Return to 2002: Freestyle Superstar

Chapter 311 The lively end of the year, the two prides singing together

In fact, in the original time and space, the Chinese men's basketball team was able to reach the quarterfinals of the Athens Olympics. This luck was really similar to winning the lottery.

As the 2002 World Championship champion, Yugoslavia had reached the point of falling apart in 2004. There were constant conflicts within the team, which finally broke out in the last game, allowing the Chinese Men's Basketball Team to take advantage.

Even so, Yao Ming was fucked for a full 40 minutes and only managed to win by one point.

Countless times of luck intertwined, and that trip to the top eight was possible.

Or maybe it's because of my good luck this time that I will have to pay off my debt for a long time in the future.

"One year goes by so quickly, it goes by in the blink of an eye." Chen Ran could only comfort Yao Ming like this.

In fact, he himself is not sure whether the Chinese men's basketball team in the Athens Olympics next year will be as lucky as the original time and space as the butterfly effect caused by him becomes larger and larger.

During the conversation between the two, Yao Ming once again expressed to Chen Ran whether he was willing to start a business together.

Chen Ran wanted to continue to decline, but suddenly he asked, "If Brother Yao wants to register a company, will he choose to be in Shanghai?"

"Then I will definitely choose to stay in Shanghai. After all, I am also from Shanghai." Yao Ming said matter-of-factly.

Chen Ran frowned slightly, and then said: "Which industry does Brother Yao want to invest in?"

"I'm not proficient in other industries, so I'll start with catering and accommodation. In addition, there's also the sports industry, my old profession."

Chen Ran nodded silently and replied: "I will discuss it with the team after I get back and then reply to you. Brother Yao, you also know that I am too young. There are so many old foxes in the business, so I must consult the team for advice."

"Representing World of Warcraft is actually the opinion of the team, and I also have Nike and IMG to help me share the risk."

He said it very much against his will, but the latter believed it.

"Okay." Yao Ming felt that he couldn't push too hard, so he changed the subject, "You should cheer for the end of the year. I will come to watch your game when I have time, and I also invite you to come to Toyota Center to watch the game."

"Okay! I haven't watched the NBA live yet!" Chen Ran also promised.

……

For Chinese people, Houston is famous because of Yao Ming and the Rockets.

However, as the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in Texas, Houston is also known as the Aviation City, the aviation center of the United States and the world.

Just like last year's year-end Masters Cup held in Shanghai, the players all wore Chinese Tang suits. When the game comes to Houston this year, the players will go to the NASA Johnson Space Center.

This place is responsible for designing and manufacturing spacecraft, selecting and training astronauts, planning and commanding manned space flights, and conducting space science experiments.

Of course, the staff will also proudly introduce the American moon landings.

Then Roddick, the outspoken young man of American imperialism, took the lead in questioning: "Why do my friends always tell me with absolute certainty that the moon landing was a hoax! You actually recorded it in a movie studio!"

Not to mention other countries, even many people in the United States are full of doubts about this.

Especially in American sports, there are countless high-profile athletes who are skeptical.

"This... Sir, what you said is very disrespectful. We have credible photo records." The staff of the space center immediately retorted.

"In this case, I have the right to question why there has been no further landing on the moon." Roddick emphasized.

At this moment, the American guy lost his temper and started having sex with the other party's staff.

Hey, we are obviously here for a visit, so why are you so serious?

Fortunately, athletes from other countries did not raise any questions even if they had objections in their hearts. Obviously, it was most appropriate for an American to raise the question.

Chen Ran looked at the upright Roddick and almost laughed out loud, covering his mouth. Of course, he felt happy in his heart.

In fact, in terms of overall survival ability, Roddick is not far behind at all.

Fortunately, Roddick brought up this topic. If it had been him, it would probably have caused some diplomatic disputes.

After all, the concept of "surprised allies" is deeply rooted in the hearts of those officials.

So it was somewhat surprising that the competition to visit the Houston Space Center evolved into the topic of "didn't the US emperor land on the moon?" This was something Chen Ran did not expect.

"We don't welcome you rude guy!"

"You must be feeling guilty!"

Roddick and the space center staff were at odds with each other.

As a result, everyone soon broke up unhappy.

What is certain is that the 2004 year-end Masters Cup will still be held in Houston. The ATP will definitely not organize and arrange events like this again. It is completely asking for trouble.

……

The eight players participating in the 2003 Houston Masters Cup were: Chen Ran, Roddick, Federer, Ferrero, Agassi, Moya, Nalbandian, and Hewitt.

