By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-09-14 19:42:26
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
上周六，圣安东尼奥马刺队球星维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)现身 Boomtown 球星卡与收藏品店，与小球迷们交换球星卡。
在过去两周多的时间里，当地商人维克多·纳瓦(Victor Nava)一直保守着一个难以置信的秘密。
另一位更有名的维克多——马刺队的超级球星维克托·文班亚马——即将到访他在圣安东尼奥西北部拥有的这家体育卡片和纪念品商店。
“保守这么大的秘密可不容易，”纳瓦说。
上周六，大约70名孩子挤进了纳瓦位于班德拉路的 Boomtown 体育卡片和收藏品店，参加一年一度的 Topps Hobby Rip 之夜，他们只被告知会有一位特别的嘉宾加入他们。
文班亚马的出现将是一个惊喜。
当身高2米24的文班亚马终于走进纳瓦的商店时，人群 predictably 爆发了热烈的欢呼声。高亢的“文班！”的呼喊声几乎响彻云霄。当欢呼声终于平息下来时，一个小小的的声音说出了所有马刺球迷的心声。
“你是我最喜欢的篮球运动员，”一位小球迷告诉文班亚马。
如果说有什么不同的话，那就是在上周六，这位法国天才球员的第二个 NBA 赛季即将开始之际，“文班亚马热”丝毫没有消退的迹象，而新赛季将在这个月晚些时候随着训练营的开始正式拉开帷幕。
文班亚马的此次亮相是他与范纳迪斯(Fanatics)赞助协议的一部分，范纳迪斯这家体育服装和纪念品公司拥有 Topps 体育卡片品牌。全球各地也举办了类似的活动，其他体育偶像，如超级碗冠军四分卫汤姆·布雷迪(Tom Brady)和美国职业棒球大联盟球星迈克·特劳特(Mike Trout)也出席了活动。
上周六，在文班亚马见面会开始前，一名儿童正在 Boomtown 体育卡片和收藏品店观看珍稀的文班亚马球星卡。
Boomtown 是全球572家参与周六活动的商店之一，但它是唯一一家接待了这位卫冕 NBA 年度最佳新秀的商店。
纳瓦说，两周前，当他得知文班亚马将光临他在班德拉路一家购物中心的小店时，他惊呆了。最难的是除了他的员工和他的母亲，他不能告诉任何人。
“他是世界上最伟大的运动员，”纳瓦谈到文班亚马时说。“我们每天都来这里，而他能来这里，感觉就像做梦一样。”
周六是文班亚马第一次去任何一家体育卡片商店，他说自己最近才开始迷上这个爱好。作为一个自称的科幻小说爱好者，文班亚马说他最喜欢收集星球大战卡片。
“我开始收集一些卡片了，”文班亚马说。“当然，我也有我自己的卡片。”
在大约25分钟的时间里，文班亚马与聚集在这里的孩子们交换卡片、微笑和玩游戏，而这些孩子在周六早上醒来时都没有想到会遇到他们的马刺队英雄。
“我从没想过我会亲眼见到维克托·文班亚马，只在电视上见过，”11岁的罗伯特·西斯勒(Robert Sisler)说，纳瓦称他是 Boomtown 最忠实的顾客之一。“我惊得下巴都掉了。”
当纳瓦拿出他自己的珍稀签名卡时，文班亚马也有类似的反应，这张卡片价值五位数，是从 Boomtown 开出的一包卡片中挑选出来的。文班亚马说，他记得自己亲自签过这些卡片。
“现在看到它出现在市面上，真是太疯狂了，”文班亚马说。
西斯勒说，他迫不及待地想告诉他的同学们，他与文班亚马那双大手握手的经历。
“我永远不会洗这只手了，”这位五年级学生说。“我只用左手吃饭。”
对纳瓦来说，在过去三年里，他一直拥有 Boomtown，这样的反应让他觉得保守两周的秘密是值得的。
“孩子们脸上的表情就是我每天早上醒来并喜欢来这里的原因，”纳瓦说。“我认为这25分钟可能是他们所拥有的最棒的经历。”
尽管孩子们很兴奋，但没有什么能比得上纳瓦看到这位世界上最著名的运动员之一在他的店里出现时的那种兴奋。你可能会说，这位总是面带微笑的纳瓦就像一个身处体育卡片商店的孩子。
“这是一个梦想成真，”他说。“这样的事情一生只会发生一次。那是我一生中唯一的一次。”
上周六，在马刺队球星维克托·文班亚马抵达 Boomtown 体育卡片和收藏品店参加见面会之前，一名儿童和他的母亲正在文班亚马的海报上签名。
上周六，圣安东尼奥马刺队球星维克托·文班亚马在 Boomtown 体育卡片和收藏品店与小球迷们见面并合影。
上周六，圣安东尼奥马刺队球星维克托·文班亚马在 Boomtown 体育卡片和收藏品店与小球迷们交换球星卡。
点击查看原文：Victor Wembanyama wows at Topps card event
Victor Wembanyama wows at Topps card event
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama opens trading cards with young fans at Boomtown Sports Cards and Collectibles on Saturday.
