The Golden Age of Basketball

()(In these chapters, I will focus more on describing the protagonist’s mental journey. Of course, this is not abuse, but a new life. Only after suffering can Nirvana. Gan Guoyang must grow further, because he will face huge challenges in college, not only Only from basketball.)

June 1982, 6 was International Children's Day, but today is not only a children's day, but also a Los Angeles fans' day.

In this year's NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers, who won the next game in Philadelphia and gained a 1:1 home court advantage, will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers from afar at the Great Western Forum Arena today.

The eyes of basketball fans across the United States have shifted from the cold and humid Pennsylvania to the warm and dry California, and the fans in Los Angeles have long been ready.

Gan Guoyang, who waited in line for two hours yesterday to buy the "reserved ticket", took Gan Guohui and Chen Xing together and took the bus to Inglewood after dinner.

"If the Lakers can win two games in a row at home, it will be 3:1! The championship is definitely a certainty, but who will win the mvp?" Gan Guohui was holding the ticket in his hand in the car, chewing Black Jack Chewing gum, discussing the finals with the other two.

"I think it's not bad for the 76ers to win a championship. It's the third finals. It's really a pity that they lost all the first two times. I think it's time for Dr. J to win a championship." Chen Xing At this time, of course, we must stand up against the fat Gan Guohui with a clear-cut banner, and stand on the side of the 76ers.

"You think you are Monkey King! The emperor takes turns to sit at my house today? The championship is not just for fun. In this situation, the Lakers must have a great chance of winning!" Of course Gan Guohui fought back, and now he has won back the home field advantage. The Lakers are indeed in a better situation, and he is naturally full of confidence when he says this.

"Hmph, I bet the 76ers will definitely win this finals! Dare you bet? Whoever loses will be treated to McDonald's!" Although Chen Xing also supported the Lakers in his heart, in order to stand on the opposite side of Gan Guohui, he did not Don't hesitate to choose to support the 76ers-at the cost of a McDonald's meal.

Gan Guoyang knew that the 1982 championship in NBA history was the Los Angeles Lakers, and he couldn't remember the exact score.

As long as Gan Guoyang's arrival does not change the general direction of NBA history, then the winner of this bet is Gan Guohui.

"Just bet! But let's start betting on this game! I bet the Lakers win! If you lose... just... treat me to McDonald's twice!" Gan Guohui thought for a long time, and the bet he thought of was to add another McDonald's ...

"Hmph, who is afraid of whom? Just bet on this game, I bet on the 76ers to win!" Chen Xing was very disdainful of Gan Guohui.

"Look at your potential!" Gan Guoyang couldn't help saying after hearing what Gan Guohui said.

"Hey, big cousin, anyway, if you don't participate in the betting, anyone who loses will invite you. You're sure you won't lose money!" Gan Guohui responded with a smile.

But Gan Guoyang didn't seem in the mood to play more jokes with his cousin, so he forced a smile and kept silent, and went to look out at the scenery with his chin in his hand.

Gan Guohui looked at Gan Guoyang, then at Chen Xing, with a helpless expression on his face, and Chen Xing also had the same expression.

From the game on April 4st to today's June 1st, two full months have passed, and it seems that Gan Guoyang still hasn't fully recovered from the shadow of that defeat.

After the big turnaround on March 3, the morale of Palo Alto High School reached its peak.

They are full of ambition, and with full confidence and enthusiasm, they came to Los Angeles, the capital of basketball and entertainment in the west, and the most charming city on the west coast.

They spent three days in this bustling city to fully experience the fun brought by modern civilization, and to enjoy happiness other than basketball.

And back to the game, on the highest stage of the California High School League, they met the champion of the Southern California Division II League, Riverside Vocational High School.

From the beginning of the game, everything was perfect, and this perfection lasted until 1 minute before the end of the game. They still led by 5 points, and the championship was close at hand.

Gan Guoyang scored 39 points and 37 rebounds in the first 21 minutes. If he wins, he will be a strong contender for Mr. Basketball in California, even if he is a yellow race.

But that person showed up.

In fact, Gan Guoyang had expected it a long time ago. The moment he stepped on the court and saw the opposing player, he reminded himself in his heart, "Be careful with this person, even at the last second."

But Gan Guoyang still failed to prevent the miracle from happening, and failed to change the ending that should not have been changed.

64:65, when the game ended, the score was fixed at the two numbers with a difference of only one point, but the result was very different.

