Chapter 467 War Is Everywhere

On October 27, the 2004-05 season quietly kicked off.

It benefited from the crazy publicity throughout the summer, also benefited from the Super Galaxy Battleship formed by the Lakers and Cavaliers, and of course, benefited from the dissatisfaction of Lin Dong among fans across the United States.

In the past two years, everyone just watched as a novelty and wondered how far this young Asian could go. It was no big deal to support him, but he never expected... This support would cause a disaster!

The mighty NBA, the mighty basketball empire, is actually being overtaken by an Asian, pooping and peeing casually on their court... How can you tolerate this?

Except for Seattle, which is the local home team, all American fans have now begun to change their mentality. They no longer expect any miracles from Asians. What they care about is the face of the United States!

These are the fans who have been paying attention to basketball, and many old fans who stopped paying attention to basketball because of Jordan's retirement have chosen to return to the stands this season under the influence of overwhelming publicity and public opinion.

For no other reason than they just wanted to see what kind of thing he was that dared to claim to surpass their idol Jordan? And he’s actually an Asian?

This uncle can be tolerated, but his aunt cannot be tolerated either!

Gotta fuck him!

Fans across the United States are unprecedentedly unified. Traditions and slogans such as one person, one city seem to have become irrelevant at this moment. Everyone has a common wish, which is to watch Lin Dong lose!

As the opening game of this season, and also the biggest favorite to win the championship this season, the attention this game received far exceeded Stern's expectations.

ABC TV's beautiful host Doris Burke and big-mouthed Klee formed the stylish combination of Beauty and the Beast on the TV screen. It was just early 8 o'clock in the evening, and the two of them were sitting in the live broadcast room and just started to warm up the topic. The ratings coming from the backstage already made everyone feel extremely excited.

33 million...There are actually 33 million viewers in the United States, who started paying attention to this game half an hour in advance.

The game doesn't start until 9 o'clock. This is the audience who entered the venue an hour early. It feels even more exaggerated than when Lin Dong faced Jordan in the final tiebreaker of the finals in his debut season!

Based on this data, tonight's ratings may even break the 50 million mark, setting an NBA record!

Naturally, the TV station was cheering for this, and several of the supervisors had to open champagne after the game. Stern, who had been to the SuperSonics scene in person, couldn't hold back his face when he learned the data through the backstage. of joy.

The sharp drop in ratings last year made ABC and TNT already quite dissatisfied with the alliance. But when they followed the advice, they transformed their strategy of "praising Lin Dong" into "making Lin Dong a big devil", and even acquiesced to it. Promoted several major transactions in the league and formed two super luxurious blocking teams of the Lakers and Cavaliers. This popularity...

Frankly speaking, not even Stern himself dared to think of such an effect.

He was currently sitting in the SuperSonics' luxurious VIP room, and Phil Knight was sitting next to him with an unparalleled smile on his face.

Abandoning Lin Dong actually encountered some resistance in the board of directors. At least half of Nike directors thought it was a risky move and even thought it was a foolish move.

After all, given Lin Dong’s previous fame in the United States and Asia, Nike’s rapid development in the past two years was almost entirely due to this.

Phil Knight chose to suppress Lin Dong at this time. Isn't this self-destruction of the Great Wall?

However, when Lin Dong became the big devil in the eyes of fans across the United States, when the directors of Nike saw the crazy wave and enthusiasm caused by Lin Dong becoming a villain in the United States, there were even many people in the Dragon Kingdom who did not help in forums as far away as the Dragon Kingdom. Lin Dong spoke...

The directors were finally convinced.

Phil Knight is Phil Knight. This guy knows the market and the fans too well. He is the kind of person who can turn his hands into clouds and rain.

If the short-sighted guys on the board of directors continue to pursue Lin Dong, they fail to see that there are so many dissatisfaction with Lin Dong hidden in the national market.

After this season, once Lin Dong signs a long-term contract, it may be Nike that will die by then. I don’t know about Asia, but in the American market, Nike’s sales will definitely plummet!

"This Cavaliers are already extremely strong." Stern said with a smile: "Today's game may give a shot in the arm to all the fans who expect Lin Dong to lose."

Phil Knight smiled and handed him a cigar: "David, you know the league, but I feel like you still don't know much about football. You do too much backstage work, hahaha!"

"oh?"

"This Cavaliers are still two necessary conditions away from perfection in my mind... They really may not be able to beat the SuperSonics today." Phil Knight said with a smile: "Of course, it's just not necessarily... I feel like they might be able to win." It’s a bit of a stalemate, they are of equal strength.”

"But even if they lose, it's not a bad thing, it's even a good thing. The stronger the Sonics are, the more fans want to defeat them. The attention and popularity you expect will continue to rise. It can also be a good wake-up call for the arrogant guys like the Cavaliers. , As for the two conditions that are lacking for the Cavaliers...the trading market will not close until February, and there are still four full months in the regular season, so we can take our time."

Stern looked at him dumbfounded: "I didn't know, I thought you were the boss of the Cavaliers."

