When pride still matters

Chapter 377 Go to hell
Go to hell
Xiao Hua is not the person in power yet, he is just the assistant to the person in power.

But he already had the majesty of a person in power. When he described the plan to Yu Fei, it didn't feel like a plan, but something destined to happen.

At that moment, Xiao Hua represented the will of the alliance. He wanted Yu Fei to know that things under the leadership of the alliance would definitely be accomplished.

However, Yu Fei has seen people with more aura than him. Xiao Hua can't scare him.

After patiently listening to Xiao Hua's words, Yu Fei said: "Adam, your plan is very good, but these situations only apply before I come, because I have my own plan, do you want to hear it?"

This is exactly Xiao Hua's purpose.

The league office wanted to know whether Yu Fei came to Seattle to stop the Sonics from relocating with his passion, or if he came with a plan.
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Now that he has heard Yu Fei say that he has a plan, Xiao Hua doesn't know whether to feel relieved or angry, because the league's relocation plan may be affected.

"I do want to know how you are going to stop this." Xiao Hua said specifically, "The president also wants to know."

Yu Fei began to say: "I am a reasonable person. What I seek is not my own reputation. I hope that there will be no loser in this matter in the end. Therefore, the most basic request I made to Clay is that he should give me Three years. The Sonics' contract with KeyArena expires in the summer of 2010. I will find a way to help the team win Seattle's support before then. If I succeed, the Sonics will get a stadium in the 2010s. New arena. I will help the team thoroughly develop the local market, and the league will naturally benefit from this. In this way, everyone is happy, and I believe everyone can accept this result."

This plan is not complicated, it is simple, and it even sounds so simple that it hardly feels difficult.

Once public opinion changes, the basic logic of all policies of the United States, an electoral country, will be most fully reflected in Seattle.

This is the easiest way, but also the hardest way.

But now, the league has let him know through Silver that what he is doing in Seattle is indeed affecting the relocation plan that has already been implemented.

Since moving to the SuperSonics in early July this year, no one has given him direct feedback except Bennett.

Yu Fei himself also knows that the only way to make the team's popularity grow explosively in the short term is to win the championship.

Considering Yu Fei's success in Milwaukee, Xiao Hua really feels that it is only a matter of time before public opinion changes.

The Seattle city government does not support the Sonics financing plan because only 30% of voters support it, which means 70% of voters oppose it. Of course they will not risk angering 70% of voters to please the 30% of voters.

KeyArena has gone from being the bleakest market in the league to the hottest, and it only took a few months.

If Yu Fei can lead the Sonics to perform well in the playoffs, the fairy tale of the Mariners in 1995 may not happen to the Sonics.

However, it is difficult to predict how difficult it would be for one person to spread his influence to the entire city of Seattle and expand the SuperSonics fan base from 90 to at least 180 million.

For Fei, the most important thing about tonight's conversation was to get him out of the "solo" feeling.

But does Yu Fei have enough time?

So, the things that sound easiest are actually the hardest things.

However, Xiao Hua has already seen Yu Fei's influence on the ball market.

It seems that everyone has the same opinion.

Finally, Xiao Hua said: "I will convey your plan to the president."

If Yu Fei can change public opinion, then the obstacles of the city government will disappear.

Yu Fei could only see some good signs from Bennett's increasingly positive attitude.

Aducheng doesn't deceive me.

Seattle's support grows every day.

"Many years have passed since the last bull market for basketball in Seattle, and basketball has become the third local sport." Xiao Hua said, "Everyone is a fan of the Mariners, and many are fans of the Seahawks. In a short period of time, It will take time to rebuild the trust of the fans and to gain their support you need to win the championship."

Preventing relocation went from being a non-implementable fantasy to a possibility.

One night later, the Sonics left Seattle again and headed to the West to challenge the Texas trio.

However, this journey is not smooth. Because the three Texas heroes are very strong inside, and they are all stable and strong teams in the Western Conference playoffs.

This schedule heralds the end of the loose schedule in which the Sonics have had more weak teams than strong teams since the start of the season.

They left Texas in disgrace with a record of 1 win and 2 losses.

"The Seattle version of Da Fei looks much easier to deal with than the Milwaukee version."

Caron Butler, who accompanied the Spurs to a double-header against the Sonics, said proudly after defeating the Sonics at home.

Yu Fei has no time to deal with this person now.