Being lonely in the crowd - this is Gan Guoyang's greatest feeling at the end of the game, and until now, he still feels this way from time to time.

"Big Cousin! Big Cousin! The car is here, here it is." The car has arrived at the destination - the Great Western Forum Arena.Looking at Gan Guoyang who was still in a daze, Gan Guohui reminded loudly.

Naturally, Gan Guohui was also present to watch the battle in Los Angeles, and naturally he also carried the banner of his "Gan's Restaurant".

He originally planned to find an opportunity to take a photo next to his eldest cousin after his eldest cousin won the championship, and by the way, also included the big banner of "Gan's Restaurant".

Unfortunately, the Vikings fell short in the end.

However, winning or losing is a common matter in military affairs. For a high school team, losing is nothing more than normal. There is no invincible team in this world.

But what worries Gan Guohui is Gan Guoyang's performance after the game.

After the defeat, Gan Guoyang looked the same as usual on the surface, but there were two obvious changes:

One is that Gan Guoyang no longer likes to say witty words, he became silent all of a sudden, and always lightly brushed off topics raised by others.

In the past, Gan Guoyang not only spouted trash on the court, but also kept classic quotations off the court, both in English and Chinese.

In Gan Guoyang's words, Gan Guohui is often "fooled and limped" by his big cousin.

The second is that Gan Guoyang has become almost obsessed and crazy about basketball training. 24 hours a day, from opening his eyes in the morning to going back to the dormitory to sleep, Gan Guoyang's heart is almost all on basketball.

This kind of non-stop practice day and night is not so much training as it is destruction.

Many people, including Behrman, tried to persuade Gan Guoyang, but he always tactfully rejected others' reminders with a kind smile and continued to torture himself in the arena.

Other teammates, high school seniors all went to apply for college basketball scholarships or prepare for entrance exams, and others returned to the classroom to continue their classes, and everything was calm.

Finally one day, Gan Guoyang, who had tortured himself too much, collapsed from exhaustion in the gymnasium. Fortunately, Dippenbrock was there, and he was sent to the infirmary, where he was given some glucose.

Since then, Bellman ordered Gan Guoyang not to continue training and to go home to rest.

But Gan Guoyang, who was dispatched home, did not seem to be any better.

Looking at Gan Guoyang, who was always in a daze with nothing to do, and Gan Guohui, who also went home and waited for news from the university, he knew that he could no longer look down on his big cousin like this.

So, at the end of May, Gan Guohui, Gan Guoyang, and Chen Xing went to Los Angeles together to watch this year's finals while finalizing their university applications.

Gan Guohui hopes that the most gorgeous and powerful team in the NBA can dilute the pain of defeat in Gan Guoyang's heart, so that he can regain his self-confidence, domineering and humorous big cousin in the past.

"Ah? We're here..." Gan Guoyang looked bewildered, and hurriedly stood up to get off the car.

"Boom! Whoops!" Because Gan Guoyang was too tall, he bumped into the roof of the car when he stood up.

Looking at Gan Guoyang's dazed look, Gan Guohui couldn't help sighing.

But soon, the three of them didn't have the time to think about the messy things before, because when they got out of the car, the brightly lit Great Western Forum stood in front of the three of them like a Roman temple.

Although both Gan Guohui and Chen Xing have been here to watch the game, Gan Guoyang came here to buy tickets yesterday, but during the final days, watching the crowds wearing all kinds of cheering for the Lakers around, the finals The atmosphere is really overwhelming.

"It's a pity that I didn't come to the finals the year before last. It feels so damn good." Gan Guoyang walked in the hall of the arena and said with admiration.

In this arena, which looks like a round cake, there is a festive atmosphere of the finals everywhere, although the entertainment elements are much less than those of later generations.

The three of them went up the stairs to the second floor and entered the core area of ​​the arena - the court and the stands.

Although Gan Guoyang has also watched several games at the Oakland Stadium in San Francisco, he hasn't been to watch the NBA for a long time since the high school league, let alone the famous Great Western Forum.

As soon as he entered the stands, looking at the people slowly filling up around him, he still felt that the stands of the nba arena in the 80s were like the old-fashioned movie theaters in some counties in our country.

However, the chairs here are all yellow, giving people the feeling of being full of the atmosphere of the Lakers.

As time went by, more and more people were in the stands, and players from the two teams also entered the field from the player tunnel and began to conduct warm-up training.

