The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 785 Anti-Hero

As the 1990s drew to a close and Bill Clinton officially began his second term, American society was undergoing an interesting cultural shift.

The heroes and idols that audiences love and admire in movies, novels, stage plays, music, and sports programs are undergoing subtle changes.

Once powerful and perfect, classical heroes resembling ancient Greek sculptures have gradually lost their appeal, as can be seen from the images of protagonists in literary and artistic works.

The hugely successful 1994 film "Forrest Gump," which featured a mentally challenged man as the protagonist and involved him in many significant events in modern American history, foreshadowed this trend.

Released in the same year, The Shawshank Redemption did not perform well at the box office, but later received good reviews. Its theme was about escaping from prison and confinement, which was also a symbol.

In 1996, a novel called Fight Club was published, which immediately made an impact, winning the Northwest Pacific Booksellers Award and the Oregon Best Novel Award. The rights were later bought by 20th Century Fox to be adapted into a film.

The novel tells an unconventional suspense story. The protagonist, Joe, is an ordinary office worker who suffers from mental illness due to immense work and life pressures. He attends many therapy groups but achieves little effect; his symptoms are only relieved but not eliminated.

During his work, Joe meets a friend named Tyler Durden, whose appearance, job, and personality are completely different from Joe's. Under Durden's leadership, Joe establishes an underground organization called Fight Club, which aims to help people of all kinds release stress and relieve their emotions.

Fight Club quickly gained popularity and grew in size. At this point, Tyler's ambitions became more apparent, and he organized Fight Club members to carry out a series of destructive acts of revenge against society.

Just then, Taylor suddenly disappeared, and Joe suddenly realized that there had never been a Taylor, and that he had done everything himself.

His psychological problems had reached the point of schizophrenia, directly manifesting another personality that drove him to accomplish a series of incredible things.

This novel reflects a kind of "masculinity" anxiety among urban men in modern American society at that time. In increasingly modernized urban life, the toughness, muscles, loyalty, and adventurous spirit of classical heroes have become more and more of a fantasy, a mirage that can only exist in people's imagination.

Men can only witness the existence of classical heroes in literary works, movies, TV series, novels, and sports events. When they turn off the TV, are woken up by the alarm clock the next day, put on their work clothes and ties, and take a car to work in the office building or factory, and after get off work they face endless family chores, marital friction, and children's crying, reality tells them time and time again that the era of heroes is over, and no one is a superman.

The tide of consumerism has made money the sole criterion for judging a person's success. Whoever earns more money, buys a better car, and lives in a better house is considered successful and has status.

The virtues of traditional heroes, such as kindness and compassion, are seen as weakness and incompetence. Their spirit of helping others and standing up for the weak is seen as a destabilizing factor in society. Their courage to explore and take risks is judged as "what's the point? It doesn't make money."

In this social trend, some people have tried to re-establish the image of traditional heroes, but few have responded. More people, especially young people, simply oppose tradition and give the middle finger to those traditional heroes. Along with them, traditional rules and the entire social authority are also being challenged.

Fight Club is a prime example. The novel's author, Chuck Paraneuk, is from Portland, Oregon, and graduated from the University of Oregon. Unsurprisingly, he is a fan of the Portland Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump.

After the novel became famous, it sparked widespread discussion in the literary and artistic circles. When Chuck Paraneuk was asked "how the character of Tyler Durden was created", Chuck Paraneuk mentioned, "I referenced the character of Forrest Gump. I dare say that Forrest Gump is the dream of every Portland boy, ever since he took Bill Laimbeer to the ground in 1985. I still get trembling when I think about those exciting games of Forrest Gump."

“But when I turned 30 and started to be busy making a living every day, I knew I would never be Forrest Gump, not even a tenth of him. Then one day, I can’t remember which day it was, maybe 30 years and 245 days, or 31 years and 8 days, all my fantasies about heroes from my youth disappeared. When I suddenly realized this, he may have disappeared for a while, just like Tyler Durden disappeared in the novel.”

"Of course, I'm still a Forrest Gump fan, I'll always support him, and I'm happy that he's back. My motivation for writing this novel is to be able to buy tickets to see his games. But I believe there won't be another Forrest Gump."

Paranuk added that he is a Portland Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump fan.

Gan Guoyang and Jordan are the best, and perhaps the last, classical heroes in the sports world of this era, especially Gan Guoyang, who is stronger and cleaner than Jordan.

He brought the traditional hero to its extreme, and even his failure and departure, like those of ancient Greek heroes, were due to fate, not his own depravity.