The Sonics will submit financing proposals for a new arena to the city again in mid-January, and he needs to get the word out before then.

It is foreseeable that new financing solutions will still fail, but this is an attempt that must be done.

Moreover, Yu Fei also wanted to use this incident to test Clay Bennett's true intentions. Is he as full of lies as Xiao Hua said and only wants to move the team out of Seattle, even if he has proven that he can Create substantial profits?
end of december
Christmas War
As a member of the NBA, being arranged for a Christmas game by the league means that your team is very popular, so you should use your traffic to make a lot of money during the most important holiday of the year in the United States.

The Sonics have always been left out the past few years.

But this year, when Frye returned to Seattle in July, he had already booked a spot for them in the Christmas game.

At least in Seattle, everyone loves Frye Yu.

Clay Bennett also loved Frye, but he admitted that he loved Frye for his commercial value. If you look at this person alone, Bennett doesn't like it.

It's natural that no owner would really like a player who is trying to overpower the franchise.

On this special day, Bennett, as the boss, should go to Key Arena to supervise the game.

But as a lifelong Oklahoman, he couldn't leave his hometown on such an important day. Because his wife will be unhappy.

As an upper-class Oklahoma City family, the Bennett family gathers together on Christmas Eve.

In addition to Bennett’s family, there are also people from his wife’s family.

"Big guy, haven't you figured it out yet?" The elders of his wife's family casually called Bennett his nickname. "Can we watch NBA games in OKC next year?"

Bennett forced a smile: "Jerry, you can watch NBA games at home now."

As he said this, the TV started playing this year's Christmas game - the SuperSonics vs. Cavaliers game.

As we all know, Yu Fei and James have broken up. Arranging for these two to play on such a harmonious night shows how evil the people who arrange the schedule have it.

"Is that Frye?" Bennett's wife asked.

"That's right." Bennett smiled, "He's Frye!"

He believed that Yu Fei would not let himself lose face.

Then, the old man who didn't seem to respect Bennett said, "Is that the Chinese guy who stopped you from moving the team?"

"It's him." Bennett responded respectfully.

"You're the boss, right, big guy?"

"Yes."

"Then don't let the guys who need your wages make the decisions for you!"

"Of course," Bennett whispered back, "I know how to do it."

Then, another elder of the wife's family said: "Big man, maybe you should send this troublesome guy away."

This troublesome guy can create hundreds of millions of dollars in profits in a year!

Bennett wanted to yell these words.

But he can't.

Seeing her husband's face getting more and more ugly, Bennett's wife Louise Gayloud said: "Clay, Sam just called you."

"When?" Bennett asked.

Louise said: "Just now, I forgot for a moment, maybe he has something important..."

This gave Bennett a reason to temporarily leave the meeting.

"Excuse me."

Bennett stayed away from the center of the family banquet and came to the balcony on the second floor. He straightened his tie fiercely.

Every time, he could not stand upright in such situations.

He's Oklahoma City's most famous big man, but he's famous there not because of his physique but because he didn't look as tough as he looked on his way to fortune.

His company was able to gain a foothold thanks to the sponsorship of his wife's family, and his career prospered thanks to the publicity of the newspaper owned by his wife's family ("The Oklahoman Daily"). It can be said that he has a large part in everything he is today. Credit goes to the Gaylord family.

This is the reason why he cannot raise his head in front of the elders of the Gaylord family. He has always wanted to change this situation, but it is obvious that as long as his power is still in Oklahoma City, he cannot get rid of the Gaylord family.

But now, the situation has changed.

Yu Fei is here.

Seattle became a place where you could make your mark.

Bennett has been thinking about this a lot lately, why can't he have an expanding franchise in Seattle?

Why must he risk breaking up with Yu Fei and move the team back to his hometown?
If Oklahoma had an NBA team, would his image in the eyes of the Gaylord family change? Make no mistake, nothing will change.

But what if the already decayed Sonics were transformed back into the most attractive franchise in the Northwest under his leadership? Maybe he won't have to guard an acre of Oklahoma City anymore, and he won't have to listen to the Gaylord family's noise.

Who says lifelong Oklahomans have to stay in Oklahoma forever?
His heart can be with them forever.

But his career could take off elsewhere.

Bennett quickly came to the room, turned on the computer, and deleted the pre-planned financing plan with a speed that he could hardly imagine.

Relocation plan? Go to hell! ! !
(End of this chapter)