I still remember that during the year-end Masters Cup in Shanghai last year, Australian Hare Hewitt was still the world number one at the time and won the final championship.

A year has passed by in a hurry, but the world of men's professional tennis has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Hewitt, the former world number one and defending champion, actually qualified for the year-end Masters Cup with a ranking of eighth, which surprised many people. Some people are even boldly predicting that by next November, the Australian Hare will miss the year-end finals.

As a result, some people also focused their attention on Chen Ran.

Chen Ran also became famous at a young age, and he was even younger. Will he make the same mistake as Hewitt?

In the highly competitive and cruel men's professional tennis world, if you are not careful, you may fall from the top and be overtaken by countless others.

As a result, some European and American media began to make insinuations about how Chen Ran arrived on the deadline to participate in such an important year-end competition. Seeing how careless you are, this is the inevitable result.

Chen Ran will be like a meteor that flashes by. Although it shines, it is short-lived.

The ATP also has quite complicated emotions towards Chen Ran. They hope that the other party can open up the Chinese and Asian markets, but instinctively feel that this young man is also a disobedient thorn.

This is completely inconsistent with their stereotype of Asian players.

Think about Yao Ming. He was a good man and a diligent person. He never made radical remarks, which greatly satisfied the NBA.

In comparison, Chen Ran seems to be much more difficult to deal with.

In the second half of the year alone, he has made several remarks such as there are too many games, too few bonuses, and the players are miserable.

Although ATP has mixed feelings, it is hard to say anything to Chen Ran in the context of "freedom of speech" in the European and American world.

When all 8 players arrived, the draw was officially held.

In this year-end Masters Cup, 8 people were divided into two groups, and Chen Ran and Roddick were listed as seed players.

After the draw, Chen Ran entered Group A with Federer, Ferrero, and Moya, while Roddick entered Group A with Agassi, Hewitt, and Nalbandian.

If you only look at the superficial strength, Chen Ran's group is obviously more difficult than Roddick's group.

Of course, this is the Americans' home court, and he has been mentally prepared for this.

As the overall level of the year-end finals is even higher than the Grand Slam, even though the tickets are a bit expensive, they are still sold out by enthusiastic fans.

I have to admit that in the United States, where professional sports are developed, especially in Houston, which has many professional major league teams, tennis is slightly less popular.

In bars, streets, schools, and buses, everything is filled with the atmosphere of football, baseball, and basketball. These are deeply imprinted in the blood of this city. Every weekend, people are excited about these sports. A lot of enthusiasm was poured into it.

But when eight of the world's best tennis players gathered here, the city's tennis atmosphere finally became much stronger than before.

In addition to the spectators who bought tickets, there was also a steady stream of people outside the stadium.

In addition, there is always a huge queue at the door of the training ground every day. Even though they know that there are only a hundred free admissions to watch the training, there is still no end in sight for the waiting team, and they can even separate the training ground and the training ground. The training grounds are connected and extremely lively.

Each time the ATP officially organizes fan interaction activities, two of the players will be invited to interact face to face with the fans.

Local fans signed up very enthusiastically, and there were also a large number of fans who were not able to get admission but still came to watch.

In November 2003, a gorgeous tennis carnival was held in Houston, USA.

Regardless of whether the ATP organizing committee or event organizers are very satisfied with the results of this year-end competition.

As for the little turmoil that Roddick caused before, in their view, it was just an insignificant episode.

Have Americans ever landed on the moon?

The ATP doesn't care, and neither does the Houston tournament organizing committee, as long as the tickets sell well and the money rolls in.

In the opening match, Chen Ran faced the famous Spanish player Ferrero, and the Chinese media also called it the first battle of the "Huashan Swordsmanship".

Chen Ran obviously has many fans in Houston, and these people came to the scene holding his posters to cheer him on.

From Chen Ran's point of view, he must also admit that the atmosphere of the game is great.

Even the quality of the audience in Houston is much better than that of the New York audience at the US Open. It was as noisy as a vegetable market.

Before the game started, the American reporters surrounded Chen Ran.

In their eyes, Chen Ran and Roddick are the two players who receive the most attention.

"Chen Ran, what do you think of Roddick's words?"

"What did Andy say?"

"It's the commotion that happened at the space center a few days ago!"

"What do I think?" Chen Ran raised his eyebrows, "First of all, Andy is my friend, and then you might as well land on the moon again. Anyway, you are the richest and most developed country in the world, so you must not be short of money!"

……

(End of this chapter)