The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 460 Favors

This Christmas, the Trail Blazers were finally not scheduled for a Christmas game.

It shouldn't have been arranged last year, but Stern insisted on creating an East vs. West showdown for ratings and buzz, pitting Jordan against Gan Guoyang.

The results were naturally excellent, with both the buzz and viewership ratings skyrocketing.

However, the Bulls players missed the chance to spend Christmas with their families, and the Trail Blazers have been participating in Christmas Day games year after year, so they're all tired of it.

The players are doing a bit better, but Jack Ramsey, who started coaching the Trail Blazers in the 1977 season, hasn't celebrated Christmas in almost ten years.

This year, the old man is determined to go home for Christmas.

Therefore, the Christmas Day games of the 1987-1988 season were played between the Detroit Pistons, the New York Knicks, the Washington Bullets, and the Atlanta Hawks.

New York goes without saying; he's a veteran actor, with the highest screen time during the Christmas Day game.

The Pistons reached the NBA Finals last season and are gradually becoming a rising star in the league.

The Hawks have Donnymike Wilkins, while the Bullets have Barkley and Bernard King; their matchups are equally exciting.

As for the West, no games were scheduled at all; the Bulls, Trail Blazers, Jordan, and Gan Guoyang were all given a break.

In his fourth season in the NBA, Gan Guoyang was finally able to return to San Francisco for Christmas.

For Gan Guoyang now, returning to San Francisco is not an easy task.

He's so famous now that he attracts huge crowds wherever he goes, and he's always getting a lot of gigs scheduled.

As a basketball player, his height and appearance make it hard for him to go unnoticed.

His photos and advertisements appeared extensively in magazines, newspapers, and on television.

Gan Guoyang ranked first in Life magazine's 1987 list of "America's Most Famous Foreign Faces," and he was truly exceptional.

In response to this situation, Gan Guoyang's security team is expanding.

Gan Guoyang's father-in-law, Wang Zhengmin, specifically assigned two capable and clean-cut Chinese men to be responsible for Gan Guoyang's daily security and travel arrangements.

The two are twins; the older brother is named Feng Peiyu, and the younger brother is named Feng Guangyao.

The Feng brothers served in the military. During the massive demobilization in the 80s, they were unable to find civilian jobs for various reasons, so they went south to make a living. Later, they came to the United States and joined a Chinese gang.

However, they joined recently, have a clean background, are skilled, and most importantly, are honest and reliable. They are not aggressive or violent people; they just unfortunately went astray.

Upon learning of the opportunity to become "Gan Zu's" bodyguards, the two were so excited they almost swore an oath of brotherhood.

After arriving in Portland, Gan Guoyang gave them a three-month trial period during the offseason, carefully assessing their abilities, character, and loyalty. Finding no problems, he kept them on.

Quentin Stephenson remains Gan Guoyang's bodyguard and personal assistant.

The Feng brothers were mainly responsible for security and protection, especially for protecting Wang Fuxi. They were on duty and patrolling near Gan Guoyang's house every day.

There's no way around it; as Gan Guoyang's reputation grows, more and more people will want to target him.

In the past, his neighbors would always pile up many gifts at his door, but ever since someone put bullets in envelopes and slipped them under his door, Gan Guoyang stopped accepting gifts and wouldn't let anyone near his door.

Then in October, Gan Guoyang bought a new villa in Hushan Park, which was larger than the previous one, with a private yard, swimming pool and basement.

There's also an outdoor basketball court, so he can enjoy playing basketball at home.

During his return to San Francisco, Quentin discussed and made arrangements with the Fung brothers.

The Feng brothers first returned to San Francisco to finalize the vehicles, routes, accommodations, and activities they wanted to participate in, creating a detailed itinerary.

After Gan Guoyang arrived in San Francisco, he followed the entire route without any delays. He made sure to attend to all the necessary meetings and visits, ensuring that everything was taken care of.

The Feng brothers had served in the military and fought in wars, so they were very experienced in formulating such plans.

They calculated potential contingencies, made advance preparations, and accounted for time buffers, quickly finalizing the route.

So, on the 24th, Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi successfully arrived in San Francisco by plane, and as expected, they caused a sensation and attracted a crowd at the San Francisco airport, with a large number of reporters who had received advance notice coming to interview them.

