They said this day would never come. 他们说这一天永远不会到来。
Here is something none of my predecessors ever got a chance to say: Welcome to the White House the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs! 我的前任们中没有一个人有机会说这句话：欢迎世界大赛冠军芝加哥小熊队来到白宫！
Now, I know you guys would prefer to stand the whole time, but sit down. 我知道你们更愿意一直站着，但请坐吧。
I will say to the Cubs: It took you long enough. I mean, I've only got four days left. You're just making it under the wire. 我要对小熊队说一句：你们可真够久的。我就剩四天任期了，你们可真是卡着点儿来的。
Now, listen, I -- I made a lot of promises in 2008. We've managed to fulfill a large number of them, but even I was not crazy enough to suggest that during these eight years we would see the Cubs win the World Series. But I did say that there's never been anything false about hope. Hope. The audacity of hope. 听着，我——我在2008年许下了很多承诺。我们兑现了其中的一大部分，但就连我也没疯狂到敢说这八年里我们能看到小熊队赢得世界大赛。但我确实说过，希望从来都不是虚妄的。希望。无畏的希望。
Audience Member: Yes, we can! 观众：是的，我们能！
President Obama: Yes, we can. 奥巴马总统：是的，我们能。
Now, listen, for those of you from Chicago who have known me a long time, it is no secret that there's a certain South Side team that, you know, has...my loyalty. For me, the drought hasn't been as long. We had the '85 Bears; we had the the Bulls' run in the '90s. I've hosted the Blackhawks a number of times. The White Sox did win just 11 years ago with Ozzie and Konerko and Buerhle. So -- So I...can't claim that I have the same, just visceral joy of some in this White House. 听着，对于那些来自芝加哥、认识我很久的人来说，这已经不是什么秘密了——有一支南区球队拥有……我的忠诚。对我来说，冠军荒没有那么久。我们有过85年的熊队；有过90年代的公牛王朝。我已经多次接待过黑鹰队。白袜队11年前也赢过，有奥齐、科内尔科和伯尔利。所以——所以我……不能说我和这个白宫里的某些人有着同样发自肺腑的喜悦。
But FLOTUS is a lifelong Cubs fan. And I will tell you, she had -- she had to go to another event, but in eight years that I've been here -- I told the team this -- in the eight years that I've been here, we've hosted at least 50 teams -- football, basketball, baseball, soccer, you name it. Michelle has never come to a single event celebrating a champion until today. 但第一夫人（FLOTUS）是终身小熊队球迷。我告诉你们——她本来要去参加另一个活动的，但我在这里的八年里——我跟球队也说过——这八年里我们接待了至少50支冠军球队——橄榄球、篮球、棒球、足球，什么项目都有。米歇尔从来没有参加过任何一次冠军庆祝活动，今天是第一次。
And she came and shook hands and met with every one of these members of the Cubs organization, and told a story about what it meant for her to be able to see them win; because she remembers coming home from school and her dad would be watching a Cubs game, and the bond and the family, the -- the meaning that the Cubs had for her in terms of connecting with her father, and why it meant so much to her. And I -- I almost choked up listening to it. And it spoke, I think, to how people feel about this organization, and -- and that it's been passed on generation after generation. 她来了，和小熊队的每一位成员握手、见面，还讲述了看到他们夺冠对她意味着什么；因为她记得放学回家，爸爸总是在看小熊队的比赛，那种联结和亲情，小熊队对她来说意味着什么——那是她和父亲之间的纽带，为什么这件事对她如此重要。我——我听着都差点哽咽了。我想，这说明了人们对这支球队的感情，以及——这种感情是如何一代一代传下去的。
And -- And it's...more than sports. 而且——这……不止于体育。