"It's just a bundle of interests. We all have a common goal." Phil Knight lit his cigar, exhaled a puff of smoke leisurely, looked at the scene of crazy cheers outside the floor-to-ceiling window, and then looked at the TV screen next to him.

The TV screen was the ABC TV station, and it was this game that was being broadcast. The lively scene flashed by, and the camera showed the two hosts, who were Doris and Barkley.

Phil Knight smiled and pointed: "These are two people who don't understand football, haha!"

"The winner of three consecutive championships, Lin Dong of the SuperSonics has proven his strength with his brilliant record, and also proved that he is qualified to look at Michael Jordan's throne! Many fans say that Lin Dong is about to surpass ours this season. Where is the basketball god Michael Jordan?”

The young Doris was saying with great enthusiasm: "But in fact, transcendence is impossible. Michael Jordan has brought us too much brilliance and touch. His influence is by no means limited to the court. People who belong to the same era say that transcendence is meaningless, but there is no doubt that Lin Dong may be the first and only player in history who is qualified to be on an equal footing with Michael Jordan!”

"Haha, that will only happen if Lin Dong wins this year's championship. If you include the championship ring that Michael Jordan lost to Lin Dong, then Lin Dong who wins this season will have the same five rings as Michael Jordan. Championship ring." Barkley wished he could mention Michael Jordan's loss to Lin Dong in every show, just like Doris always liked to tease him about kissing a donkey's butt. This is the most popular ABC host today. of stalks.

"Yes, in the crazy 2004-05 season, if Lin Dong can still win the championship this season, then he will definitely become the new king of the NBA. He may not be able to surpass it, but he will definitely stand shoulder to shoulder with Michael Jordan to become the new king of the NBA. The most powerful basketball god in the world.”

"But if Lin Dong is defeated in his prime, it will only prove that he was just lucky in the first three seasons. Today, the SuperSonics will face one of the strongest teams in NBA history at home, and maybe it will be It will be a microcosm of this season!”

"Hahaha, indeed, this Cavaliers has O'Neal, the strongest center in the league today, Kidd, who has an eternal engine, and Flash Wade, who last season squeezed out Kobe Bryant and was successfully selected to the All-Offensive Team, and The little bully LeBron who won a total of 25 triple-doubles last season, oh, although he is too young, but LeBron is really getting stronger and stronger to the naked eye. If he has a bit of my demeanor back then, then you can see Be a smaller version of Barkley, hahaha, the Lakers’ luxurious lineup can already rival the Olympic team!”

"It seems that you know everyone in the Cavaliers quite well. As an old rival of O'Neal, you also personally named LeBron the 'Small Barkley'. So what do you think of this game?"

The American commentary style is still different from the seriousness of the Dragon Kingdom. It is more about free play and various jokes and jokes. While the two of them were constantly joking in the live broadcast room, Barkley finally said He said those words that excited all the fans across the United States who were watching the game.

"Whether it's the inside or the back line, the Cavaliers have completely outperformed the SuperSonics. Lin Dong may still have an advantage against Wade on the front line, but relying on this advantage alone wants to erase all the gaps between the two teams in other positions. I think it is It’s far from enough... The Sonics will lose this game! It’s hard to say how many points they will lose. My personal prediction is around 10 points!”

Doris glanced at Barkley meaningfully: "It's been a long time since I heard Charles predict the outcome of a game so clearly... I couldn't help but want to make a bet with Charles again."

"You want me to kiss the donkey's butt again?" Buckley laughed loudly: "Although I think this is impossible, it is very unlucky for the knight."

"Then let's try another way, how about kissing the dog's ass?"

"I never fall twice in the same place." Barkley obviously knew that this was for the effect of the show. Even if he really wanted to kiss, he would have to bite the bullet. Besides, he felt that the Sonics really couldn't win this game: "But I I never believe that people from the Dragon Kingdom can hold me back twice in a row! I bet! I happen to have a French Dou..."

"Oh my God, I really can't tell. I thought that as a macho man like you, you would raise a Dogo or even a puma or something." Doris laughed so hard: "This is really an unexpected bet. Audience friends, please pay attention to the ABC official website. The official will release a voting window on the homepage to choose which dog's butt you most want Charles to kiss. We must never let Charles have the final say on this kind of thing..."

The live broadcast of the TV station was not only for viewers across the United States, but was also broadcast on the screens of the SuperSonics' luxurious arena. Most of the Seattle fans who had already entered the venue started laughing and talking.

Someone asked him to choose a pit bull or a dogo. He wished that Buckley would be turned around and bitten to death.

Some were also asked to choose a Cocker Spaniel or a Shar-Pei, which would make Buckley smoke to death.

And amid the commotion, both teams finally began to take the stage.

In terms of being topical, I am afraid that no other team owner in this league can organize things better than Yang Dong. Since last season, the SuperSonics' courtside interactions, home introductions, etc. at every home game have been... The most unique and gorgeous in the entire league, but often the most time-consuming...

Yang Dong did it on purpose.

