The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 1568 - 30: New Beginnings

After the game between the Trail Blazers and the Pacers, the 1998 Super Bowl took place at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.

Players from both sides watched the mid-season showdown between the Trail Blazers and the Pacers in the locker room before the game, witnessing the Trail Blazers achieve an incredible 41-game winning streak.

This was one of the most fiercely contested Super Bowl matches in NFL history, with both sides battling from the first quarter to the end before determining the winner.

The Denver Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers 31-24, becoming the first AFC team in 14 years to win the Super Bowl, making it a spectacular event.

However, it was also one of the worst-rated Super Bowls in NFL history, according to later ratings statistics from the Nielsen Company, which showed that this year’s NFL ratings dropped by 10% compared to last year, a significant decline.

In summarizing the reasons for the drop in ratings, the Nielsen Company pointed out that it wasn’t due to the game being less exciting, insufficient promotion, or a decline in the influence of the NFL Super Bowl.

"The key reason was that the Portland Trail Blazers had achieved a 41-game winning streak. The game they played before the Super Bowl caused the audience to be overly excited, and many had neither the interest nor energy to watch the Super Bowl, leading to a steep decline in ratings."

This hypothesis was verified after the 1999 Super Bowl, as without the Trail Blazers’ illustrious 41-game winning streak overshadowing it, NFL Super Bowl ratings indeed rose.

Thus, in 1998, the Trail Blazers’ 41-game winning streak was not only a great sporting achievement but also one of the few NBA moments capable of competing with the NFL in terms of ratings and influence.

Throughout these highlight moments, Gan Guoyang was always present.

After securing this victory, the Trail Blazers players returned to the locker room for a simple celebration.

Bird asked Gan Guoyang to give a speech, and Gan Guoyang told his teammates: "Halfway through the season, we’ve won all our games. However, if we can’t secure the ultimate victory, all of this would amount to nothing, so we still need to work hard. Of course, our current achievements are also great, so let’s enjoy the happiness of this moment."

That night, Gan Guoyang unusually invited everyone to a local bar in Indianapolis for drinks, covering all expenses himself.

The Trail Blazers players partied until the early hours of the next day before heading to the airport to return to Portland.

Many were heavily drunk, even Mu Lin, who had abstained for half the season, indulged a bit.

Whether as a team, a player, or a person, one cannot keep a constant tension.

One always needs to relax, always needs to catch a breath.

Gan Guoyang was practically a Bionic Man, having carried the team to three-peat and four-peat championships, and now having led them through half a perfect season.

After beating the Pacers, even this Bionic Man couldn’t hold it in anymore and drank heavily during the night’s celebration.

In the end, he and Sabonis, two heavy drinkers, scared the Trail Blazers staff out of drinking with them.

If they kept drinking, wouldn’t they drink themselves to death before even reaching the finals!

If the League held a drinking competition, with Ah Gan and Sabonis, the Trail Blazers would definitely be championship contenders.

He returned home in Portland smelling of alcohol, and it was almost morning.

Everyone at home was asleep, and Gan Guoyang had his own independent room.

The room was lit, the sheets were freshly changed, the pillow was sun-dried, and there was fragrance at the bedside.

His wife knew Gan Guoyang’s schedule by heart, and every time he came back from away games over the years, she would arrange everything properly so Gan Guoyang could immediately have a comfortable sleep.

After extreme excitement comes extreme exhaustion, from both physical and mental fatigue. For a full three months, Gan Guoyang felt he hadn’t relaxed for a single moment.

This was a situation he hadn’t encountered even once in his professional career of over a decade.

Back then, winning a dozen games and losing one or two would adjust the state somewhat.

This season, winning 41 games straight, while many were easy wins, was mentally very stressful.

Beating the Pacers was an intense battle to the end, and under the influence of alcohol, Gan Guoyang quickly fell asleep.

When he woke up, he found it was still dark outside.

"Damn, did I only sleep a little while? How come I’m so tired after sleeping only a little while..."

Gan Guoyang thought he’d only slept one to two hours, checking the clock on the bedside table, it showed a little past eight.

"A little past eight... slept three to four hours, not enough, back to sleep."

Gan Guoyang turned to go back to sleep, but looking at the dark window, it didn’t feel like eight in the morning.

Moreover, his stomach was terribly hungry, so he quickly got up, opened the window for a look, and only then realized it wasn’t eight in the morning, but eight in the evening!

He had slept through the whole day, in very deep sleep, thinking it was only an hour or two, but actually having been out for a full day.

The house was dark, with a note left by Wang Fuxi, saying she had taken their two children to see a movie and would be back around nine.

"You were sleeping so soundly, so I didn’t wake you. When you wake up, there’s food in the fridge, or you can ask Aunt Liu to cook for you. Don’t drink anymore in the future." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The note was filled with his wife’s concern for Gan Guoyang, who put it in his pocket, opened the fridge to find something to sate his hunger, and later planned to ask Aunt Liu to cook something for him.

Gan Guoyang had a huge appetite, so the fridge was always stocked with foods that could fill him up. As he carefully picked out his selection, his mind was entirely focused on the array of food inside, oblivious to the faint footsteps behind him.