This is Gan Guoyang's first Christmas back in San Francisco since entering the NBA. To be honest, Gan Guoyang doesn't know what's so interview-worthy about this.

However, in a society that is becoming increasingly entertainment-oriented, the actions of celebrities are closely watched.

What a celebrity wears, eats, and says will all be put under the spotlight and judged.

In 1981, when Gan Guoyang had just arrived in the United States, traces of the political upheavals of the 70s still remained.

By 1987, commercial entertainment had completely replaced political influences. Young people were interested in sports stars, Hollywood movies, and pop music icons, while civil rights, liberation, and freedom were no longer mainstream topics.

Thanks to the well-planned route, Gan Guoyang quickly got into the car arranged by the Feng brothers, left the airport, and went to Chinatown.

The Overseas Chinese Endeavor Foundation arranged a dinner to entertain Mr. and Mrs. Gan Guoyang on Christmas Eve.

The Endeavour Foundation has supported Gan Guoyang's basketball career since high school, and continued to contribute financially and in terms of time and effort during his college years and the draft.

Afterwards, they continued to take good care of Gan Youwei and Gan Family Restaurant in San Francisco, so Gan Guoyang couldn't refuse this favor.

Gan Guoyang was the central figure at the banquet. People would come up to toast him from time to time. Gan Guoyang didn't recognize many of them, but Wang Fuxi had done her homework beforehand. She would tell Gan Guoyang who these people were, what their names were, and what they did for a living.

To Gan Guoyang's surprise, halfway through the dinner, a big shot arrived—Bill Clinton, the chairman of the American Governors Association.

Clinton said he happened to be attending a meeting in California when he learned that Forrest Gump had gone back to San Francisco for Christmas, so he made a special trip to visit him.

Clinton's arrival and subsequent political speech lengthened the dinner—he was there to expand his network with Asian Americans in California.

Gan Guoyang is now a hot topic in Chinese-American social circles. If you like Forrest Gump, we're friends.

After the dinner, Gan Guoyang felt more exhausted than after playing a game.

He's starting to miss his Christmas game against Jordan.

The following morning, he attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a high-end restaurant in Chinatown, and had another delicious lunch.

In the afternoon, I went to Beiqiao Middle School to attend a championship celebration event for the Water Bell team. I signed autographs and took photos with the students of Beiqiao Middle School...

It wasn't until evening that Gan Guoyang finally had time to see his old friend, Nate Thurmond, for some barbecue and lemonade.

This time, Gan Guoyang brought his wife along, and the two embraced tightly when they met Thurmond.

Thurmond looks much the same as he did years ago, with his Black features and youthful skin.

Thurmond gripped Gan Guoyang's arm tightly and said, "Shit, you son of a bitch, you've gotten even stronger! I can't believe it! Have you been taking growth hormones?"

Gan Guoyang said, "Of course not, I just did a little exercise."

"With a little training, my God, Wilt will definitely be no match for you in an arm wrestling match now."

"Why didn't Wilt come? I haven't seen him in so long."

“He originally said he was going to come, but when he heard you were coming, he didn’t dare to come, afraid that you would arm wrestle with him.”

Chamberlain knew that he could never be a match for Gan Guoyang in an arm-wrestling match.

So this Christmas dinner, he chose to avoid the conflict and actually went to China to participate in business activities.

“Wilt came to visit me the other day and left me a letter, saying he’d give it to you for Christmas. You can take it and read it; I’m going to make the barbecue… That damned old man, he can write letters now, ridiculous.”

Gan Guoyang took the envelope, opened it, and read: Chamberlain had written:
"...I've been following your games, Forrest Gump. Your performance is truly admirable. I plan to rank you as the number one center in my upcoming book..."

"...I plan to go to China to see some activities and learn about this mysterious country and how it nurtured such an extraordinary person as you..."

"...By the way, I heard you opened a funeral home. I was thinking you could handle my funerals from now on. I don't want burial; I want cremation. Otherwise, the coffin is too long, and burial requires two plots of land, which is too expensive. So, just cremate me and put me in an urn. Inscribe on it: 'I bet you want to know everything about me...'"

"...I plan to write two books, one novel, and try to finish it before 1990. When it's published, you must come and support me..."

After Gan Guoyang finished reading the letter, Wang Fuxi asked curiously, "What did the letter say?"

Gan Guoyang took a sip of lemonade and said, "It's just a little bit of social courtesy."

(End of this chapter)