On the one hand, it is indeed to heat up the topic, on the other hand, it is part of the home field advantage.

Just let your opponent come out first and wait, which will sharpen your mentality!

Not to mention that championships don’t require these things. Competition in the NBA has always been omnipresent. After running a team for two years, Yang Dong has long been familiar with these things. What’s more, today is the first game against the Cavaliers, which is the biggest challenge for the SuperSonics this season. Roadblock!

The league can engage the Sonics, but it doesn't want the Sonics to engage my opponent within the rules? The stadium is like a battlefield. If you want to win the championship, your logistics must keep up!

If you have the skills, you can learn from other home stadiums, but you are afraid that your audience will not buy it and be too lazy to wait for you for an hour. But we Seattle fans bought it and had a lot of fun. This is the foundation of a championship, hahaha...

In other arenas, it may take about 20 minutes to complete the show, but for the Sonics, it usually takes 40 minutes or more. Today, two more interactive activities were added, which took almost an hour.

The fans were naturally happy, eating and playing, but for the opponents on the court, this was really a bit...

The Cavaliers who came out first had been standing on the sidelines for more than half an hour, but the lengthy introduction was not finished yet, which made O'Neal a little irritable. He didn't like to stand on the sidelines and be someone else's boss for more than half an hour. supporting role.

He shook his legs and looked around impatiently. In fact, it wasn't just him. Most of the Cavaliers were a little unhappy waiting, including Wade, who chatted with O'Neal and complained about the Sonics. This lengthy opening statement.

Except for two people, Kidd and LeBron.

After all, the former's age and experience are all here. As the number one organizer in this league known as "the base is not offensive", his stability and calmness, and never being impatient are his greatest strengths. The SuperSonics have no time to change their mentality. It was really painless and painless. I stood there looking at my nose and heart, with a faint smile on my face, just like a robot.

As for the latter...

Unlike Kidd's indifferent attitude, LeBron was very involved and focused from the moment he entered the court. Not only did he carefully watch all the activities on the scene, even when the host introduced the Sonics players, Regardless of whether he is famous or not, whether the camera is shining on him or not, he observes very carefully and applauds everyone in the Sonics seriously.

Until the final SuperSonics general appeared...

——From Lakeside High School, from the mysterious ancient Eastern country, 6 feet 8 inches, 228 pounds...

The host's opening voice had just sounded, and all the noise in the entire arena disappeared. The arena that accommodated more than 20,000 people suddenly became extremely quiet.

——Three consecutive mvp, three consecutive fmvp, three consecutive scoring champions, three times best team, three times defensive team!

The entire arena was silent, unlike when Lin Dong was at home, and countless people responded even if the host didn't even call out a single name.

This is not because Lin Dong's popularity has decreased, but because everyone knows that his title is too long!

——Two assists king! Twice dpoy! A steal king! Averaging a triple-double in 122 games! Averaging 40+ points per game in the playoffs...

The fact that the host could read it in one breath without breaking it off was also because of his amazing lung capacity. It wasn't until the host took a breather that the arena suddenly erupted with a neat cry - OH!

——The invincible rookie king of basketball, the new god of basketball in the NBA!

——OH!

Finally, we have entered the response section that fans love to hear. There is no need to interrupt the long list. After all, some fans tried it last season and almost choked the host to death.

——The prince of Seattle, the pride of Seattle!

——OH! Oh! Oh!

——Lin——Dong——! !

"OH! OH! OH! OH!"

"Lin! Lin! Lin! Lin!"

The entire stadium was boiling at this moment, with applause, screams, and cheers almost shaking the entire roof!

Lin Dong ran out of the tunnel wearing his team uniform. Everyone in the Cavaliers gave the Sonics ace respect and applause.

But LeBron, who applauded everyone else in the Sonics, laughed.

This time he didn't applaud.

The Nike Summit, the World Championships, the NBA Draft, the first three rookie seasons where he was beaten... a completely different life trajectory from another world, taught LeBron four words - don't be hypocritical.

Even if it’s just a superficial ‘don’t be hypocritical’?

He relied on this to get into Laura's bed, and also relied on this to win a good reputation among fans.

He has to maintain his personality well.

LeBron licked the corners of his mouth, and even when he discovered that the live camera had specifically given him a close-up, he remained cool and put his hands behind his back, refusing to applaud.

He wants to tell everyone that he doesn't like Lin Dong, and killing Lin Dong is his season... no, it is his only goal in life!

And when this act of independence appeared on the big screen, LeBron suddenly became the focus of attention across the United States.

LeBron could feel some of the comments directed at him from the fans in the stands around him. He even felt that he had seen various comments from fans across the United States.

A trace of arc hung on the corner of LeBron's mouth.

Targeting Lin Dong? That's certainly the main part, but it's not all he does.

This knight is so shining.

If he doesn’t take advantage of this opportunity to put himself and Lin Dong in a rival position, how can he stand out? How can he achieve what Laura said, “Hold him as the new king”?

If you want to be in power, you need not only strength and brains, but also some thoughts...

War is everywhere!