The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 526 - 29 The Blizzard

Gan Guoyang had more to be commended for than just this one thing.

In the 1987 draft, the Trail Blazers picked Chinese player Song Tao, 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 into the ground, shattering into several pieces, resulting in severe injury.

Upon receiving this terrible news, Gan Guoyang immediately arranged for Song Tao to come to America for treatment, locating the best orthopedic specialist in the US, Dr. Wagner, who had designed the surgery plan for Bill Walton, to operate on Song Tao.

After a successful surgery, Song Tao stayed in America for rehabilitation. Gan Guoyang instructed him to make sure his injury was fully healed and not to worry about the cost.

Thus, Song Tao remained in Portland, slowly recovering while undergoing mild rehabilitation training, and in the meantime, becoming acquainted with and adapting to life in America and learning advanced basketball knowledge and concepts.

Song Tao was an extremely intelligent player; he learned quickly, and his English improved by leaps and bounds during this time.

By February 1988, his injury had significantly improved, allowing him to participate in some low-intensity training. He could walk and jump normally but was not yet ready for competitive play.

Because of his injuries, Song Tao hadn’t signed an official contract and wasn’t part of the 12-man roster.

But Gan Guoyang still let him observe the team’s internal training, dine with everyone, attend coaching meetings, and go to home games.

It can be said that Song Tao gained a lot and was deeply impressed by Gan Guoyang’s charisma.

Later, Song Tao commented, "A person like Ah Gan, if you put him in ancient times to fight wars, he’d be the type who could summon a following with just a call and lead a rebellion to become an emperor. Having him play basketball now seems like a waste of talent."

Of course, there’s exaggeration in what Song Tao said; someone with Gan Guoyang’s energy who only chooses one wife is destined not to be suitable as an emperor.

Beyond training and games, Gan Guoyang also took Song Tao to the 1988 All-Star Game.

This excited Song Tao, who, before going, was very nervous and kept saying to Gan Guoyang, "Big brother, maybe I shouldn’t go, I’m not qualified."

"What’s this about qualifications? You’re not playing in the game; 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 embarrassed about? Are you afraid of being interviewed?"

"A little, yes."

"Don’t be. Just shout ’F*ck Lan Bi’er’ at the camera, and Chicago folks will love you."

So, Song Tao and Gan Guoyang went to Chicago together to watch the 1988 NBA All-Star Game.

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The 1988 All-Star Game was quite significant for the NBA.

After the drug scandal of the Suns last season and the fighting incident during the finals, the NBA’s image was greatly damaged.

Although the fighting led to high viewership figures, the officials quietly pushed for the games to become more intense.

On the other hand, the league’s image did suffer, and the NBA, including Gan Guoyang, faced some criticism for becoming too violent.

David Stern couldn’t explain to fans and the media that the NBA of the ’60s and ’70s was more violent, and that things were actually better now.

Because television broadcasting wasn’t well-developed in the ’60s and ’70s, many people were unaware of what the NBA was like back then.

Now that television was penetrating into every household and many children were becoming NBA fans, violence was indeed an issue the NBA needed to consider.

The All-Star Game, held midway through the season, was an opportunity for the NBA to showcase its good image comprehensively, and the league had to seize it properly.

The venue for this All-Star was arranged to be in Chicago, at the historic Chicago Stadium.

Although the locker rooms and seats were rather old-fashioned, Chicago Stadium had once been a magnificent stage where Edward Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Frank Sinatra exhibited their brilliance. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

That was the golden age of American jazz, a time when talented musicians emerged in droves. Back then, Chicago Stadium was also known as the "Wonder Theater of the World," where the lights shone brightly every night, with one jazz music show after another captivating the audience.

In 1988, during basketball’s own golden age, the League hoped that basketball stars could make this ancient arena glitter once again.

Gan Guoyang, Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bird, Jabbar, Moses Malone, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Isiah Thomas—all stars from both past and present—would appear in the game, contributing classic performances.

However, before these shining pieces of gold could be affixed to the All-Star Game, the League’s Chief Marketing Officer Welts had to consider some very real problems first.

For instance, due to the venue’s age, there were no dedicated workrooms provided for media personnel, nor was there a special restaurant for dining.

Without media promotion, no matter how well the work was done or how beautiful the game was staged, it would all be in vain.

Welts had originally considered setting up tents outside the stadium for reporters to work, write, and transmit stories, and then eat in the tents.

But another problem followed, that of weather.

Chicago in February was very cold, with snow likely to fall and temperatures that could drop below minus 20 degrees Celsius, making tents completely unusable and potentially deadly from the cold.

Welts had to arrange trailers instead, placing rented trailer after trailer outside the stadium to serve as workrooms for media workers and other staff members.

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

But before they could be used, the Chicago Fire Department came knocking, saying the concentrated use of propane tanks was too risky, and an explosion could level half of the Chicago Stadium.

With no choice because the fire department prohibited their use, they had to switch to kerosene heaters, which were far less effective than propane, forcing reporters to type with gloves on due to the cold.

Fortunately, apart from the Slam Dunk Contest, the Three-Point Shootout, and the actual game period, workers could return to the Hyatt Regency Chicago to comfortably dine, rest, and prepare their materials.

Before the All-Star Game began, over forty players participating in the All-Star weekend would gather there, allowing reporters to show off their social skills, interact with these basketball greats, and pick up some firsthand news.

However, the situation was not as relaxed and natural as the reporters had hoped.

Something was happening.

On February 5th, a heavy snowstorm hit Chicago, and the outdoor temperature dropped to minus 25 degrees Celsius as the players arrived at the hotel through the snow.

Accompanying Gan Guoyang were Drexler and Song Tao, with Gan Guoyang also bringing along Quentin; the four of them had three rooms.

After arranging the rooms, Gan Guoyang cautioned Song Tao, "Stay in your room and don’t wander about. There are some issues I need to discuss with others. If you have any questions or difficulties, go directly to Quentin, he’ll help you resolve them."

Song Tao nodded without asking anything.

Having grown accustomed to America’s luxurious hotels, Song Tao was no longer as amazed as during his first visit.

After arriving at the hotel, he came into close contact with stars like Bird, Johnson, and Jabbar, which excited him tremendously.

But he could sense the anxiety on everyone’s faces; in the lobby, they huddled in small groups, talking about something. It seemed like something had happened within the League.

After all, everyone should have been happy during the All-Star Game.

Song Tao didn’t understand, and he didn’t want to know, either. He just followed Ah Gan’s instructions to stay in his room.

Once Gan Guoyang had settled everything, he went alone to a room and knocked on the door.

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

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

Larry Flesher did not directly answer Gan Guoyang’s question but drew back the curtains of the room and looked out the window, saying, "The snowstorm in Chicago today is quite fierce, isn’t it?"