"Wow, the 76ers are worthy of being an NBA circus, even the warm-up before the game is so good!" Gan Guohui is like a bumpkin coming to town, even watching the players' warm-up with relish.Unlike other fans around who are sitting in their seats and chatting, the exciting time has not yet come.

But the 76ers' warm-up is really exciting, because they have "Dr. J" Julius Irving, and "Chocolate Bomb" Daryl Dawkins-a "savage" who smashed the rebound twice.

Even in warmups before the game, the 76ers made no secret of their dunk talent, flying around the floor and dunking the ball into the basket.

The other players of the 76ers were also good at dunking, so in the late 70s, the 76ers won the title of the NBA circus, and every time they played in a city, they could cause a frenzy of watching the game.

But now, what the 76ers and Irving want most is an NBA championship, and what stands in their way is another rising new circus-the show-time Lakers.

Just judging from this year's situation, it is a bit difficult for the 76ers to win the championship.

Gan Guoyang, who has some understanding of this period of history, knows that the 76ers will not be able to win the championship until next year.

"It seems that Moses Malone went to the 76ers to win the championship?" Gan Guoyang thought of the Moses Malone who shocked him in newspapers and on TV when he was injured in the hospital in Santa Barbara.

It is a pity that the Houston Rockets led by him lost to the Seattle Supersonics in the first round of this year's playoffs, which also opened the Rockets' history of suffering when facing the Supersonics in the playoffs.

For Gan Guoyang, who already knew the result roughly, this game has lost the greatest joy of competitive sports - suspense.

Therefore, the only attraction for him in the game is the smooth and wonderful performances of the two teams on the court.

Gan Guohui and Chen Xing watched with great concentration. Anyway, this match will affect a meal or two at McDonald's.

Although it is the finals, Gan Guoyang feels that the enthusiastic atmosphere of the stadium is still very "simple" compared with later generations.

There are no halftime acrobatic performances and audience interaction, no funny dunks by mascots, no flashing colorful lights, and the only thing that catches the eye is probably the Lakers cheerleaders in short skirts.

Only basketball is the real center of the arena.

"Maybe this is a more pure basketball?" Gan Guoyang still misses the colorful NBA of "later generations", but the simpler and more simple basketball game now also deeply attracts him.

In this game, Norm Nixon of the Lakers performed exceptionally and scored a game-high 29 points.

The entire Lakers also relied on the power of the home court to win the game 129:108 amidst the familiar yellow arena and the cheers of the fans.

"Hahaha, Chen Xing, you have a day too! You can't avoid this McDonald's meal!" On the way to leave, Gan Guohui was like a winning rooster, arrogantly.Who told him that he always lost to Chen Xing in betting before, but today he finally feels proud.

"Hmph~ It's not that I let you! I thought the Lakers would win, but I supported the 76ers just to make a bet with you. You haven't seen me and I've been cheering for the Lakers?" Chen Xing wished Conceded the bet, but Gan Guohui couldn't see such a proud look.

"I'm willing to bet! You can't escape this McDonald's anyway! There is a big cousin to testify, is it big cousin, big cousin, big cousin?" Gan Guohui looked at Gan Guoyang, but found that he was in a daze again.

"Ah? Oh, Guohui, you two go back first, I'll go to Inglewood for a walk, and I'll go back later." Gan Guoyang suddenly proposed to go to Inglewood, and let Gan Guohui and Chen Xing go back first hostel.

"Big cousin, Inglewood is a black area, it's dangerous for you to go alone at night!" Gan Guohui immediately reminded him when he heard that Gan Guoyang wanted to go to Inglewood alone at night.

Inglewood is a famous black district in Los Angeles, where there are many alcohol and gangs.

In a country like the United States, where guns are rampant, any quarrel and conflict may turn into a murder.

And in such a dark night, it is really not a wise move for a Chinese to go to a black district like Inglewood.

But both Gan Guohui and Chen Xing failed to dissuade Gan Guoyang, and Gan Guoyang claimed that he was going to a Chinese friend's house, so they couldn't stop them anymore, so they had to take the bus back to the hotel first.

"Big cousin, remember to call the hotel! Use a public phone, and I'll write the number on a note for you." Gan Guohui gave the hotel phone number to Gan Guoyang, and then he and Chen Xing followed the crowd to the bus stop.

Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, headed east alone, heading towards Inglewood in the deep night.

He needs to use loneliness and venting to let himself struggle out of the painful quagmire of failure and regain his new life.