And that is not just true for FLOTUS. My longest-serving aide, Anita [Decker Breckenridge], is a Cubs fan. When they -- When they -- "Fan"...is not enough -- When they won that -- they next day she said, "This is the best day of my life." And I said, "What about me winning the presidency?" "What about your wedding day?" She's like, "No, this is the best." 不仅仅是第一夫人如此。我任职最久的助手安妮塔（德克尔·布雷肯里奇）也是小熊队球迷。当他们——"球迷"这个词都不够——当他们夺冠的第二天，她说："这是我一生中最棒的一天。"我说："那我当选总统呢？""你结婚那天呢？"她说："不，这才是最棒的。"
My chief speechwriter, Cody Keenan, Cuba fan. In fact, there were a lot of sick days during the playoffs. 我的首席演讲稿撰写人科迪·基南，小熊队球迷。事实上，季后赛期间他请了好多"病假"。
One of my staff members was caught being interviewed at a bar outside of Wrigley, and -- and we're watching him being interviewed. You remember, Luke? [ph] And he's looking kind of sheepish about it. It's like, why aren't you in the office? 我的一个工作人员被人发现在瑞格利球场外的一家酒吧里接受采访——我们正看着他被采访。你记得吗，卢克？他看起来还有点不好意思。就好像在说，你怎么不在办公室？
But look, the truth is, there was a reason not just that people felt good about the Cubs winning. There was something about this particular Cubs team winning that people felt good about. For example, David Ross and I have something in common: We've both been on a "year-long retirement party." But unlike Grandpa, my team has not yet bought me a scooter with a motorized golf caddy. But there are four days left -- maybe I'll get that. 但说实话，人们为小熊队夺冠感到开心不只是因为赢了。这支特别的小熊队夺冠，有一些特别的东西让人欣喜。比如，大卫·罗斯和我有一个共同点：我们都在经历"为期一年的退休派对"。但和"罗斯爷爷"不一样，我的团队还没给我买一辆带电动高尔夫球包的踏板车。不过还有四天——也许我能收到。
The last time the Cubs won the World Series, Teddy Roosevelt was President. Albert Einstein -- or was it Thomas Edison? -- was still alive. The first Cubs radio broadcast wouldn't be for almost two decades. We've been through World Wars, Cold War, a Depression, a space race, all manner of social and technological change. But during that time, those decades were also marked by Phil Cavarretta and Ernie Banks; Billy Williams, who's here today; Ron Santo, Ferg, Ryne Sandberg, Dawson, Maddux, Grace. 上一次小熊队赢得世界大赛时，泰迪·罗斯福还是总统。阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦——还是托马斯·爱迪生来着？——还活着。第一次小熊队的电台广播还要等将近二十年才会出现。我们经历了世界大战、冷战、大萧条、太空竞赛，各种各样的社会和技术变革。但在那段时间里，那些年代也留下了菲尔·卡瓦雷塔和厄尼·班克斯的印记；比利·威廉姆斯——他今天也来了；罗恩·桑托、弗吉、莱恩·桑德伯格、道森、马多克斯、格雷斯。
Those decades were punctuated by Lee Elia's rants and Harry Caray's exuberance; 那些年代里，有李·埃利亚的咆哮，也有哈里·卡雷的激情；
-- "Hey, Hey," ——"嘿，嘿，"
-- And "Holy Cow!" ——还有"哇塞，我的天！"
And capped off by "Go Cubs Go." 最后以"加油小熊队"画上句号。
So the first thing that made this championship so special for so many is, is that the Cubs know what it's like to be loyal, and to persevere, and to hope, and to suffer, and then keep on hoping. And -- And it's a -- it's a generational thing. That's what you heard Michelle describing. People all across the city remember the first time a parent took them to Wrigley, where memories of climbing into their dad's lap to watch games on WGN -- and that's part of the reason, by the way, why Michelle had invited -- made sure that José Cardenal was here, because that was her favorite player. 所以，对这么多人来说，这次夺冠之所以如此特别，首先是因为小熊队懂得什么是忠诚、坚持、希望、煎熬，然后继续怀抱希望。而且——这是——这是一代人的事。这就是米歇尔描述的那种感觉。整个城市的人都记得父母第一次带他们去瑞格利球场的情景，记得爬到爸爸腿上看WGN台转播比赛的回忆——顺便说一句，这也是为什么米歇尔特意确保何塞·卡德纳尔能来这里，因为那是她最喜欢的球员。
