A Game Fit for a President 一項為總統“私人定制”的運動

Bert twists his upper body， gathers his strength， and hurls the ball back toward the opposing team. Back and forth the ball goes. Sweat rolls down the players' faces as each three-man team scrambles to get under the ball and catch it on the fly. One thought is on their minds： don't let the ball touch the ground. The distant sound of a whistle blows， ending the game. Bert's team wins， but the men will be back in the morning for a rematch1）.

Bert isn't just any player. He is Herbert Hoover， President of the United States. The ball field isn't ordinary either. It is the neatly trimmed2） White House lawn. And the game？ Hoover-ball.

Hoover didn't always like to exercise， but he did like to be healthy.

After his 1928 election， President Hoover noticed he had gained weight. \"Getting daily exercise to keep physically fit is always a problem for Presidents. Once the day's work starts there is little chance to walk， to ride， or to take part in a game，\" Hoover admitted. Still the extra 20 pounds were enough to make him talk to his doctor， Admiral3） Joel T. Boone， about a fitness program.

Hoover mentioned a game called bull-in-the-ring. He had played it on the battleship Utah with the ship's crew during a goodwill trip to South America. Players form a circle around one person. The player in the middle is the \"bull\". Players toss an eight-pound ball to each other while the bull tries to catch it.

The Game Begins！

Admiral Boone took parts of three games—bull-in-the-ring， tennis， and volleyball—to create a new sport. At first， Hoover didn't think anyone would join him at 7：00 a.m.， but he tried anyway. Armed with a heavy leather ball， President Hoover began playing just four days after he entered office. Soon 16 players showed up. Two years later， William Atherton Du Puy， a New York Times reporter， nicknamed the sport \"Hoover-ball\".

The President's game used a six-pound medicine ball4）. （Injured patients in hospitals often exercised with them to improve muscle strength.） Two teams， with three players each， stood on either side of an eight-foot-high net. Players had to catch the ball tossed by a member of the opposing team and return it over the net without letting it drop on the ground. Passing the ball to a teammate was not allowed. Teams scored points in the same way as a tennis match.

Playing Rain or Shine

According to White House records， President Hoover played almost every morning from 7：00 to 7：30. At 7：30， a factory near the Potomac River blew its whistle—the sign for the men to stop the game and begin the workday. The teams， made up of cabinet5） members and other White House officials， played in snow and rain and even on holidays. Sunday was the only day off. They moved inside a few times， and the President canceled just once to prepare for an important speech.

Hoover-ball was indeed good for the President. He dropped 25 pounds and never missed a day of work because of illness.

After President Hoover left office in 1933， Hoover-ball disappeared， but 50 years later， small groups in the United States began playing the game. And today， people as far away as Australia play Hoover-ball.

伯特扭轉上身，使出全身力氣把球朝對方球隊扔回去。球在兩隊之間飛來飛去。每隊的三名球員都爭搶著跑到球下面，趁球在空中時將它接住，汗珠順著他們的臉頰滑落。他們腦海中只有一個念頭：不能讓球觸地。遠處的汽笛聲響起，比賽結束了。伯特所在的隊贏了，不過這些人明天一早還會回到這里再比一場。

伯特可不是一名普通的球員，他名叫赫伯特·胡佛，是美國的總統（編注：第31任）。這個球場也不是普通的球場，是精心修剪過的白宮的草坪。那這是什么比賽呢？是胡佛球。

胡佛雖然不怎么喜歡運動，但他確實想一直保持健康。

1928年大選后，胡佛總統發現自己胖了。他承認說：“對總統們來說，每天運動以保持身體健康向來都是一大難題。每天一旦開始工作，基本就沒什么機會散步、騎車或參加比賽。”不過，他那多出來的20磅還是足以讓他去找自己的私人醫生海軍上將喬爾·T·布恩談談制定健身計劃的事了。

胡佛提過一個叫“斗牛”的游戲。在訪問南美的親善之旅中，他曾在“猶他號”戰艦上跟船員們一起玩過這個游戲。參與者圍著一個人站成一圈。中間的那個人就叫做“牛”。其他參與者互相投擲一個八磅重的球，中間的那個人則設法將球攔截下來。

比賽開始了！

海軍上將布恩把三項運動——“斗牛”、網球和排球——融合在一起創造出了一項新的運動。起初，胡佛總統覺得沒有人會在早晨7點跟他一起做運動，但不管怎樣他還是做了嘗試。在入主白宮僅四天后，胡佛總統就帶著一個分量不輕的皮球開始做這項運動了。很快就有16個人參與。兩年后，《紐約時報》記者威廉·阿瑟頓·杜普伊給這項運動起了一個昵稱——“胡佛球”。

總統的這項運動要用到一個六磅重的醫療健身球。（醫院里受傷的病人常用這種球進行鍛煉以增強肌肉力量。）兩個三人小隊分別站在八英尺高的球網兩側。參與者要接住對方隊員扔過來的球，再把球從網上方扔過去。整個過程中既不能讓球落地，也不能把球傳給隊友。團隊計分方法和網球比賽一樣。

堅持運動，風雨無阻

根據白宮的記錄，胡佛總統幾乎每天早上7：00～7：30都做這項運動。波托馬克河附近的一個工廠每天7：30定時鳴笛，這笛聲成為大家停止比賽、開始一天工作的信號。球隊由內閣成員以及白宮的其他官員組成。除了周日，不論雨雪，大家每天都會進行這項運動，就連節假日也不例外。有幾次他們把比賽挪到了室內。胡佛總統只有一次為準備一個非常重要的演講取消了比賽。

胡佛球對胡佛總統確實益處良多。他減掉了25磅，也從沒有因為生病而耽誤過一天工作。

胡佛總統于1933年卸任，此后胡佛球就銷聲匿跡了。但50年后，美國一些小團體又開始玩起了這項運動。現在，遠至澳大利亞的人們也會玩胡佛球。

1.rematch [?ri?m?t?] n. （與對手之間的）第二次比賽；重賽

2.trim [tr?m] vt. 修剪

3.admiral [??dm?r?l] n. 海軍上將

4.medicine ball： 健身實心球；醫療健身球

5.cabinet [?k?b?n?t] n. 內閣