Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters Chapter 533: 372: Public Enemy

Chapter 533: Chapter 372: Public Enemy

Yu Fei knew the Mariners; he couldn’t possibly not know them, as the Supersonics’ desire for a better stadium stemd from there.

In 1995, the Mariners were only a step away from leaving Seattle. They wanted a new stadium because the old-fashioned Kingdo looked like a mobile toilet, not only stinking but also failing to ensure the safety of the fans on-site. Then, the Seattle governnt approved a financing plan that granted the Mariners a luxurious stadium costing 500 million US dollars.

Thus, the Seahawks, also settled in Seattle, beca envious, wanting a new stadium for themselves. If their demands were not t, they would move the team to Los Angeles.

The Seahawks even went a step further than the Mariners; they had already prepared a relocation plan. Just before the plan was to be executed, Paul Allen bought the team from the owners of the Seahawks and then he generously funded the next election, smoothly securing city financing to construct a new stadium for the Seahawks.

It can be said that the Mariners and the Seahawks were the origin of the problem.

Having both of the major league teams sponsored by the city showed that Seattle was generous, and naturally, the NBA also wanted the sa support.

...

But they hit a wall.

So, when Yu Fei heard Lanny Wilkens ntion the Mariners, he felt a sense of returning to the starting point.

“I know, they played well that year, thus they got the support of the fans, and the city approved the financing plan at the last mont.”

Yu Fei said in general terms.

“You don’t know the full story,” Wilkens elaborated, “before that year, the Mariners ant nothing to Seattle — locals didn’t care about them. Then, they made it to the playoffs and won the first round of the series for the first ti in the 19-year history of the team. Most importantly, they defeated the Yankees. Even though they didn’t win the World Series in the end, it was enough to unite the entire city’s fanbase.”

Yu Fei could vaguely understand why the Mariners received the city’s endorsent just for beating the Yankees in the playoffs.

Because the Yankees are a team whose influence transcends baseball, the top stream among the top strears. A massive fanbase brings along with it a huge number of brainless fans, and coupled with their glorious history, they have a large number of detractors all over the country.

It can be said that the Yankees are commonly t with a “one in trouble, likes co from all directions” scenario in the MLB.

“But, we are not the sa as the Mariners of that year,” said Yu Fei, “the Supersonics won the championship in 1979, we not only have a longer history but also sufficient heritage, so why do most people in Seattle turn a blind eye to this?”

Wilkens had never seen video footage of the ’79 Supersonics on the then-popular video website, YouTube. Although there were copyright restrictions, nearly no fans who had the related video material, indirectly proving the limited influence of the championship from 28 years ago.

Back then, the NBA’s comrcial influence was far less than what it is today.

Therefore, not many people would think that the Supersonics deserved a brand new stadium just because their ancestors once won a championship.

“What can we do to create an effect like the 1995 Mariners within the city?” Yu Fei asked.

A shade of green flashed through Wilkens’ mind.

“If we could defeat the Celtics in the Finals, maybe that would do it,” Wilkens said, “They have as many enemies as the Yankees, and their fans are even more obnoxious than the Yankee fans.”

Yu Fei could sense the strong personal sentint in Wilkens’ words and could imagine how he was troubled by the Celtics during his ti playing.

However, coincidentally, the Celtics indeed rose this season and are currently dominating the league ranking first.

But Yu Fei agreed with Wilkens’ statent; if the Supersonics could make it to the Finals and defeat the Celtics there, their reputation in Seattle would reach new heights.

This is because, in recent years, Boston sports fans have been evolving into the worst fan collective in Arican history.

This is related to their sports achievents.

A few years ago, the Red Sox broke the Baby Curse and, after more than half a century, won the World Series again. The Patriots, long looked down upon by Bostonians, acquired a force like Tom Brady and, over the past five years, lifted the Super Bowl trophy three tis.

Even though the Bruins haven’t won since the early ’70s, ice hockey isn’t as significant when compared to the success of baseball and Arican football. Now, the Celtics are also contending for the championship.

Bill Simmons often complains about being a Boston sports fan and facing much malice from outsiders.

Then, one of his readers from New York wrote him an email: “That’s the price of success, welco to the club.”

Winning a championship would be the strong redy needed to turn the Supersonics’ local reputation around, and it is Yu Fei’s main goal for the season.

But he worried whether so force majeure would render all his efforts in vain.

