The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 153 Should Buy a Ticket to Chicago

Jim Durham called the first NBA matchup between Jordan and Gan Guoyang the greatest basketball game ever.

After the game, reporters sent out press releases like snowflakes to major newspapers across the United States, which were then typed up and printed that night or early the next morning.

The text and data about the competition were printed on hot, dark newspapers and sent to every household.

Some business-minded newspapers rushed to print the next day's edition just over an hour after the match ended, distributing it ahead of schedule and selling a considerable amount.

In the 80s, television morning news began to include sports programming, with ESPN focusing more on basketball news gathering and broadcasting than CBS.

Just this year, another major television network, ABC, acquired 100% of ESPN's shares. Due to ABC's funding and strategic issues, ESPN was no longer able to broadcast NHL and NCAA football games after the acquisition, and they failed to renew the broadcasting agreement.

While this is a loss for ESPN, on the other hand, they will devote more energy and resources to broadcasting and reporting on the NBA.

Roger Werner, ESPN's Vice President of Planning and a former business consultant at McKinsey & Company, watched the game live on television. After the game, he immediately asked the news department to give a detailed report on the game, taking at least fifteen minutes out of the morning news to introduce the cause and effect of the game and the whole process of the game.

ESPN staff worked overnight to edit the game footage and on-site interviews, and the editors wrote a script on the spot. The next morning, ESPN gave the game a nearly 20-minute special report.

They had to sacrifice time from the baseball game, but it turned out to be the right decision. The next morning, many viewers tuned in to watch the game and hoped to see a detailed post-game report.

Some of them were fans or spectators from Illinois who had watched the game that night, while others were fans who hadn't seen it but had heard about the exciting battle between Jordan and Gan Guoyang, and they wanted to see the spectacle in the post-game reports.

Without internet access, unless you recorded the game yourself, the only way to watch the highlights is by watching TV broadcasts and replays.

TV stations typically only show a few highlights of the game, such as a player's dunk or a last-minute game-winning shot, along with some intense moments from the game.

However, ESPN's special report this time included almost all of Jordan and Gan Guoyang's offense and defense in the fourth quarter, giving fans waiting for the morning news plenty to watch.

Moreover, they broadcast the same news segment again at noon, and only briefly mentioned it when there was a new live broadcast of a match in the evening.

According to Werner's later calculations, this news feature on the Jordan vs. Gan Guoyang game added at least 100 million new channel subscriptions for ESPN.

In 1984, ESPN had around 2850 million household subscribers in the United States. One game between the two players contributed to a 3.5% increase in subscribers for the channel, which Werner described as nothing short of a miracle.

"This was indeed the best basketball game ever, a clash of heroes," Werner commented after watching the game live.

However, not everyone agrees with this view. The media hyped up the game between the two players, while many coaches, managers, and commentators in the NBA frowned upon it.

Auerbach said, "53 and 50? Isn't that just a replica of Chamberlain and Alkin Baylor in the 80s? When they can no longer wear rings, let's see who still wants to watch them play one-on-one in the street."

Auerbach's spontaneous comment came naturally when he saw the sports section of the newspaper prominently displaying the scores of the two players.

Similarly, many sports magazines and media outlets in Boston have made similar comments, believing that the high-scoring battles between Jordan and Forrest Gump were destroying the aesthetics of team basketball.

"It turned the competition from a war of ten people into a game of house between two children."

Boston boasts the largest sports news system in the United States, with numerous writers, commentators, and sports journalists providing commentary on sporting events across the country.

Acrimony is the very fabric of this place; apart from local Boston teams, it's difficult for other players and teams to receive friendly reviews here—unless you come here and completely conquer it.

Neither Jordan nor Gan Guoyang has ever come to Boston to face a challenge in their careers.

Of course, Auerbach's assessment changed after reading the morning paper's satirical commentary on the matchup, but after watching ESPN's special report at noon and then reviewing the game footage of both teams in the evening.

He said, "I should have bought a ticket to Chicago last night."

It was too late for him to think about these things; the Chicago stadium had already cooled down.

Gan Guoyang and his team left by plane early the next morning and returned to Portland.

Jordan also flew to California in the afternoon to begin the team's road trip in the West.

