The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 498 - 1 Three-Peat

Gan Guoyang’s hometown was on an island at the junction of Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

In the summer of 1987, Gan Guoyang, with his father Gan Youwei, wife Wang Fuxi, and several friends, returned to his long-separated hometown.

Deep in his mind, Gan Guoyang had always cherished childhood memories; he had long regarded Gan Youwei as his father and naturally thought of this place as his homeland.

This time, Gan Guoyang wasn’t here for business affairs; it was purely a private home visit, but it still stirred up the local government, which demanded that he be well received.

was the time when the tide of reform and opening-up was sweeping across the whole country, and everywhere was seeking foreign investment. No matter what the capital was, anyone willing to invest was welcomed as a distinguished guest.

For someone of Gan Guoyang’s stature, it goes without saying. The central government ordered that his safety be ensured and that all aspects of service work be well managed.

After clinching the NBA championship in 1987, Gan Guoyang had become a flag of Chinese people in the world of sports, a symbolic figure of the ’80s.

Because of him, a basketball craze had swept across the country, and the sport was thriving, seemingly on track to surpass soccer in popularity.

This return, Gan Guoyang sought to keep a low profile, eschewing pomp and ceremony, declining all business and social activities.

Everything was hush-hush, allowing Gan Guoyang to enjoy the tranquility, gradually coming back to earth from Portland’s dazzling championship celebrations.

The island’s transportation and communication weren’t too developed; travel depended on ships. The island had electricity, but one couldn’t watch TV or find a signal.

The island’s residents knew that Gan Youwei and his tall son had made it big in America, becoming famous basketball stars.

But what exactly a basketball star was, the locals didn’t quite understand—NBA was still too far from the island.

Nevertheless, many people had left the island, and there were essentially three ways out: one was to stay on the island and work as a fisherman, which was the hardest path.

Another was to head north to Guangzhou. In earlier times, an islander had become a famous chef in Guangzhou, which led others from the island to follow him and enter the catering industry, slowly making a name for themselves.

The third was to head to Nanyang, seeking a livelihood in Southeast Asia and other places. Like the trek to Guangzhou, it started with pioneers setting roots and then continuously bringing over others.

Some, for various reasons, left Nanyang for even more distant lands, such as America, Australia, Argentina, and so on.

Gan Guohui’s family was among those who went to Nanyang before moving on to America. Gan Youwei went to Guangzhou in his earlier years, where he learned culinary skills in Foshan and received a true mastery of the craft.

Later, due to various reasons, he couldn’t stay in Guangzhou, so he took his son to America, never guessing one day they would return home in glory because of basketball.

On the way back, Gan Youwei looked nervous, excited yet calm. When the familiar sea breeze caressed his face, and the shadowy outline of the island appeared on the horizon, tears streamed down Gan Youwei’s cheeks.

"It’s okay, just haven’t felt the sea breeze in a long time, it’s making my eyes watery," Gan Youwei explained to Gan Guoyang.

The islanders organized a welcoming party at the dock. The scale... was incomparable to the grand victory parade.

Yet, the island’s folks managed to put together a lion dance and a big drum, trying to make the welcome feel lively.

The "dong dong dong" of the drum in the open, unsheltered harbor of the island sounded particularly feeble, yet particularly heartfelt.

Gan Guoyang smelled the scent of the sea, and as he stepped onto the island, those childhood memories buried deep in his mind all resurfaced.

All those who came forward to greet him, Gan Guoyang could call out their names. It was a truly marvelous feeling.

When introducing Wang Fuxi, the island residents’ compliments were very direct, "American girls are really pretty."

Unlike the business and social events in America, everything here seemed primitive, simple, with a hint of sea brine.

Yet Gan Guoyang mysteriously felt quite relaxed, with Wang Fuxi tightly holding his hand, full of curiosity about everything here.

The first and biggest event after returning home was, of course, to worship Mazu and the ancestors.

Because he became a "world-famous celebrity," Gan Guoyang was added to the clan’s genealogy, enshrined in the temple for worship.

Gan Guoyang was used to this; in America, he had already been worshipped as "Gan Zu."

This time, Gan Guoyang didn’t come back empty-handed. He brought a substantial amount of foreign currency, enough to renovate the local school, improve the electrical facilities, and add a satellite TV antenna.

He also specifically bought a top-of-the-line imported Sharp color TV in Guangzhou and placed it in the ancestral hall. Once the island was connected to the signal, all the islanders could watch Gan Guoyang’s games in the ancestral hall together with the ancestors.

Gan Guoyang stayed with Gan Youwei on the island for one night. The next day, Gan Youwei continued to stay on the island, engaging in feasting and visiting households, while Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi took a boat to Guangzhou.