For a little more than two weeks, local businessman Victor Nava had an impossible secret to keep.
Another, more famous Victor – that would be Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama – would soon be visiting the sports card and memorabilia shop he owns on San Antonio’s northwest side.
“It’s tough to keep a secret that big,” Nava said.
The 70 or so kids who squeezed into Nava’s Boomtown Sports Cards and Collectibles on Saturday for an annual Topps Hobby Rip night were only told a special guest would be joining them.
Wembanyama’s appearance was to be a surprise.
When Wembanyama at last ducked his 7-foot-3 frame into Nava’s shop, the crowd went predictably wild. The high-pitched “Wemby!” chants began almost immediately. One small voice spoke for the rest of Spurs fandom when the cheers finally quieted.
“You’re my favorite basketball player,” a young fan told Wembanyama.
If nothing else, Saturday proved Wembymania has not subsided on the cusp of the French sensation’s second NBA season, which officially begins with the start of training camp later this month.
Wembanyama’s appearance was part of his sponsorship deal with Fanatics, the sports apparel and memorabilia company that owns the Topps sports card brand. Similar events took place across the globe, attended by other athletic icons such as Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady and Major League Baseball star Mike Trout.
A child looks at rare Victor Wembanyama trading cards before his meet and greet at Boomtown Sports Cards and Collectibles on Saturday.
Boomtown was one of 572 shops worldwide participating in Saturday’s event, but the only one hosting the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year.
Nava said he was gob-smacked to learn two weeks ago that Wembanyama would be gracing the door of his small shop in a strip center on Bandera Road. The hard part was not telling anyone outside of his staff and his mother.
“He is the biggest athlete in the world,” Nava said of Wembanyama. “We walk in here every single day, and to have him in here, it felt like something out of a dream.”
Saturday marked the first visit to any sports card shop for Wembanyama, who says he has just recently begun to get into the hobby. A self-avowed science-fiction aficionado, Wembanyama said he most enjoys collecting Star Wars cards.
“I’m starting to have a little collection,” Wembanyama said. “And I’ve got cards of myself, of course.”
For about 25 minutes, Wembanyama swapped cards and smiles and played games with the assembled kids, none of whom awoke Saturday morning expecting to meet their Spurs hero.
“I’d never thought I’d see Victor Wembanyama in person, just on TV,” said 11-year-old Robert Sisler, who Nava calls one of Boomtown’s most loyal customers. “My jaw was on the floor.”
Wembanyama had a similar reaction when Nava produced one of his own rare, autographed cards – valued in the five figures – that had been culled from a pack opened at Boomtown. Wembanyama remarked that he remembered signing the cards personally.
“To see it now out in the wild, it’s crazy,” Wembanyama said.
Sisler said he couldn’t wait to tell his classmates about the experience of shaking Wembanyama’s massive hand.
“I’m never washing this hand,” the fifth grader said. “I’ll just eat with my left hand.”
For Nava, who has owned Boomtown for the past three years, such reactions made the two weeks of secret-keeping worth it.
“The look on the kids’ faces is the reason why I wake up in the morning and love coming here,” Nava said. “I think that 25 minutes, it’s probably the best experience they’ve ever had.”
As excited as the kids were, little could match the exhilaration Nava felt watching one of the most famous athletes on the planet hold court in his shop. You might say the ever-smiling Nava was like a kid in a sports card store.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “Something like this happens once in a lifetime. That was my once in a lifetime.”
A child and mother sign a poster of Spurs star Victor Wembanyama before he arrived for a meet and greet at Boomtown Sports Cards and Collectibles on Saturday.
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama meets and greets young fans at Boomtown Sports Cards and Collectibles on Saturday.
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama trades sports cards with young fans at Boomtown Sports Cards and Collectibles on Saturday.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News