And she was describing -- back then he had a big afro, and she was describing how she used to wear her hat over her afro the same way José did. 她还描述说——那时候他留着大大的爆炸头，她过去也学着何塞的样子，把帽子戴在自己的爆炸头上。
You could see all that love this season in the fans who traveled to their dads' gravesites to listen to games on the radio; who wore their moms' old jerseys to games; who covered the brick walls of Wrigley with love notes in chalk to departed fans whose lifelong faith was finally fulfilled. 这个赛季，你可以在球迷们身上看到所有这些爱：他们去父亲的墓地听收音机里的比赛；他们穿着妈妈的旧球衣去看球；他们用粉笔在瑞格利的砖墙上写给逝去球迷的情书——那些人毕生的信念终于得到了回应。
None of this, of course, would have happened without the extraordinary contributions of the Ricketts family. Tom met his wife, Cece, in the bleachers of Wrigley about 30 years ago -- which is about 30 years longer than most relationships that begin there last. Our...dear friend Laura Ricketts met her wife, Brooke, in the ballpark, as well. 当然，如果没有里基茨家族的非凡贡献，这一切都不会发生。汤姆大约30年前在瑞格利球场的看台上遇到了他的妻子塞西——这比大多数在那里开始的恋情要长久30年。我们……亲爱的朋友劳拉·里基茨也是在球场里遇到了她的妻子布鲁克。
You know, brothers and sisters -- they -- they turned this team around by hiring what has to be one of the greatest, if not -- I mean, he's still pretty young, so we'll see how long he keeps on going -- the greatest general managers of all time, Theo Epstein, and along with -- and along with Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod. They -- They did just an unbelievable job. Theo, as you know is -- his job is to quench droughts -- 86 years in Boston; 108 in Chicago. He takes the reins of an organization that's wandering in the wilderness; he delivers them to the Promised Land. 你们知道，兄弟姐妹——他们——他们扭转了这支球队，靠的是聘请了可以说是史上最伟大的总经理之一——西奥·爱泼斯坦，尽管他还很年轻，所以我们拭目以待他能走多远——还有杰德·霍耶和杰森·麦克劳德。他们——他们的工作简直令人难以置信。西奥，你们知道的——他的工作就是终结冠军荒——波士顿86年，芝加哥108年。他接手一支在荒野中徘徊的球队，然后把他们带到了应许之地。
I've talked to him about being DNC chair. But he decided wisely to stick to baseball. 我还跟他谈过让他当民主党全国委员会主席的事。但他明智地决定继续搞棒球。
That brings me to the other thing that was so special about this championship -- and that's just the -- they guys behind me, the team. They steamrolled the majors this year with a 103-win record. All you had to know about this team was encapsulated in that one moment in Game 5, down three games to one, do or die, in front of the home fans when David Ross and Jon Lester turned to each other and said, "I love you, man." And he said, "I love you, too." It was sort of like a Obama-Biden moment. 这就引出了这次夺冠的另一个特别之处——那就是——我身后的这些小伙子们，这支球队。今年他们以103胜的战绩横扫大联盟。关于这支球队，你只需要知道一个时刻就够了：第五场比赛，总比分1比3落后，生死战，在主场球迷面前，大卫·罗斯和乔恩·莱斯特转向对方说："兄弟，我爱你。"然后对方说："我也爱你。"那就像是奥巴马-拜登时刻。
And then you've got the manager, Joe Maddon, who, let's face it -- let's face it, there are not a lot of coaches or managers who are as cool as this guy. Look how he looks right now. That's cool. That's cool. You know, he used costume parties and his "Shaggin' Wagon." So he's got -- I'm just saying -- he's got a lot of -- lot of tricks to -- to motivate. But he's also a master of tactics, and makes the right move at the right time: when to pinch hit, when to pinch run, when to make it rain in Game 7 of the World Series. It was masterful. 然后还有主教练乔·马登，说实话——说实话，没有多少教练或经理像他这么酷。看他现在这副样子。多酷啊。太酷了。你们知道，他用化妆派对和他的"摇摆旅行车"来调动气氛。所以他有——我就是说——他有很多很多激励人的花招。但他也是战术大师，在正确的时间做出正确的决策：什么时候代打，什么时候代跑，什么时候在世界大赛第七场叫暂停下雨。真是大师级的表现。
