A’s said they have already sold 1,000 “season tickets” for the cardboard cutouts.
奧克蘭運動家隊本週一（6月29日）宣佈啓動“球場紙板人”項目，該項目允許粉絲將大小爲18英寸*30英寸（0.46米*0.76米）的個性紙板人放在座位上，並有機會看到自己的紙板人在電視上出現。奧克蘭運動家隊表示，24小時內他們就售出了1000張“紙板人季票”。
"Response has been extremely strong,” Oakland A’s president Dave Kaval told CNBC in an interview. “People are especially interested in the foul ball dunk, where if your cutout gets hit, we send you the authenticated ball to your house.”
奧克蘭運動家隊的主席戴夫·卡瓦爾在CNBC的一次訪談中說：“我們收到了非常熱情的反饋。人們對界外球尤其感興趣，如果你的紙板人被球砸到，我們將把原球寄到你家。”
The price of cutouts varies by team, but in Oakland, prices start at $49 and go up to $129, depending on location in the stands.
每個球隊給紙板人的定價都不同，但在奧克蘭運動家隊，紙板人價格從49美元（約合人民幣346元）到129美元不等，取決於在看臺上的位置。
The fine print says that commercial advertisements, slogans, websites and social media handles will not be permitted on the cutouts. Offensive or negative references and names of MLB players are also prohibited.
細則中寫道，商業廣告、標語、網站和社交媒體入口不允許出現在紙板人上，和職業棒球大聯盟球員有關的攻擊性或負面信息以及球員名字也禁止出現在上面。
The A’s said the cutouts will remain in the ballpark for the 2020 regular season and fans will have the option to take home their cutout as a souvenir when the season ends. The A’s do not guarantee the condition of cutouts from weather and other elements.
奧克蘭運動家隊稱，紙板人將會在2020常規賽季中一直保留在棒球場中，粉絲可以選擇在賽季結束時將自己的紙板人帶回家留念。奧克蘭運動家隊不保證紙板人不會因爲天氣和其他因素而受損。
Kaval said that there’s also a visual component to having cardboard fans at the ballpark.
卡瓦爾稱，棒球場中有紙板人粉絲的話，畫面效果會更好。
"It has a better feel for the broadcast experience versus seeing empty stands, so I think you will see more and more teams adopt something like this, not only for the fan engagement but for the broadcast experience,” he said.
他說：“播出時看見紙板人比看見空座位感覺更好，所以我認爲你會看見越來越多球隊採用紙板人的做法，不只是爲了增加粉絲參與度，也是爲了提升播出效果。”
The San Francisco Giants are running a similar cardboard cutout program for season ticket holders, which they plan to open to the public beginning on Monday. The Giants plan to put the images of the season ticket holders in their actual seat locations.
舊金山巨人隊也向季票持有者推出了類似的紙板人項目，他們計劃從週一開始向公衆開放。巨人隊計劃將季票持有者的紙板人放在他們的實際座位上。
The Oakland Athletics said their Coliseum Cutout program is not designed to make money for the organization, but to raise money for local charities that have been impacted by Covid-19.
奧克蘭運動家隊稱，他們的“球場紙板人”項目不是爲了給球隊賺錢，而是爲了給受新冠疫情衝擊的當地慈善機構籌款。
The San Francisco Giants said it’s less about the money and more of a fun way to engage with its fans.
舊金山巨人隊稱，與其說是爲了賺錢，不如說是一種和粉絲互動的有趣方式。
The Giants are charging $99 for their program and are providing the cutouts to season ticket holders that have agreed to roll their money to next season.
巨人隊的這一項目收費99美元，將向那些下一季願意繼續購票的季票持有者提供紙板人。
Yet in Germany, Bundesliga’s Borussia Mönchengladbach sold 23,000 cutouts, according to Be At the Game, the company behind the program. With an average price of $26, that’s about $600,000 in revenue.
然而在德國，據運營紙板人項目的公司Be At the Game介紹，德國足球甲級聯賽的普魯士明興格拉德巴赫隊賣出了2.3萬個紙板人。每個紙板人的均價是26美元，總收入約60萬美元。
Tom Hickson, co-founder of Be At the Game, said his company has been in discussions with the NBA, NHL and MLS teams about utilizing this new type of fan.
Be At the Game公司的聯合創始人湯姆·西克森表示，他們的公司一直在和美國男子籃球職業聯賽、北美職業冰球聯賽和美國職業足球大聯盟的球隊就使用這種新型“粉絲”進行洽談。
"As sports fans, we’re all obviously aggrieved about the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented fans from entering into sports stadiums and arenas across the world,” Hickson said. “So it’s a way in which fans can be re-engaged.”
“作爲體育迷，我們顯然都對於新冠疫情阻止粉絲進入世界各地的體育場館的事實感到悲憤，”西克森說，“所以這是讓粉絲重新參與進來的一個方式。”
