美国国家公共电台 NPR The Pregame PB&J: How The Comfort Food Became The NBA's Recipe For Success（在线收听）

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The NBA might have a substance-use problem, what ESPN Magazine calls the NBA's secret addiction - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Baxter Holmes wrote the story, and he joins us now over Skype from Los Angeles. He covers the Lakers for ESPN. Mr. Holmes, thanks for being with us.

BAXTER HOLMES: Thank you very much for having me.

SIMON: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches belong in a first grader's lunchbox. What are they doing in the NBA?

HOLMES: They've been a staple of NBA locker rooms, as I wrote, really since the 2007, 2008 Boston Celtics, which starred Kevin Garnett who kind of decreed one day when he was hungry after a fellow teammate likewise said he was hungry and wanted a PB and J that, you know, yeah, let's get on that. Let's have it every game. And virtually in every NBA locker room, you'll see a variety of different foods on the table. But PB and J is - if there's a locker room that doesn't have it, I haven't seen it.

SIMON: And I gather different teams have different traditions.

HOLMES: Certainly. So much depends on location, preferences of certain players. The Lakers have theirs catered by Whole Foods. The San Antonio Spurs have theirs catered by HEB Central Market, which they have a partnership with in San Antonio. Go up to Portland - half of their peanut butter and jelly order is toasted because the star player, Damian Lillard, likes them that way. Go up to Milwaukee, and they do a PB and J buffet before the games with a variety of nut butters and Nutella, all kinds of jams and jellies.

SIMON: They're not particularly healthy for you, are you? And, you know, these guys have bodies that are not just their temples, their corporations.

HOLMES: Nutritionists I've talked to said it's not the healthiest snack, but it is healthier than, say, greasy junk food that they might get in arena concessions. And then you dive a little bit into the science of it. Peanut butter and jelly is comprised of various components that humans enjoy dating back to basically the Neanderthals when they were craving certain things that - for survival, different kinds of fats and proteins, starches and whatnot.

And because of it, the mental health benefits are what a lot of experts around the NBA say is actually its biggest benefit. The opiates it releases kind of calming players down, making them happy, putting them at ease, whatever the case may be. I mean, it truly is a comfort food.

SIMON: I gather that some health fanatic with the Golden State Warriors tried to have it banned.

HOLMES: Yes. So they hired a sports scientist from Australia, and he wanted to do with - away with a lot of unhealthy foods like candies and sodas and cookies, but he included peanut butter and jelly. And when the team got on the team plane, they it saw was gone and that kind of was the first shot fired in what became a peanut butter and jelly war between him and the players. And eventually, they got them back. And he is no longer employed by the team.

SIMON: (Laughter) The Cleveland Cavaliers - world champion Cleveland Cavaliers, I guess, have a gesture of real disdain to stock their opponent's locker rooms.

HOLMES: So they have a partnership with a fellow Ohio-based outfit in Smucker's, and they provide about a dozen of the prepackaged Uncrustable PB and J's to opposing teams every night, even though there are few teams that have told me they try to keep their players away from those because they're not very healthy.

Meanwhile, the Cavs make their own artisanal PB and Js prior to tip off with like homemade grape and raspberry jelly, almond butter and banana, and peanut butter and banana sandwiches. So they give opposing teams one thing, and they make themselves something completely different.

SIMON: Well, there's a whole new insight as to how they were able to defeat Golden State in the last few seconds. This will appall some people, but might I recommend crunchy peanut butter on rye bread?

HOLMES: That doesn't sound that bad. I mean, look, what - Russell Westbrook likes to butter the inside of the bread and then put peanut butter on it after it's toasted.

SIMON: If that's why he scores 70 points a game, I'll try it.

HOLMES: And to that point, Carmelo Anthony in New York likes his on a bagel, particularly a cinnamon raisin bagel.

SIMON: So if you're going to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today - whole wheat, white, almond butter, peanut butter - what kind of jam?

HOLMES: I'm probably going to go with sourdough, if I could, toasted.

SIMON: Oh, that's so California but go ahead, yeah.

HOLMES: I would probably go with creamy peanut butter. And my dad actually used to make - when I was growing up - homemade BlackBerry and raspberry jam. And so, you know, it would obviously taste good, remind me of dad, remind me of being a kid again.

SIMON: Baxter Holmes of ESPN, thanks so much for being with us. And can I say, bon appetit?

HOLMES: (Laughter) Yes, you may. Thank you very much for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME")

CHIP-MAN AND THE BUCKWHEAT BOYZ: (Singing) It's peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time. Where he at? Where he at? Where he at? Now there he go. There he go...

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