The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 478 Snowstorm
This is not the only thing that makes Gan Guoyang a good older brother.

The Portland Trail Blazers selected Chinese player Song Tao in the 1987 NBA draft, making him the second Chinese player to enter the NBA.

Unfortunately, Song Tao collided with Sun Fengwu during a warm-up match, fell from the air, and his knee slammed heavily onto the floor, shattering into several pieces and causing a serious injury.

Upon receiving this terrible news, Gan Guoyang immediately sent Song Tao to the United States for treatment. He helped find the best orthopedic expert in the United States, Dr. Wagner, who had originally devised the surgical plan for Bill Wharton, to perform the surgery on Song Tao.

After the successful surgery, Song Tao stayed in the United States for rehabilitation treatment. Gan Guoyang told him to make sure his injury was fully healed and not to worry about the expenses.

So Song Tao stayed in Portland, recovering his health and slowly undergoing rehabilitation training, while also learning about and adapting to life in the United States and studying advanced basketball knowledge and concepts.

Song Tao is a very intelligent player. He learns things very quickly, and his English level has improved by leaps and bounds during this period.

By February 1988, his injury had greatly improved, and he was able to participate in some low-intensity training, walk, run, and jump normally, but he was still unable to participate in competitive sports.

Due to injury, Song Tao did not sign a formal contract and is not one of the 12 players.

However, Gan Guoyang still allowed him to visit the team's internal training, eat with everyone, attend coaching staff meetings, and go to the home stadium for matches.

Song Tao gained a lot and was deeply impressed by Gan Guoyang's charm.

Song Tao later commented, "If you put Forrest Gump in ancient times to fight a war, he would be able to rally a hundred people and rise up in rebellion to become emperor. If you put him in today's basketball game, it would be a waste of his talent."

Song Tao's statement is certainly an exaggeration. Someone as energetic as Gan Guoyang, who only has one wife, is destined to be unsuitable to be an emperor.

In addition to training and competitions, Gan Guoyang also took Song Tao to the 1988 All-Star Game.

This excited Song Tao. He was very nervous before going and kept telling Gan Guoyang, "Brother, I think I'd better not go. I'm not qualified."

"What do you mean by qualifications? You're not playing, you're just watching from the sidelines. If you have a ticket, you can be a spectator."

"But... I'm afraid I'll embarrass you."

"You're tall and handsome, what's there to be ashamed of? Are you afraid of interviews?"

"I'm a little scared."

"Don't be afraid, just shout 'Fuck you, Bill' into the camera, Chicagoans will love you."

So Song Tao and Gan Guoyang went to Chicago to watch the 1988 NBA All-Star Game.
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The 1988 All-Star Game was quite important to the NBA.

The NBA's image has been severely damaged after the Phoenix Suns' drug scandal and the Finals brawl last season.

Although the fight scenes brought in high viewership ratings, the organizers also quietly pushed the competition to become even more intense.

On the other hand, the league's image will indeed be affected. The NBA, including Gan Guoyang, has been subjected to some criticism, with some believing that the NBA has become too violent.

David Stern was unable to explain to fans and the media that the NBA in the 60s and 70s was more violent; things were already relatively mild.

Because television broadcasting was not as developed in the 60s and 70s, many people do not know what the NBA was like back then.

Television is now a common sight in every household, and many children will become NBA fans. Violence is indeed an issue that the NBA needs to consider.

The All-Star Game, held mid-season, is an opportunity to showcase the NBA's positive image in all aspects, and the league must make the most of it.

This year's All-Star Game was held in Chicago, with the main venue being the historic Chicago Arena.

Although the locker rooms and seats are rather old, Chicago Stadium was once a great stage for Edward Ellington, Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra to showcase their talents.

That was the golden age of American jazz music, with a plethora of talented musicians emerging. The Chicago Stadium was then called the "World Wonders Theater," where it was brightly lit every night, hosting one captivating jazz music show after another.

In 1988, another golden age of basketball, the league hoped that basketball stars would make this historic arena shine. Gan Guoyang, Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Isaiah Thomas—a group of stars, both veteran and rising stars, would appear in the game and deliver classic performances.

However, before adorning the All-Star Game with these glittering accolades, the league's chief marketing officer, Weltz, who is in charge of the project, has to consider some very real issues.

For example, because the venue was too old, there was no dedicated studio for media staff, nor a dedicated restaurant for them to eat.

Without the promotion of media workers, no matter how well the work is done or how beautifully the competition is organized, it will all be in vain.

Weltz had originally planned to set up tents outside the stadium for journalists to work, write, and publish their articles, and then eat in the tents.

But another problem arises: the weather.

February in Chicago is very cold, with snow and temperatures dropping to below -20 degrees Celsius. Under such conditions, tents are unusable and people would freeze to death.

Weltz could only arrange trailers, placing one rented trailer after another outside the stadium as studios for media workers and other staff.

Because of the cold weather, propane tank heaters were prepared on the trailers.

Before it even started using it, the Chicago fire department came knocking, saying that using propane tanks in one place was too dangerous and that an explosion could blow up half of the Chicago stadium.

Unfortunately, the fire department wouldn't allow them to use it, so they had to switch to kerosene heaters. These things are much less effective at heating than propane heaters, and the reporters had to wear gloves to type because it was just too cold.

Fortunately, aside from the dunk contest, three-point contest, and the main event, the staff can return to the Hyatt Regency Chicago to eat, rest, and prepare their work comfortably.

Before the All-Star Game begins, more than 40 players participating in All-Star Weekend will gather here, where reporters can use their social skills to communicate with these basketball bigwigs and get some first-hand information.

However, the situation was not as easy and natural as the reporters had imagined.

Something is happening.

On February 5th, Chicago was hit by a heavy snowfall, with outdoor temperatures dropping to -25 degrees Celsius. The players braved the snow to arrive at the hotel one after another.

Gan Guoyang was accompanied by Drexler and Song Tao, and Gan Guoyang also brought Quentin. The four of them shared three rooms.

After settling Song Tao into the room, Gan Guoyang instructed him, "Stay in your room for now and don't wander around. There's a situation I need to meet with someone about. If you have any problems or difficulties, just talk to Quentin; he'll help you resolve them."

Song Tao nodded, without asking any questions.

Song Tao was already used to the luxury hotels in the United States and wasn't as surprised as he was when he first came here.

Upon arriving at the hotel, he had the opportunity to get up close to stars like Bird, Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which greatly excited him.

But he could see the anxiety on everyone's face. They were gathered in twos and threes in the hall, chatting about something. It seemed like something had happened to the alliance.

Everyone should be happy about the All-Star game.

Song Tao didn't understand, and he didn't want to know. He just listened to Agan and stayed in the room.

After settling in, Gan Guoyang went to a room alone and knocked on the door.

After a while, Larry Fleischer opened the door and let Gan Guoyang in.

As soon as he entered, Gan Guoyang asked, "Larry, are you really going to disband the union?"

Larry Fleischer didn't answer Gan Guoyang's question directly. Instead, he drew back the curtains, looked out the window, and said, "The snow in Chicago is really heavy today."

I almost finished writing it, then deleted and rewrote it, which is why it's late.

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(End of this chapter)