观看花样滑冰比赛，经常能看到现场观众向场内抛洒毛绒玩具的画面。这些玩具都是粉丝们送给自己喜爱的花滑运动员的礼物。为什么扔的是毛绒玩具而不是鲜花或其他东西呢？

 

Moments after a figure skater finishes their program, adoring fans fling gifts onto the ice. There have definitely been some weird¹ ones over the years. As NBC Sports reports, Sasha Cohen was once given multiple cashmere sweaters; Canada's Elvis Stojko and Patrick Chan have walked away with lingerie; and Debi Thomas even got a box of Domino's pizza after her performance at the 1987 world championships. (Another skater, Doug Mattis, had tossed it onto the rink because Thomas had jokingly wondered why people "don't throw something good, like pizza?")

在一名花样滑冰运动员表演完节目后不久，喜欢这位运动员的粉丝们就会开始往冰场上扔礼物。过去这些年粉丝们还真扔过一些不寻常的礼物。据NBC体育台报道称，萨莎·科恩曾收到过几件羊绒衫，加拿大的埃尔维斯·斯托伊科和陈伟群曾收到过女用内衣，黛比·托马斯在1987年世界花样滑冰锦标赛表演结束后甚至收到了一盒达美乐披萨。（因为托马斯曾经开玩笑说，为什么人们“不扔一些好东西，比如披萨？”于是另一位滑冰运动员道格·马蒂斯就把一盒披萨扔到了冰场上。）

 

Carbs and clothing aside, the post-program offerings are mostly stuffed animals. Though it's not clear exactly how or when this custom began, there are a couple of factors that help explain why it's so popular. First and foremost, flowers, once the go-to item to toss at skaters, are messy. The "sweepers"—the kids who skate around collecting all the gifts between each program—have a much easier time grabbing plush toys than scrabbling at every petal² and leaf that fell off its flower.

除了碳水化合物和衣服以外，节目结束后粉丝们扔的大多是毛绒动物玩具。尽管不清楚这种习俗是怎么来的或从何时开始的，以下两个因素可以帮助解释为什么毛绒玩具这么受欢迎。首先，过去粉丝们也曾向花滑运动员扔过鲜花，结果把场地弄得很凌乱。其次，在节目的间隔时间负责清场的冰童需要一边滑冰一边收集所有礼物，捡毛绒玩具比收拾花束上掉下来的花瓣和叶子要容易得多。

 

There's no global ban on chucking bouquets³, but organizations have made attempts to discourage the practice in the past. In 1989, US Figure Skating banned arenas⁵ hosting national championships from selling flowers. And ahead of the 2002 national championships, the association outright⁶ prohibited fans from bringing their own flowers (and other items) to the arena⁴ at all.

国际上对于往冰场上扔花束并没有禁令，但是过去多个组织曾试图阻止这一行为。1989年，美国花样滑冰协会曾禁止举办全美花滑锦标赛的场馆销售鲜花。在2002年全美花滑锦标赛举办前夕，该协会完全禁止粉丝自带鲜花（或其他物品）进入场馆。

 

"Flowers have always been a problem. Even when they're wrapped, the staples⁷ pop out and become a hazard," Larry Kriwanek, chair of the event's organizing committee, told the Los Angeles Times. "Flowers were going to be eliminated. It was just a question of when." Instead, fans could purchase already-authorized stuffed animals inside the arena and shower their favorite skaters with those.

这场赛事的组委会主席拉里·克里瓦尼克对《洛杉矶时报》记者说：“往冰场上扔鲜花一直是个问题。即使是包装好的花束，花朵和叶子也会掉出来，从而造成隐患。应该让鲜花从冰场上消失。这只是个时间问题。”作为替代，粉丝们可以在场馆内购买官方授权的毛绒动物玩具，然后抛给他们喜欢的花滑选手。

 

Stuffed animals also give supporters an opportunity to choose presents that seem more personal. "We sometimes will get stuffed animals made in custom costumes to match what we're wearing," American ice dancer Meryl Davis, who won gold with partner Charlie White in 2014, told NBC Sports. It turns out that skaters often do try to take especially meaningful or thoughtful gifts home with them.

选择送毛绒玩具还有一个好处，粉丝们可以有机会选择更个性化的礼物。曾在2014年与搭档查理·怀特一起赢得奥运会金牌的美国花滑运动员梅丽尔·戴维斯告诉NBC体育台说：“我们有时候会收到与我们的服装相配的定制款毛绒动物玩具。”事实证明，花滑运动员往往会把特别有意义或贴心的礼物带回家。

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