The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 416

Portland and Seattle are two cities that hate each other, a rivalry that dates back to the 19th century.

The rivalry between these two Pacific Northwest cities, both known for their rain, is comparable to that between Charlotte and Atlanta, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Chicago, or San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Competition between cities is comprehensive, starting with economic competition related to urban development, such as maritime trade and railway transportation, and gradually expanding to sports, culture, food, and even legal provisions, all of which are areas where cities compete for supremacy.

The Portland Trail Blazers, as the flag bearer and pride of Oregon's sports teams, have always been at the forefront of the rivalry between the two cities.

After winning the championship in 1977, the entire Portland community went crazy. They rose to fame across the United States and were no longer known as Portland, Maine, but as Portland, Oregon. They also achieved this honor earlier than the Seattle team, which gave Portlanders a great sense of superiority.

Although the SuperSonics also won the championship in 1979, Portlanders always believed that they took advantage of the Trail Blazers' injury and that Seattle's championship was far less valuable than Portland's.

Fans in big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia may find it hard to understand just how important the Trail Blazers are to Portland, and what kind of status Gan Guoyang actually holds in the city.

During last year's playoffs, Portland Trail Blazers home game tickets became a passport to the city's high society and a hard currency on the black market. A single game ticket could be exchanged for items worth three to four times its face value, as well as some things whose value could not be measured in monetary terms.

In a personal column in the Portland Willamette Weekly, someone once published a dating ad in which the man directly listed what he considered valuable qualities:

"I am a 50-year-old, extremely wealthy, tall, divorced man, seeking a 'Dolly Parton type' woman to share Portland Trail Blazers season tickets, theater, music, dinners, trips, etc. I hope to meet a woman aged 35-50, someone who is unrestrained and free to have fun with a fun-loving, sincere, and genuine person..."

Dolly Parton was a well-known country music singer at the time, famous for her impressive bust.

Among the conditions listed by the man, having money was the top priority, followed closely by the Trail Blazers' season ticket, which shows its importance in the city of Portland.

Because the Memorial Stadium only has 12666 seats and only 11500 season tickets are sold each season, some families can only buy one season ticket, which is then shared by a couple.

The couple decides which game to watch based on their status in the family. If the husband is henpecked, then the wife will definitely go to watch the games against the Lakers, Bulls, and Celtics, while the husband stays at home to watch TV, listen to the radio, or go to the Paramount Theater next door to watch closed-circuit television.

If the husband has a high status, he gets to enjoy the intense battles between the powerful, while the wife can only watch the less interesting duels between kings and knights.

However, for many wives, it doesn't matter which game they watch; they're not there to see the opponent, but to see Forrest Gump.

Since Gan Guoyang got married, his status in the hearts of female fans has actually increased. More women are writing him letters, leaving messages, and even slipping love letters into his home.

Because you don't have to take responsibility for a married man.

Some women with ulterior motives even know that if a celebrity is married and has an affair, they will pay hush money because the cost of divorce is too high.

Gan Guoyang was not satisfied with the Trail Blazers' ticketing strategy, believing that the team had too many season tickets and had only left a little over a thousand loose tickets for fans who couldn't afford season tickets to compete for.

He felt that more individual tickets should be released so that more fans from families with limited means or young people lacking financial resources could watch the games at Memorial Stadium, especially those fans who traveled from out of town to Portland to watch the games.

"I want more fans to be able to see my games live. For some of them, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and not everyone can afford a season ticket," Gan Guoyang said.

Thanks to Gan Guoyang's insistence, the Trail Blazers reduced the number of season tickets to 10000 for this year's playoffs, reserving 2666 individual tickets for ordinary fans, allowing more fans who have never watched a game at the Memorial Arena to experience the awe-inspiring feeling of watching a game in the Glass Palace.

Of course, Gan Guoyang believes that 2666 is still too few, mainly because the number of seats in the memorial stadium is not enough. If it could be expanded to 20000 seats, more individual tickets could be released.

The Trail Blazers' semifinal matchup against the SuperSonics was like a holiday for Portland fans; everyone was incredibly excited as the two teams met again in the playoffs.

In 1978, the Portland Trail Blazers lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference Semifinals. Bill Walton suffered an injury and died during the series, shattering Portland's dynasty dream. Nearly 10 years later, they meet again in the semifinals. There's no better storyline than the Portland Trail Blazers advancing to the Western Conference Finals by defeating the Seattle SuperSonics.

All 12666 tickets were sold out long before the first game started. Even if all the tickets were sold individually, let alone the 2666 individual tickets, they would definitely sell out within an hour.

The first battle between the two sides officially began at 5 p.m. on May 2nd.

The SuperSonics certainly knew the Trail Blazers were very strong, but having successfully upset the Blazers in the first round, they were full of confidence.

Dale Ellis, Tom Chambers, and Xavier McDaniel averaged 29.5, 24.5, and 22.8 points respectively in the first round.

The three-headed monster's performance completely tore the Dallas Mavericks apart.

Dale Ellis's performance was the most stunning, a classic revenge game in the NBA.

Ellis had an outstanding performance in the regular season, with his average points per game increasing by an astonishing 17.8 points compared to the previous season, setting a new record for the largest scoring improvement in NBA history.

This year's Most Improved Player award will undoubtedly go to Ellis; his MIP is much more secure than the MVP award, and no one can compete with him.

Clearly, during his three years with the Mavericks, Dale Ellis failed to live up to his potential and value. He felt he was mistreated and underestimated by Coach Dick Motta.

"This is my chance to slap him, and I'm going to slap him hard." Ellis said this without any hesitation before the series began.

After all, he had accumulated a lot of resentment over the past three years. The media said that his hatred for Dick Motta was like Iran's hatred for Iraq—at that time, the Iran-Iraq War had entered a brutal phase of ship-to-ship warfare.

In the summer, Ellis was traded in exchange for Wood, who was nearing retirement. Motta told the media, "I didn't spend much time thinking about trading Ellis. When Dell left, I said he could play in the NBA, but not in Dallas. No one on our team was against the trade. We had congestion at his position, and by trading Dell and Jay, we got rid of them and became better."

These remarks undoubtedly worsened their already strained relationship.

Motta was only half right. The Mavericks did improve, but only during the regular season.

In the playoffs, they suffered a relentless blow from the SuperSonics and were subjected to Dale Ellis's most furious revenge.

After eliminating the Dallas Mavericks, Dale Ellis said, "This is the happiest day of my life, the moment I've been dreaming of."

The SuperSonics' morale soared, and they were not afraid even if their next opponent was Portland.

Before the game, Xavier McDaniel, shirtless and holding up his sturdy baton, strolled around encouraging his teammates.

This time, what he hung on his baton wasn't a towel, stockings, or a whiteboard, but a jersey with the number 11 worn by Gan Guoyang.

McDaniel also wanted revenge, to avenge the first game of the season when he was knocked unconscious by Gan Guoyang's headbutt.

That injury caused McDaniel to miss two games and spend three days in the hospital; she still occasionally feels dizzy.

Seeing this, Maurice Lucas said, "Why don't you take on the task of guarding Forrest Gump?"

McDaniel hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'd rather assist you."

(End of this chapter)