For now, he had yet to see any signs of such.

One day later, the Supersonics defeated the Bobcats at ho.

Then, just before Thanksgiving and the last ga, the Supersonics faced the challenge of the traditional Western powerhouse, the Spurs.

After sending Kidd to the Lakers, although the Spurs strengthened their wings further (obtaining Caron Butler), they severely weakened their point guard position. They couldn’t find a reliable guard on the free market.

The Spurs’ strongest starting five were Duncan, Ginobili, Butler, Luol Deng, and Bowen. They appear well-equipped on both offense and defense, but lack a reliable engine, as they could not find a trustworthy point guard on the free market.

Therefore, they could only renew Beno Udrih’s contract, allowing this European to play as a false starter, while Ginobili ca off the bench as the sixth man, playing even longer than a typical starter and bearing more responsibility.

With players like Ginobili, who are renowned for their unpredictability, their peaks and valleys are unimaginable. Against the Supersonics, Ginobili reached a divine level, scoring 32 points and 8 assists in 31 minutes, effectively blowing Roy out of the water on the periter.

Even though Yu Fei held down Butler and the “British Jordan”, Ginobili’s demolition of Roy ant that Duncan could do whatever he wanted in the paint.

The Supersonics lost the ga at ho by 10 points.

Although it was just a regular-season ga, it was not ordinary for so people.

“He is the number one center in the League,” Duncan seriously praised his opponent Kwa Brown, “I just tried to play hard.”

In this ga, Duncan scored 28 points with 15 rebounds, while the League’s top center, suffering from a lack of support, nearly starved himself, managing only 4 points and 8 rebounds.

“Brandon, based on your performance tonight, I’ve decided not to prepare any Thanksgiving gifts for you,” soone quipped.

The stats made Roy’s blowout look crystal clear.

Roy spread his hands and said, “No, just give a pile of shit to step on, I’ve been so unlucky lately.”

The phrase “Shit luck” was sothing Lin Kaiwen had spread around the Supersonics, and Roy picked the wrong ti to show off his learning ability.

Yu Fei mockingly said, “You can produce and sell that yourself, there isn’t much difference anyway.”

“Screw you, I’m not a dog!” Roy retorted.

Losing the ga was certainly annoying, but after all, it was just a regular-season ga, and as professional players, they had to get used to accepting a day’s defeat.

If Roy were facing the Celtics in the finals and got executed positionally by Michael Redd like this, then Yu Fei might have so words for him.

But now, a few words would suffice.

On the way ho, Yu Fei and his companions encountered a sudden situation.

Their path was blocked.

“What’s going on?” Lawson asked.

Lin Kaiwen, who was driving, took a look and said, “It’s the people from ‘MCCAIT’.”

MCCAIT: Make Citizens Care About Important Things.

“What are these idle people protesting about now?” Lawson asked with surprise.

Lin Kaiwen laughed and said, “The Mayor recently signed an executive order that seems to involve forcibly dismantling illegal tents around the city.”

“To block the road over that?” Lawson shook his head. “They aren’t living up to their na.”

Lawson was unaware that this was simply a microcosm of the influence MCCAIT had in the Erald City.

But Yu Fei knew that MCCAIT was the main force of public opinion openly opposing the construction of a new arena for the Supersonics.

From the dia to the public, more than two-thirds of the city supported MCCAIT.

Politicians like Nick Licata dared to publicly state that the Supersonics had zero economic and cultural impact on Seattle, largely because of MCCAIT’s support in public opinion.

Yu Fei knew that when the team submitted a financing proposal to the city governnt early next year, the reaction from this group would be fierce.

“Let’s take a detour,” Yu Fei said.

This was also the only solution, as the protestors’ usual tactic was to block roads and disrupt traffic order to pressure governnt officials to respond. If they just waited there, they wouldn’t make it anywhere tonight.

For the Supersonics’ first ga after Thanksgiving, they were facing the Magic again, and the ga was extrely tense.

In the final monts, Yu Fei drew Dwight Howard’s sixth foul. With the loss of their pillar in the paint, the Magic Team crumbled at the last minute.

For the Supersonics, this was a tily victory that let them vent their frustration from the defeat to the Spurs and prepare for the upcoming marquee battle.

On November 30th, the Supersonics would face the Los Angeles Lakers at ho, who were currently ranking first in the Western Conference.

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