The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 162 - 60: Gan vs Joe

As he left Cleveland, Gan Guoyang felt somewhat apologetic.

He had not expected that so many fans would come to see him play basketball at the desolate Richfield Coliseum.

When he could only sit off the court and watch his teammates play as the spectators loudly chanted "refund", he felt quite tormented.

He felt he had let down the fans’ expectations of him, even though most of them were probably more interested in seeing him wrestle rather than play basketball.

After the game, while being interviewed at the locker room entrance, Gan Guoyang said, "As long as I can, I will definitely play in the games, no matter if my form is good or bad. I like the feeling of standing on the court, I can meet the fans’ expectations and deliver exciting games. They come here for that, and the very purpose of the basketball league rests upon it. I feel sorry that for some reasons I couldn’t play. I’m a bit regretful now, I should’ve just choked him and punched him once; that would probably have been allowed."

Upon hearing this, the reporters all laughed, as Gan was mocking the League’s double standards. Doctor J had choked Bird and punched him, and in the end, the League didn’t suspend him, just fined him.

Actually, Stern had initially intended to suspend him for three games, but under the pressure from Fleisher and the advice of other executives, decided to only impose a one-game penalty.

This was in stark contrast to the later resolute and decisive actions of Stern, because the NBA at that moment did not have a foundation for such resolve and decisiveness.

After Stern took office, his first priority was to increase attendance and television ratings.

As for conflicts between players, as long as they were not overly severe like Tomjanovich’s case, a certain level of leniency under some circumstances was actually beneficial for creating talking points, increasing media exposure, and boosting ratings.

Stern had sharply noticed that in the era of television broadcasting, it was an era of eyeballs; nothing was more important than topics and exposure.

The whole world was gradually becoming interconnected, and what happened in Detroit could quickly be transmitted to Los Angeles, Florida, or even Alaska through television screens.

The topics were no longer confined to a particular area, and the NBA had long since abolished the territorial draft. They now had to compete with the NFL and MLB for print space and television time, and needed attractive talking points.

For instance, a wrestling hold on the basketball court that didn’t result in serious consequences was just a farce and comedy that everyone was happy to watch.

Bill Laimbeer’s past image of a villain played a dramatic role at this moment, and some fans even sent him "condolence letters" and memorial white flowers.

The one thing the League owners and fans could not tolerate if a three-game suspension was imposed would be the collision between Gan Guoyang and Michael Jordan.

The attention this game received exceeded Stern’s imagination; he had not anticipated that such a regular season game could generate so much discussion.

The next day, Gan Guoyang left Cleveland with the team. Due to the snowstorm, the flight was cancelled, so they continued by bus to the next stop, Chicago.

On a 6-hour long tedious bus journey, traveling west along Interstate 90, as they passed through Whiting in Indiana and entered Illinois, the Trail Blazers players saw a giant billboard on the roadside that read, "Welcome to Chicago to get beaten up, Ah Gan."

At that time, nobody had portable video recording or photography equipment, or they would surely have taken a picture of the content on the billboard.

Adelman was surprised and said, "Gan, are you a wrestling star now? Coming to Chicago for an exhibition match, huh?"

"Fuck, it must be one of Nike’s dirty tricks."

"What, Nike?"

"The shoe company from Portland, Jordan’s clique. Hanni told me they recently have been frantically hyping up the match-up between me and Michael. This has got to be a billboard bought by Nike."

Adelman turned back and said, "Then why couldn’t it be Avia buying it? They’d surely want to hype it up too, right?"

"Avia doesn’t have that kind of marketing acumen. They wouldn’t think of this trick... and why should I be the one getting beaten up?"

Gan Guoyang was right; behind any popular topic, there were always those pushing it along, because such topics could benefit certain groups.

In the ’80s, the vast majority of people were completely unaware of this, taking for granted that everything happened naturally.

Having experienced the internet era, Gan knew that any seemingly natural hot social events probably had a force behind them and were artificially created.

In this regard, Nike was much stronger than Avia; the billboards beside the highway were just a small part of the marketing campaign. In newspapers, on the radio, on TV, and on the electronic screens in downtown Chicago, there were mentions of Jordan vs Gan everywhere.

Nike had specifically made shoe commercials and documentaries for Jordan, and every so often different types of footage were broadcast during primetime.

Nike and Jordan ads were on the insert pages of renowned magazines like Sports Illustrated and Life Magazine.

The latest promotional photo had Jordan wearing long pants and grabbing the ball with one hand as he flew toward the hoop, with the Chicago skyline of skyscrapers beneath him.

The name of this print ad campaign was "Fly Over the Skyscrapers", the meaning of which was self-explanatory, because skyscrapers were part of Avia’s personal branding for Gan Guoyang.

Beyond that, some writers were also paid off, and newspapers and magazines began to stir up past grudges and expectations of rivalry between Jordan and Gan, looking forward to their first encounter on the professional court. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In fact, aside from facing off at the Olympics vs All-Star Team, the two never encountered each other in NCAA games and had a good relationship off the court with no history of conflict.

But that’s professional basketball for you, where people crave showdowns and arch-enemies, just like Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson, where everyone was looking forward to their clash in the 1984 finals.