So he set the tone, but also some of the -- the amazing players here set the tone. 所以他定下了基调，但这里的一些出色球员也定下了基调。
My fellow "44" -- Anthony Rizzo, who's the heart of this team. Five years ago, he was a part of the squad that lost 101 games. He stuck at it, led the National League in All-Star votes this year. 我的"44号"同伴——安东尼·里佐，他是这支球队的心脏。五年前，他还在那支输掉101场比赛的队伍里。他坚持了下来，今年在全明星投票中领先全国联盟。
His business partner in the "Bryzzo Souvenir Company," which delivers baseballs to fans in all parts of the bleachers -- Kris Bryant. This guy -- This guy had a good year. You know, you go from Rookie of the Year to being the MVP. You win the World Series. And then, like me, he marries up and comes to the White House. And he did all this just in 10 days -- when it took me a long time. So, congratulations to the newlyweds, Jessica and Kris Bryant. 他在"布里佐纪念品公司"的生意伙伴——就是那种把棒球送到看台各个角落的公司——克里斯·布莱恩特。这家伙——这家伙今年过得可真好。你们想想，从最佳新秀到MVP。你赢得了世界大赛。然后，像我一样，高攀结婚，还来白宫做客。而他只用了10天就完成了这一切——我可是花了好长时间。所以，恭喜新婚夫妇——杰西卡和克里斯·布莱恩特。
Then you got these young guys like Baez and Russell. Baez turning tagging into an art form. 然后还有这些年轻球员，比如贝兹和拉塞尔。贝兹把触杀变成了一种艺术形式。
Russell becoming the youngest player to hit a World Series Grand Slam since Mickey Mantle. 拉塞尔成为了自米奇·曼托以来在世界大赛中打出满贯全垒打的最年轻球员。
And you -- you mix these amazing young talents with somebody like David Ross who, for example, helped Anthony out of his "glass case of emotions" in Game 7. But think about what Rossy did in his final season: caught a no-hitter, surpassed 100 home runs for his career, including one in his last game ever. If there was ever a way to go out, this was it. 你把这些惊人的年轻天才和大卫·罗斯这样的人组合在一起——比如，罗斯在第七场比赛中帮助安东尼从"情绪玻璃柜"里走出来。但想想罗斯在他最后一个赛季做了什么：接住了一场无安打比赛，职业生涯全垒打突破100支，包括在他职业生涯最后一场比赛中的一支全垒打。如果说有一种完美的退役方式，那就是了。
And then you got Ben Zobrist, who didn't get to come to the White House last year after winning it all with the Royals, but then hits .357 in the World Series, go-ahead RBI in the 10th inning of the Game 7, World Series MVP. I think he's earned his way here; and is apparently a good guy, because I asked his wife -- she was in line before he was -- I said, "Has he gotten a big head since he got the whole MVP thing?" "No, he's so sweet. He's so humble." You -- You owe her dinner tonight. 然后还有本·佐布里斯特，他去年跟着皇家队夺冠后没能来白宫，但今年他在世界大赛中打击率.357，在第七场第十局打出了致胜打点，获得了世界大赛MVP。我觉得他这次终于赢得了来白宫的资格；而且显然他人很好，因为我问了他的妻子——她排在他前面——我说："他拿了MVP之后有没有飘起来？"她说："没有，他特别好。特别谦虚。"你——你今晚得请她吃饭。
Extraordinary pitching staff, including Kyle Hendricks, the first Cub to lead the majors in ERA since 1938. Kyle, in turn, was the only pitcher this year with a better ERA than Jon Lester, who racked up 19 wins. Good job. You got Jake Arrieta, 2015 Cy Young [Award] winner, stretched a 20-game win streak featuring two no-hitters across the past two seasons, then hit a home run in the NLDS, and won two games in the World Series. So, apparently Pilates works. Michelle says it does. 出色的投手阵容，包括凯尔·亨德里克斯——自1938年以来第一位在大联盟领先自责分率的小熊队投手。而凯尔反过来，是今年唯一一位自责分率比乔恩·莱斯特好的投手——莱斯特拿下了19胜。干得好。还有杰克·阿瑞塔，2015年赛扬奖得主，在过去两个赛季里延续了20场连胜，包括两场无安打比赛，然后在分区赛中打出一支全垒打，还在世界大赛中赢了两场。所以，显然普拉提健身有用。米歇尔也这么说。
