The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 210 The Treasure of Women
"Sonny, say a few words to the Portland fans. The whole of Portland is crazy about you, obsessed with you. If you don't say something, I'm afraid they won't be able to turn off the radio and sleep properly tonight."

On April 20th, after the Portland Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks finished Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, Bill Shawnley, the commentator at Memorial Arena, pulled Gan Guoyang to the microphone and asked him to say a few words to the listeners and fans in front of the radio.

Unlike Johnny Most, Shawnley's commentary booth wasn't in the high stands, but right next to the Trail Blazers' bench, allowing him to see the players at any time.

在第一场甘国阳用41分21个篮板球7个盖帽的表现证明他不是只会打常规赛，无法适应季后赛的菜鸟后，第二场他又用26分13个篮板的稳定发挥帮助开拓者110:115战胜小牛，主场两连胜，系列赛大比分2:0领先对手。

They are just one win away from advancing. If they can win their next game in Dallas, the Trail Blazers will sweep their opponents and advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Gan Guoyang's consistent performance is admirable, and his on-court performance has deeply attracted fans in Portland and even the entire Oregon region.

According to Nielsen ratings, Oregon Public Radio is the most-listened public radio station in the United States, especially when Portland residents are listening to or watching the Trail Blazers games, which consistently set new ratings records.

Because Memorial Stadium has a limited capacity of over 13000 seats, it is far from meeting the demand for spectators in the Oregon area, so television and radio stations are in high demand.

This year, Gan Guoyang's joining the Trail Blazers brought a ratings peak, and the Trail Blazers have no room for growth in ticket sales; at most, they can raise ticket prices a bit.

In terms of viewership, the Trail Blazers' viewership is almost three times that of other NBA teams, a truly staggering figure. Even the NBA officials have to ask the Trail Blazers how they manage their television broadcasting division.

Sporstra, who is in charge of the department, bluntly stated, "Because we have Forrest Gump."

Sitting next to Bill Seanley, Gan Guoyang mimicked Seanley's deep voice and said, "Good evening, everyone. I'm Sonny Gan. For those listeners who couldn't be here in person or watch the live broadcast, I hope tonight's victory brings you a good night's sleep and sweet dreams. Rip City!"

Seanley laughed heartily, then asked Gan Guoyang a few questions. Gan Guoyang, in a calm tone and with precise yet elegant words, sat on the sidelines and chatted amiably with Seanley.

At that time, television media was not very developed, and reporters did not interview the players much. Most of the interview content appeared in the form of text in newspapers.

Gan Guoyang has been with the Portland Trail Blazers for a season, and this is the first time he has communicated with Blazers fans using his voice.

When Gan Guoyang first arrived in the United States, his English was not fluent, but after being immersed in the language environment and studying at Gonzaga University, his English level improved significantly.

He can read English literature fluently. He likes the works of Hemingway, Hesse, Jack London, Faulkner, John Williams and other authors. Although he did not take a social etiquette class like Jordan in Gonzaga, he chose classical literature to further improve his language skills.

Such learning and exposure helped him to use a variety of words, phrases, metaphors, and allusions on the court to stimulate his opponents and achieve the purpose of psychological warfare.

Otherwise, constantly using vulgar language like "fuck, shit, idiot" is really beneath you. You have to be more civilized; swearing is wrong.

The side effect of reading these literary works and studying classical literature is that it makes Gan Guoyang speak eloquently and his conversation with Sean Li has a calm and composed quality, which is completely different from his energetic and even violent performance on the field.

He didn't just talk to Seanley about basketball; he talked more about the city of Portland, roses, Mount Hood, the Willamette River, beer, and the origin of the city's name.

"Yes, I know how the city of Portland got its name. In 1845, two pioneers came here and decided the name of the land by flipping a coin. One was from Portland, Maine, and the other was from Boston, Massachusetts. Obviously, the one from Portland, Maine won. Otherwise, we would have to be called the Boston Trailblazers, and I can't even imagine how we would have played against the Celtics if that had happened. It would have been hilarious."