As teams from the East and West, their next meeting won't be until next year.

The two did not exchange any words after the match, and the hostile atmosphere did not subside until around Christmas.

In the post-game press releases, thanks to Nike's efforts, Jordan became the one who shone even brighter.

He was portrayed as a lone hero, and his performance in the fourth quarter was truly spectacular.

Gan Guoyang was considered to have better teammates and a better coach; if the two were to switch places, Jordan would definitely win. Neither of them responded to this ridiculous argument; they were already looking forward to their next encounter.

Because he had to get up early to catch a flight, Gan Guoyang hadn't slept enough last night, and he was sleeping soundly in his seat.

He is usually very energetic and doesn't need much sleep; he can get a full night's sleep in a very short time.

It seems yesterday's game really exhausted him; Ramsey even reminded the flight attendant to keep her voice down when she served him food.

One of the perks Stern gave to the players after taking office was to allow them to travel in first class, so that tall players wouldn't have to cramped up in narrow seats and have trouble sleeping.

Gan Guoyang didn't wake up until the plane landed in Portland. When the plane stopped at the airport and everyone got off, this long and chaotic away trip officially came to an end.

During this away trip, Gan Guoyang's fighting skills were fully honed, which also led to the team's record of 3 wins and 3 losses, with three games lost, bringing their overall record to 13 wins and 5 losses.

But this did not diminish Portland fans' love for Gan Guoyang at all. On the contrary, many fans came to the airport in the morning to welcome him and displayed many banners to celebrate the Trail Blazers' return.

One of the bold female fans broke through the airport security cordon and hugged Gan Guoyang before being pulled away by team staff. It seems the female fan's statement that she liked Gan Guoyang was true.

The team disbanded on the spot, and Ramsey gave everyone a day off. They will rest tomorrow and continue the game at home the day after tomorrow.

When Gan Guoyang returned home, he found that everything was just as it had been when he left—clean, tidy, and even more organized.

The refrigerator was crammed with drinks, beer, and ready-made sandwiches, and the newspapers and magazines on the shelf were all the latest.

The room's specially made wardrobe contained clothes neatly arranged in categories, even sorted by color from light to dark.

The bathroom smelled of disinfectant, and a delicate glass vase with air freshener sticks was placed on the windowsill of the ventilation window.

The living room and kitchen, which are connected, were also very tidy, and the roses in the large vase on the table looked freshly picked.

Portland is known as the City of Roses, home to some of the best rose gardens in the United States.

All of this was clearly thanks to Wang Fuxi. She managed to keep things in perfect order even after returning home from class, which took a lot of effort.

Wang Fuxi came back after class in the afternoon. The two felt like they were newly married after a short separation. Gan Guoyang talked about her life in Portland, "I'm always flying around like this. You can keep the house so clean and tidy by yourself. You...you don't hire a housekeeper, do you?"

Wang Fuxi pinched Gan Guoyang's arm hard and said, "I take care of everything at home! Who would hire a cleaner? Besides, Portland isn't Los Angeles, it's hard to find a housekeeper there, so I might as well do it myself. I like to keep the house clean and tidy, so when you come back from a game, whether you win or lose, you'll feel comfortable when you get home, you can rest well, and prepare for the next game."

"Your understanding and kindness have moved me deeply; here's a reward of 1,000 internal massages..."

"Hey, stop messing around... You... I still have questions for you!"

"anymore question?"

How does it feel to be hugged by a female fan?

"..."

"The time was too short, and I didn't even get to enjoy it before I was taken away. I'll let you know next time when I have more time."

"You're going to die..."

The two young people played around again. Since they met when they were 17, they have become increasingly close and familiar with each other.

They were childhood sweethearts and also best friends.

However, Gan Guoyang's stay in Portland was very short.

11月30号他们在主场打完了11月份的最后一场比赛，116:104，主场大胜了老对手菲尼克斯太阳。

On the last day of November, they flew to Utah for an away game in Salt Lake City before flying back to Portland for two more games.

Following that, there will be another away game in the West, then back and forth between home and away games, until Christmas.

The broken schedule is exhausting and tiring, but Gan Guoyang is in a good mood because he finally has the opportunity to play against Stockton.

(End of this chapter)