So -- And then -- And then finally, the -- the game itself and the Series itself, come back from a 3-1 deficit against a great Cleveland Indians team forced what is widely considered the greatest Game 7 of all time. Dexter Fowler becomes the first player to hit a leadoff home run in Game 7. Javy Baez hits another leadoff the 5th. David Ross becomes the older player -- oldest player to knock one out in a Game 7, as well. Kyle Schwarber, who's been hurt and hobbled, then suddenly he comes in and gets seven hits in the Series -- three in Game 7 alone. 所以——然后——最后，那场比赛本身，还有整个系列赛——在对阵一支伟大的克利夫兰印第安人队时，从1比3的劣势中逆转，催生了被广泛认为是史上最伟大的第七场比赛。德克斯特·福勒成为第一位在第七场首打席击出全垒打的球员。哈维·贝兹在第五局又打出一支首打席全垒打。大卫·罗斯也成为了在第七场击出全垒打的最年长球员。凯尔·施瓦伯，之前一直受伤病困扰步履蹒跚，然后突然回归，在系列赛中打出七支安打——仅第七场就有三支。
And then you've got the 10th inning. You've got the rain. God finally feeling mercy on Cubs fans. An entire game, an entire season, an entire century of hope and heartbreak all coming down to a one-inning sprint. And then Zobrist knocked in one. Montero knocked in another. Carl Edwards, Jr., Mike Montgomery teamed up to shut the Indians down. 然后是第十局。下着雨。上帝终于对小熊队球迷发了慈悲。整场比赛，一整个赛季，一整个世纪的希望与心碎，都浓缩在了一局冲刺之中。然后佐布里斯特打回一分。蒙特罗打回另一分。卡尔·爱德华兹二世和迈克·蒙哥马利联手封锁了印第安人队。
And then, at 12:47 a.m. Eastern Time, Bryant -- looks like he's going to slip; everybody is getting a little stressed -- tosses a grounder to Rizzo; Rizzo gets the ball, slips it in his back pocket, which shows excellent situational awareness. And -- And suddenly everything is changed. No more black cats, billy goats, ghosts, flubbed grounders. The Chicago Cubs are -- are the champs. And on...ESPN, you've got Van Pelt saying, "one of the all-time great nights." You've got Tim Kurkjian calling it "the greatest night [in] baseball" in the history of the game. 然后，东部时间凌晨12点47分，布莱恩特——看起来他好像要滑倒了，每个人都有点紧张——把一个地滚球传给里佐；里佐接到球，塞进后裤兜——这展现了出色的临场意识。然后——突然间，一切都变了。再也没有黑猫、比利山羊、魔咒、失误地滚球了。芝加哥小熊队——是冠军了。然后在……ESPN上，范佩尔特说："史上最伟大的夜晚之一。"蒂姆·库基安称之为"棒球史上最伟大的夜晚"。
Two days later, millions of people, the largest gathering of Americans that I know of in Chicago, and for a moment, our hometown becomes the very definition of joy. So in Chicago, I think it's fair to say you guys will be popular for a while. 两天后，数百万人——据我所知是芝加哥规模最大的美国人集会——有那么一瞬间，我们的家乡成了欢乐的代名词。所以在芝加哥，我觉得可以公平地说，你们会火好一阵子。
But, in addition, they're also doing a lot of good work. Anthony Rizzo and Jon Lester raised money to help others beat cancer like they did. Under the -- Under the Rickett[s] Family's leadership, last year alone Cubs Charities supported charitable grants and donations of nearly 4 million dollars that reached nearly 120,000 children and young adults across Chicagoland. Under their "Let's Give" initiative, Cubs staff, coaches, players, and spouses donated more than 1500 hours of service last year to the community. 但是，除此之外，他们还做了很多善事。安东尼·里佐和乔恩·莱斯特筹集资金，帮助其他人像他们一样战胜癌症。在里基茨家族的领导下，仅去年一年，小熊队慈善基金会就提供了近400万美元的慈善拨款和捐赠，惠及芝加哥地区近12万名儿童和年轻人。在他们的"让我们奉献"倡议下，小熊队的工作人员、教练、球员和配偶们去年为社区贡献了超过1500小时的服务时间。