Gan Guoyang and Jordan’s performances at the start of the new season justified such expectations, bringing a fresh breeze to the game.

Their playing style was more versatile and individualistic, with rapid speed, overwhelming strength, and prominent personalities.

Both players had similarly styled shoe colorways, predominantly red and white, both resulting in fines from the League.

They were both so full of character, shining brightly and uniquely on the court, having a huge appeal to the young people in the ’80s who yearned for independence and freedom.

Punk, rock, anti-war, anarchy—these words, along with negative images of cocaine, promiscuity, and violence, were discarded by the new generation, relegated to the dustbin of history.

Michael Jackson, Coca-Cola, Terminator, E.T., the Olympics, fitness, Nike Air Jordans, Aiva skyscrapers—these were the things that were actually in vogue.

By 1983, America had emerged from the economic mire of the late ’70s and early ’80s, and from 1983-1984, was ushering in a wave of consumerism as the nation’s economy grew steadily.

With material life becoming more abundant, people were eager to find and shape new cultural and spiritual idols to fill the great void that each era inevitably leaves in its wake.

In times of peace, the shock and surge of hormones brought on by sports stars surpassed everything else; they were the airplanes and cannons in the mundane life of everyday people.

Wherever Michael Jordan went, fans were all over him, asking for autographs and pictures, and Jordan found it difficult to refuse them.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang was the guarantee for television ratings, the true king of viewership in the basketball world, a favorite of TV stations.

One could see the difference: Jordan was more beloved by those who enjoyed attending games in person, while Gan Guoyang was adored by the home television audience.

According to a survey, the tv audience had a larger female viewership and Gan Guoyang’s appearance and temperament were more popular among female fans.

Of course, the popularity of the two players was evenly matched on the court and television; tickets for this career-first showdown in Chicago were scalped for over $200 apiece, and on the day of the game, some tickets even skyrocketed to the exorbitant price of $500.

Keep in mind that at Chicago Stadium, an ordinary ticket for a Bulls game cost around $12 at the time, and even so, many people were reluctant to attend the games in person.

But like housing prices, the lower the ticket prices are sold, the fewer people buy them; the higher they are scalped, the more people clamor for them, assuming there’s something worth speculating on.

And the match between these two certainly had that speculative value; when Gan Guoyang arrived at the hotel in Chicago, journalists waiting outside swarmed him like locusts.

In an era when the NBA’s image wasn’t great, scenes of players being sought after like this were truly rare, and they had clearly come for Gan Guoyang.

Among this crowd of journalists, Gan Guoyang spotted a familiar figure—it was Wu Zhixiong, his former teammate from the Shui Zhong Team.

Wu Zhixiong handed him a slip of paper; when Gan Guoyang checked it back in his room, he found a phone number with a note to contact in the evening.

That evening, Gan Guoyang called Wu Zhixiong, and the two agreed to meet for dinner at a high-end restaurant near the hotel.

Wu Zhixiong looked more like a business professional than half a year earlier, dressed immaculately, with a gold watch on his wrist.

Gan Guoyang joked, "What’s this? You’ve made a fortune writing press releases and even got yourself a Rolex?"

Wu Zhixiong laughed and said, "Hey, what Rolex? It’s a knockoff from Hong Kong, just for show. This business is almost like showbiz; if you don’t dress well, no one takes you seriously, thinking you’re a rookie and you can’t get any interviews. I’m just getting by thanks to my past connection with you."

Wu Zhixiong was being modest; he had secured a full-time position at the "Los Angeles Times" because of his high school teammate relationship with Gan Guoyang and would be able to join directly after graduating from college and obtaining his degree.

"Did Nike give you any PR money this time to write up some animosity between me and Jordan before the game, to hype up the match?"

"Hey don’t put it that way; I haven’t taken a cent from Nike, but... I did take money from Avia, so I need to work up an exclusive interview article for you."

"Oh, Avia even knows how to use PR and write articles, their heads aren’t completely plugged up then."

"Gan, let me tell you, nearly all of America’s sports journalists and writers, except for a few big-timers, take money—it’s normal to get paid for work. This time, plenty of people took money from both sides, Avia and Nike. Now it all depends on the outcome of your game tomorrow. There’s a different story to write whether the Trail Blazers win or the Bulls win. Of course, the team’s performance is one thing and individual performance is another. Losing the game as a team doesn’t mean the individual players lose as well."

Hearing Wu Zhixiong’s words, Gan Guoyang shook his head with a smile and said, "To me, if the team loses, I have lost. I think Michael probably feels the same way."

Wu Zhixiong replied, "I know, both you and Michael are the hard-nosed type, feeling a loss even if you personally score 100 points but the team loses. But fans think differently, you know? Once you become an idol, what you think doesn’t matter so much; it’s what the fans think for you that’s most important."

Gan Guoyang didn’t say anything; he knew Wu Zhixiong was right. Many years later, the development of the NBA and the media would exactly reflect this, with an increasing divide between the inner world and the outer world.

"Then let me tell you, Big Xiong, I might not win every game, but I will definitely be the ultimate winner in the end."

"Haha, Gan, I believe you. Anyone who has played basketball with you would never doubt that."