The Golden Age of Basketball

In the 21st century, sports are flourishing with the progress of human civilization. One of the major trends in modern sports is depoliticization. Anything that is linked to politics always gives people the feeling of blood coming from the pores.

But in the second half of the last century, during the Cold War period, sports, especially the Olympic Games, were inevitably linked to politics, and the competition on the sports field became a continuation of the Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Therefore, when the capitalist countries represented by the United States collectively boycotted the 1980 Soviet Olympic Games, four years later at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the Soviet Union also led a group of socialist countries to refuse to participate in the Olympic Games.

However, at the Olympic Games held in the United States in 1984, there was one representative team that attracted everyone's attention, and that was the Olympic delegation of the People's Republic of China, which was also in the socialist camp and was the second largest socialist country in the world.

The historical reasons and background for this are profound and complex, but in this historic process, two movements played a vital role.

One is China's national sport, table tennis.

In 1971, before the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, an American table tennis delegation and a small group of American journalists arrived in Beijing. They became the first group of Americans allowed to enter China since 1949.

Afterwards, the two sides had a friendly table tennis match, and Chinese state leaders attended the match as spectators.

The friendly exchanges between the table tennis teams of the two countries this time has also become an important symbolic event in the process of normalizing relations between China and the United States. [

Immediately afterwards, in 1972, Nixon, then US President, visited China across the Pacific Ocean, realizing the normalization of Sino-US relations.

This diplomatic activity with table tennis as the "vanguard" has also been named "ping-pong diplomacy" in history, and "playing with a small ball."

However, after 1972, China and the United States only normalized their relations and did not formally establish diplomatic relations. Until the late 70s, with the changes in the world situation, the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States was put on the agenda of the diplomatic affairs of the two countries.

And just at this time, another sport played the role that table tennis played in 1971, and that was a big ball game-basketball.

In 1978, the Chinese national men's basketball team and women's basketball team visited the United States, the most powerful basketball country.

At that time, the national men's basketball team represented by Zhang Weiping went to New York, Los Angeles, Greensboro, Washington, New York and other cities, and played several games with American college basketball teams, such as the famous UL and Wake Forest Devil Deacons. friendly match.

Immediately afterwards, on January 1979, 1, China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations and had legal diplomatic relations.

Although it cannot be said that the friendly table tennis match in 1971 and the basketball match in 1978 promoted the progress of Sino-US relations, it has to be admitted that the two events did serve as a test field for normal exchanges between the two countries, and also showed that the "competitive sports" There are similarities between the activities of "competition and cooperation" and state diplomacy.

Then, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States in 1979, the 1978 nb championship team, the Washington team from the capital of the United States, was invited to visit China. Sports once again became the lubricant for exchanges between the two countries.

Of course, in the friendly match between China and the United States, the sub-team beat the Chinese team with no temper, and it was the first time for Chinese basketball players to see the highest level of the world's strongest basketball country.

The pointer of time has been dialed to 1985. It has been more than 7 years since the last Chinese men's basketball team visited the United States. The men's basketball players of that year have retired one after another. The new wave of men's basketball players have begun to fight for the cause of Chinese basketball. , but their coach is still the famous coach Qian Chenghai.

This time, they received an invitation from nb to go to the United States during nb's off-season for a week-long basketball visit.

The visit this time is different from the visit full of political implications in 1978. According to Stern's calculation, this will be the first step of nb's business empire extending its tentacles to mainland China, full of strong commercial atmosphere.

It's just that for the Chinese men's basketball team, they don't know what the shrewd Jewish lawyer on the other side is thinking. Guidance Qian Chenghai mainly hopes that the boys of the men's basketball team can go to the United States to experience the highest level of the most powerful basketball country. Can have a qualitative improvement in vision and heart.

When the Chinese men's basketball team arrived in New York by plane, it was already mid-June 1985. At this time, the nb finals had just died down and the draft had not yet begun. [

The men's basketball delegation is an expanded one. In addition to the members, staff and coaches of the national team, there are also some elite players from various local teams. They all have the opportunity to be selected for the new national team to participate in the 1986 Men's Basketball World Championships.

"Xiaolu, do you see that? This is Laomei's taxi, which is much better than your Xiali in Beijing... It's just that the color is a bit ugly, it's yellow." Sitting on the bus to the destination hotel, a tall man wearing glasses The tall man said to the little man next to him who looked like a hedgehog with a head of needle-like hair.