And after their visit here today, they will head to Walter Reed to visit with some of our brave wounded warriors. 今天在这里访问之后，他们还将前往沃尔特·里德医疗中心，看望我们一些勇敢的受伤战士。
So...just to wrap up, you know today is -- today is, I think, our last official event -- isn't it? -- at the White House, under my presidency. And it also happens to be a day that we celebrate one of the great Americans of all time, Martin Luther King, Jr. And later, as soon as we're done here, Michelle and I are going to go over and do a service project, which is what we do every year to honor Dr. King. 所以……最后我想说，你们知道今天是——我想今天是我们在我总统任期内的最后一场官方活动——对吧？在白宫。而今天恰好也是我们纪念有史以来最伟大的美国人之一——马丁·路德·金博士诞辰的日子。等我们这里一结束，米歇尔和我就要去做一个服务项目，这是我们每年纪念金博士的方式。
And it is worth remembering -- because sometimes people wonder, "Well why are you spending time on sports; there's other stuff going on?" -- that throughout our history, sports has had this power to bring us together, even when the country is divided. Sports has changed attitudes and culture in ways that seem subtle but that ultimately made us think differently about ourselves and who we were. It -- It is a game and it is celebration, but there's a direct line between Jackie Robinson and me standing here. 值得记住的是——因为有时候人们会疑惑，"你们为什么要在体育上花时间，还有别的事情要做啊？"——纵观我们的历史，体育总有这种力量将我们凝聚在一起，即使在国家分裂的时候。体育以看似微妙的方式改变着态度和文化，但最终让我们对自己、对我们是谁有了不同的认识。它——它是一场比赛，是一种庆祝，但杰基·罗宾逊和我站在这里之间，有着一条直接的连线。
There is a direct line between people loving Ernie Banks, and then the city being able to come together and work together in one spirit. 人们热爱厄尼·班克斯，和这座城市能够团结一心、精神一致地共同奋斗之间，也有着一条直接的连线。
And I was in my hometown of Chicago on Tuesday, for my farewell address, and I said, sometimes it's not enough just to change laws, you got to change hearts. And -- And sports has a way, sometimes, of changing hearts in a way that politics or business doesn't. And, you know, sometimes it's just a matter of us being able to escape and relax from the -- the difficulties of our days. But sometimes it also speaks to something better in us. 周二我在我的家乡芝加哥发表告别演说时我说过，有时候仅仅改变法律是不够的，你必须改变人心。而——体育有时有一种方式，能以政治或商业做不到的方式改变人心。而且，你们知道，有时候这只是让我们能够从日常的困难中解脱出来、放松一下。但有时候，它也映照出我们内心更美好的东西。
And when you see this group of folks of different shades and different backgrounds, and coming from different communities and neighborhoods all across the country, and then playing as one team and playing the right way, and celebrating each other and being joyous in that, that tells us a little something about what America is and what America can be. 当你看到这群不同肤色、不同背景、来自全国各地不同社区和街区的人们，作为一支球队打球，以正确的方式打球，彼此庆祝，乐在其中时，这就告诉了我们一点关于美国是什么、以及美国可以成为什么的答案。
So it is entirely appropriate that we celebrate the Cubs today, here in this White House, on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday because it helps direct us in terms of what this country has been and what it can be in the future. 所以，今天在这座白宫里、在马丁·路德·金博士诞辰之日庆祝小熊队，是完全恰如其分的——因为它指引着我们去思考这个国家曾经是什么，以及它未来可以成为什么。
With that, one more time, let's congratulate the 2016 World Championship -- Chicago Cubs! 最后，让我们再一次祝贺2016年世界大赛冠军——芝加哥小熊队！