In Guangzhou, they received a special friend—Michael Jackson, who was attending events and performing interviews in Hong Kong.

As Jackson’s fame grew worldwide, his personal time became increasingly scarce.

Gan Guoyang, apart from calling him once a month, found it difficult to meet with Jackson during the season.

After all, Gan Guoyang himself was a busy man, racing between games and training sessions, with only the off-season belonging to himself.

Having not seen each other for a long time, there wasn’t the slightest awkwardness between them; Jackson almost jumped onto Gan Guoyang’s back.

He was so thin that Gan Guoyang could easily lift him up, and clearly, Jackson was very happy.

He congratulated Gan Guoyang for winning the 1987 championship and said, "I watched the brawl live, I was so excited that I started singing and dancing, I should write a song for you."

"Oh, if it becomes a big hit, remember to give me a share of the royalties~"

The two joked around, while Wang Fuxi, as a fan of Jackson’s, wasn’t sure how to act around his idol and was too excited to speak.

"This is my wife, your hardcore fan, and she agreed to marry me because I had your phone number."

"Don’t talk nonsense, when we were writing letters, you also liked Jackson a lot, seeing the real person is like dreaming..."

Gan Guoyang was one of the few friends Jackson had who was free from interests entangling, matched in temperament and status, so he valued this friendship greatly.

Even if various reasons meant they couldn’t meet often, they still kept in touch, and they could see each other’s situations on TV and in the newspapers.

Under the guidance of a local guide, the three of them left Guangzhou by car and went to a village near Zhongshan City.

They had spent too long and too much time in big cities like New York, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles, and they needed to breathe some fresh air in the countryside.

The summer in Guangdong was very hot; in the 1980s, this province was one of the earliest to develop, but the further away from the city, the more it retained a strong rural atmosphere.

Gan Guoyang liked the dazzling sunlight, the harsh chirping of cicadas, the cool breeze, the endless young rice fields, and the smell of soil and grass that permeated the air.

Jackson wore a white T-shirt with a straw hat and strolled through the fields, feeling a rare sense of relaxation and respite in this exotic land.

Here, he wasn’t the King of Pop but just an ordinary foreign tourist. Not many people on the road recognized him, and he could stroll freely.

Without too many people following him, he could chat with friends and freely indulge his curiosity, as he was curious about everything in the Chinese countryside.

Gan Guoyang answered Jackson’s various questions with the little knowledge of the countryside remaining in his memory. They didn’t seem like sports superstars, but more like high school students conducting field research.

They also sat in a black-awning boat, floating above the river, which provided a sense of tranquility and peace. The babbling brook reflected the white clouds above, and it seemed as though the flow of time slowed and became still, with people relaxing along with it.

"Sonny, I think China is better than America; I really want to live here."

"Don’t joke, Michael, you’re just visiting here; it’s different from living here."

"What’s not to like about living here?"

"Well, for example, you can’t buy records, and there are very few songs you can listen to."

"Oh~ that’s a problem, maybe you could go into the record business; it has potential."

"Michael, I play basketball, I don’t sell records."

"But you sell coffins, why can’t you sell records."

"..."

Jackson knew that Gan Guoyang had invested in a funeral parlor and often joked over the phone that Ah Gan sold coffins.

They ate lunch at a hot spring resort hotel in Zhongshan City around noon, where they encountered some American tourists. On seeing Jackson and Gan Guoyang, the tourists were too surprised to speak and excitedly took pictures with them.

In the afternoon, they went to the Cuiheng Village in Nanlang Town, the birthplace of Mr. Sun Yat-sen, met many village children, and also visited an elderly person living alone.

Before nightfall, they took the car back to Guangzhou, with Wang Fuxi already sleeping in Gan Guoyang’s embrace from exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang and Jackson, both full of energy, were still lively and whispered incessantly in the car.

They talked a lot, but notably, they didn’t talk about music or basketball; occasionally, they too needed to step out of the world of music and basketball to relax.

Due to scheduling issues, they had to say goodbye once they arrived in Guangzhou; Jackson was going back to Hong Kong.

When parting, Jackson suddenly hummed a little tune for Gan Guoyang and said, "This is a song I thought of for you on the way; I’ll put it on my new album as a special single. Give this song a name, Sonny, so I can write the lyrics."

He ultimately couldn’t stay away from music and wanted to create a song for Gan Guoyang.

After giving it some thought, Gan Guoyang said, "Call it ’Three-Peat’."

Three-Peat, meaning three consecutive championships, Ah Gan couldn’t stay away from basketball either.