"The most awesome thing in Beijing is Citroen rental, the decoration~ the feeling... But, it is indeed worse than the yellow leather in the United States. You said that the yellow leather in our place is full of buns, but here they are big cars...the American car. There are so many, I really don’t know when Beijing will become like this.” The little man with a hedgehog head called “Little Deer” is Min Lulei, a player from Beijing Shougang.

Of course he didn't know that in a few decades, Beijing would be overwhelmed with cars, which would be even more terrifying than New York.

Sitting next to him is the main insider of the men's basketball team, the big man Song Tao from Shandong.

Since Min Lulei belongs to the "expansion" personnel, he was not selected for the official roster of the men's basketball team, and he did not represent the national team in the 1984 Olympic Games before, so everything was new after arriving in the United States.

Although Song Tao also did not participate in the official competition of the 1984 Olympic Games, he was the standard bearer of the Chinese Olympic delegation at the entrance ceremony that year.

The reason is that before Song Tao formally participated in the competition, the roster had already been determined, but an old player approached head coach Qian Chenghai for guidance, hoping to participate in the Olympic Games before retiring, so he thought that the new players could give way.

Song Tao became the youngest player in the men's basketball team at that time, so he was temporarily resigned due to "ideological work" in this way. As compensation, he had a good time at the opening ceremony as the team's standard bearer.

Because of this, he was not surprised by many new things in New York.

When a group of 15 people arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel on East 48th Street in New York, which was arranged by nb for the men's basketball team, it happened to be time for New Yorkers to have dinner.

"Oh my god, this hotel is high-end... How much does it cost to stay here for one night?" Min Lulei looked up at the magnificent Intercontinental Hotel after getting off the car, and couldn't help asking.

"Why do you care so much? Anyway, we don't pay for it... But this hotel is much better than the Olympic Village in Los Angeles. It is said to be a four-star hotel." Song Tao couldn't help but think of his experience living in the Olympic Village .

"This thing is only four-star? Why do I feel that it is much more upscale than Beijing's five-star? This capitalist country is really rotten..." Min Lulei couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

After chatting, the two hurriedly followed the crowd into the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel.

There is also a reason why nb arranged the residence here. Since the name of the Intercontinental Hotel has the word "intercontinental" (interontnentl), it shows that this hotel still often undertakes business from foreign customers, including of course guests from China. .

Therefore, when the Chinese men's basketball team entered the hall and listened to what the waiters said, they found that they could speak some simple Chinese.

"The hotel staff here have to undergo special foreign language training. Now there are more and more Chinese guests, so Chinese is already a necessary language for them to communicate." After listening to the explanation of nb's pick-up staff, the accompanying translator translated.

When the players of the national team were arranged in their respective rooms to relax their fatigued bodies from the long-distance travel, it was time to assemble again, because at night in a small auditorium of the hotel, the nb official will present the Chinese Men's Basketball Visiting Group Hold a grand reception ceremony.

"Hey Song Tao, I heard that we have a Chinese who is playing in the United States now. It is said that he is playing pretty well. Where does he belong to? How come I have never heard of it before?" Min Lulei always said to anyone He maintained a strong curiosity about everything. As a rookie in the team, he had always had a good relationship with Song Tao, who was also young.

"I heard from Men's translator that there is indeed a Chinese player who plays in the nb and is quite famous. It is said that he has made some kind of All-Star! I don't know if he will come tonight... Hey, Men Translate, what's the situation with the Chinese who plays in the American NBA?" Song Tao stepped forward and asked someone.

The interpreter of Men is Men Lei, the interpreter of the men's basketball team this time, a guy with thick glasses and a scholarly face.

"Well, I just heard from my friends in the United States. It is said that he immigrated from China. He studied all the way from high school and university in the United States. Later, he won a college league championship and entered the NBA. , I heard that he is quite powerful."

In China, which has not yet fully opened up, the players of the Chinese men's basketball team have all "heard and heard" about Gan Guoyang, a player from the mainland of the motherland, without any definite information.

"It's said again, I don't know how much he can weigh?" Lu Jinqing, who has the title of "Desperate Saburo" in the men's basketball team, said after hearing this. He has always been fearless.

"Okay, it must be great to be able to play in the United States. Don't look down on the Chinese. You will know when the time comes. Let's go, they are waiting for us." Coach Qian Chenghai directed Said.

Coach Qian Chenghai has rich experience in international competitions, and he doesn't know much about Gan Guoyang, but his many dealings with American teams let him understand that American basketball is not at the same level as China.