Before the ga even started, fans expressed their regret online about not being able to witness a ’revenge’ ga in person... Bobcats fans are just that confident.
This is a characteristic of basketball fans in the Carolina region. With North Carolina and Duke, two powerhouse college basketball teams, being the ’second hotown’ of the God of Basketball, Jordan, and the historical place where the greatest power forward Duncan grew up, they have always been confident and hold high expectations for the local teams.
This confidence greatly helps Bobcats players, often providing them with positive feedback.
Of course, it’s also because their strength is substantial, allowing them to withstand the fans’ high expectations.
If they were weaker, like the Hornets once were, the players would face a lot of suffering. The confidence and expectations of local fans were overwhelming pressure for the Hornets players back then.
Let’s go back to the 2001 playoffs, where the 46-win, sixth-seeded Hornets exploded with Marshburn, who crushed Bowen, a newcor to the All-Defensive Team, sweeping the 50-win, third-seeded Miami Heat 3-0.
In the second round, the Hornets faced the 52-win, second-seeded Bucks. Despite being much weaker overall, Marshburn exploded, averaging 25 6 6, dragging the series to a ga 7, finally losing 3-4 with regret.
At that ti, the Hornets were weak, having lost Divac and brought in Coleman, who had gained weight to 130 kilograms due to excessive drinking during the lockout. Baron Davis and Magloire were still developing... Marshburn fought with all his might to lead the team this far, astonishing fans from other places, earning the title of ’the league’s top small forward’ in those playoffs.
Yet, when he returned to Charlotte, the feedback from fans was——Why eliminated in the second round again?
Who can take that?
Although many players made noises about leaving after the Hornets relocated, the biggest driver of the team’s move was one of the players, Marshburn. In 2002, when his contract was about to expire, he expressly stated that if the team remained in Charlotte after his contract ended, he would choose to transfer...
Aside from having the strength to withstand expectations, the Bobcats also possess another trait the Hornets of that ti didn’t have—thick skin in the players.
This is also related to strength. The Hornets spent over a decade in Charlotte without achieving any substantial honor, making them sensitive to so ’minor issues.’
On the other hand, the Bobcats have already won a championship, so occasionally losing a ga that fans hoped to win isn’t too upsetting. They feel bad at the mont, but they don’t dwell on short-term gains and losses.
See, the next afternoon, when Bobcats players bearing fans’ expectations stepped into Amway Arena for preparation, the topic of conversation was...
Zhang Yang: "Grant, heard the Magic are suing Disney?"
Hill: "Jack, you saw that news too. It should be true. I rember in ’04 or ’05, I indeed heard that the Magic’s owner, Disney, and Orlando City Hall reached an agreent to build the largest sports complex in the US, with a total investnt said to reach 1.1 billion."
Zhang Yang: "1.1 billion? The Magic aren’t worth that much, right?"
Hill: "They plan to co-invest in a new large complex to attract the University of Florida to move their football and basketball ho gas there, sharing the new venue with the Magic and hosting larger events.
Back then, the real estate market was booming, and those securities analysts all thought this business was all profit, not loss. After the news got out, Disney’s stock price rose for several days. I also wanted to invest, but it’s a good thing they refused , or I’d have lost big ti.
In ’06, when they finished the preparation, the real estate market began to cool. Orlando City Hall and Disney decided to pause the construction plan. Later, the subpri mortgage crisis happened, and the new stadium plan was scrapped completely, but almost 200 million had already been spent in the early stages. All that money ca from the Magic’s owner, and he’s been trying to get Disney to share this early expenditure for years, and Disney has been stalling, finally bringing it to court."
Zhang Yang: "Suing Disney’s legendary legal team, the Magic’s owner might not have much hope collecting that debt this ti..."
...
"Sunshine, cheerful big boy, my only specialty is smiling..."
Watching the beaming youngster bound towards his teammates, entertaining the crowd, a catchy tune echoed in Zhang Yang’s mind.
During his rookie year, he saw O’Neal pre-ga, at the All-Star Weekend pre-ga show, and now looking at Howard... he understood the phrase ’as long as you’re not embarrassed, the embarrassnt is on others,’ except darn it, he, Zhang San, was that ’other.’
Still, Howard’s ’cheerful big boy’ deanor was indeed quite convincing, making him very popular. In several popularity surveys this season, he ranked first.
Of course, the main reason was still his skill and performance. The ’naive’ image of the beast was built from the start of his career, but his popularity wasn’t high in those early years. It wasn’t until he gained all-around offensive and defensive skills these past two years that his popularity soared.
However, the day his persona crumbles will also be a thorough collapse...
The ti is now the night of December 18th at Orlando’s Amway Arena, just before the Bobcats and Magic ga is set to start.
Zhang Yang noticed Okafor also keeping an eye on Howard, so he walked up and said: "Eka, can’t stand that guy, right?"
Okafor neither acknowledged nor refuted.
Zhang Yang continued, "Tonight, let’s focus all our efforts on him, alright?"
Okafor shook his head: "He’s vital for the Magic. Without him, the Magic are nothing. But he isn’t that important on the offensive end for the Magic. Focusing on him could impact us more negatively."
Reviews
All reviews (0)