Due to time constraints, Shawn Li had to end the post-match talk, allowing Gan Guoyang to return to the locker room to change.

What he didn't know was that after this conversation, Gan Guoyang's voice and manner of speaking won over a large number of female fans.

Gan Guoyang already had a large female fan base, but most of his fans were young women who loved his strong physique, handsome appearance, and the strong hormones he exuded.

This time it's different; Gan Guoyang is attracting more mature women.

Portland has a large middle-class white population and a strong literary and cultural atmosphere.

New York is the largest book distribution and consumption market in the United States, with residents spending an average of $80 per year on reading, while Portland spends $84. Urban middle-class women in their 30s and 40s, who typically have jobs and families, usually spend their time watching TV and listening to the radio with their husbands and children and don't have much interest in basketball.

Gan Guoyang's interview sparked their interest in basketball.

The radio station received many calls the following morning after the sports program ended, all inquiring about information related to Gan Guoyang.

The most frequently asked question is, "Is he married?"

The second most frequent question was, "When will the next match be broadcast live?"

On the 21st, Gan Guoyang and the whole team flew to Dallas. Before boarding the plane, the team's vice president, Spoelstra, found Gan Guoyang and told him that he had received many letters and phone calls about him.

“Some were sent directly to the team, and some were sent to the radio station; they were all related to you. They wanted to know when you could talk to Seanley again.”

“Talk to Seanley? I can talk to Seanley anytime.”

"It wasn't just a casual chat with Seanley, it was a radio talk after the game. You know how many female fans are obsessed with you? You're a ladies' man now."

"That's normal, I'm almost mesmerized by myself," Gan Guoyang said calmly.

Spoelstra resisted the urge to slap him.

Gan Guoyang added, "Then they'll have to wait a while. They won't be returning to Portland for this series."
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The plane arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on the afternoon of the 21st. The players had to wait for their luggage at the baggage claim area, then pick it up and take it to the hotel to settle in.

Although winning one game in Dallas would secure the series victory, the players were prepared to stay for at least five days.

Rest and training on the 22nd, game on the 23rd, if we lose the third game, we'll stay in Dallas for another day on the 24th, and the fourth game on the 25th, for a total of five days.

So everyone brought five days' worth of changes of clothes and some daily necessities.

After all, players sweat a lot during training and matches every day, and sometimes they have to change their clothes several times a day.

The athletes' training clothes, underwear, and socks are not things you can buy anywhere; they have to be custom-made.

Sometimes, after the game, I would attend some social events or go to bars to pick up girls. In those cases, I would definitely need one or two formal and elegant suits, as well as leather shoes, hats, and in winter, fur coats, scarves, and so on.

Some players travel to away games with four or five suitcases, which are still too much to carry. They have to ask someone to help them push their suitcases when they arrive at the airport.

The Detroit Pistons' seven-game road trip to the West was even more terrifying. A dozen people had to carry more than fifty pieces of luggage. It is said that when they took those two small jet planes back to Detroit, the luggage they were carrying almost exceeded the weight limit and the plane could not take off.

But this time when he came to Dallas, Gan Guoyang only brought a travel backpack containing two sets of clothes, three pairs of underwear, and three pairs of socks, traveling light on the team bus.

Buckwater, who was in charge of player logistics, asked Forrest, "Sonny, why are you carrying only a travel bag? Are you planning not to shower after the game?"

Gan Guoyang said in the car, "I only brought three days' worth of clothes. We'll go home after the match on the 23rd. All the stuff you brought is a waste."

Everyone was used to seeing Gan Guoyang's unwavering confidence.

They felt both relieved and tempted to simply lose the third game, so that Forrest Gump would have no clothes to change into in Dallas and stink to death.

(End of this chapter)