Jordan is the same; he keeps fighting against fate, and he's still fighting on.

But everyone knows that these two have brought the path of classic heroes to an end, leaving almost no way for those who come after them.

Anyone who tries to imitate or follow in their footsteps is very likely to end up with a haphazard, incomparable imitation due to various reasons, and easily becomes a clown.

When they've exhausted one path, others will naturally take another and open up new territories. In the past, we praised heroes; now we label them as anti-heroes.

The arts and literature world is seeing a variety of new works, while the sports world is beginning to establish new idols.

Forrest Gump and Michael Jordan remain at the top, but people know that their era will eventually come to an end.

In recent years, young players entering the league have been showing new qualities, especially their rebellious nature and street style, which perfectly match cultural trends and have attracted the attention of many young fans.

Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, Marcus Camby, Rasheed Wallace—these rookies all had tattoos when they entered the league, and some may have had criminal records. These were all labels associated with "bad kids."

But who cares? The more this happens, the more teenage fans like it. They like their rebelliousness, their unruliness, their adventurous spirit in defying traditional authority, and their passionate and unconventional playing style on the field.

However, among all these rebellious young NBA players, the most prominent, controversial, and eye-catching is Allen Iverson, the number one draft pick in 1996.

Portland No. 1 broke through the clouds and landed at Philadelphia Airport. The Trail Blazers players got off the plane and waited at the baggage claim area.

Kobe could see Allen Iverson's advertisement in the airport waiting hall. When he returned to the hotel and turned on the TV, the footage of Iverson dribbling past Jordan and hitting a mid-range shot was playing.

Throughout the journey, Kobe felt that people were talking about Allen Iverson, about his outstanding scoring ability, about his height of only 6 feet, about his past crimes and his brilliant life in the NBA, truly a legend.

For Kobe, who was only 18 years old and not yet 19, the fact that a young guard who was only a few years older than him and entered the league in the same year as him was about to become a legend was a huge inspiration.

Young people at this age often harbor unrealistic fantasies. They hope to have a bumpy and difficult life experience, and then overcome these difficulties to create a legendary story.

An overly happy and fulfilling life, along with a smooth and stable upbringing, lacks the painful memories, making it seem uncool and lacking in compelling narratives to young people.

Kobe wasn't satisfied with just ordinary setbacks. He once told Forrest Gump, "I hope that when I'm 40 and can't play basketball anymore, I can die in a spectacular accident, so that people will remember me forever."

Gan Guoyang rolled his eyes and retorted, "You're talking nonsense. Stop your pointless fantasies, you high school student."

Kobe certainly didn't stop fantasizing, and when he returned to Philadelphia, these fantasies became even more intense.

He spent high school here, four years in which his basketball talent was fully unleashed. He is a Philadelphia native, and everything here feels familiar to him.

But at the same time, he seemed unfamiliar, because he was wearing a Portland Trail Blazers jersey, and Philadelphia's basketball hero wasn't him, but Allen Iverson, who wore number 3. Before the 1996 NBA Draft, Kobe had a tryout with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he was matched up against "Madman" Maxwell, who had just transferred from the Houston Rockets to the 76ers.

Maxwell was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for a low price after he refused to acknowledge Chris Webber's leadership position. He was a highly skilled player but had a very volatile temper.

Kobe showed no fear during the tryout, actively competing against Maxwell. The 76ers' general manager, watching from the sidelines, was worried that the two would come to blows because they were playing so aggressively.

After the score was tied at 9-9, the manager called a timeout. They had witnessed Kobe's extraordinary fighting spirit, but in the end, the 76ers chose Iverson.

Because Iverson has already demonstrated exceptional scoring ability and a fighting spirit comparable to Kobe Bryant in the NCAA.

Although he has had far more trouble and controversy than Kobe, from a business perspective, this is exactly what the Philadelphia 76ers need.

Since winning the championship in 1983, this team has been in decline for too long. They failed to capitalize on the talent of the golden generation in 1984, and their team management has been a complete mess.

After Dr. J Kyrie Irving retired and Moses Malone left, the Philadelphia 76ers went nearly 10 years without achieving anything, struggling even to make the playoffs, and the team lacked a representative player to carry the team.

In 1996, they were finally lucky enough to get the number one draft pick. After the result was announced, Philadelphia fans chanted "Iverson, Iverson, Iverson!"

It can be said that Iverson's arrival in the 76ers was a popular choice. The huge popularity he brought to the 76ers gave this once-decaying traditional team new life. As for his past scandals, they seem less important.

Compared to the superstars of the past, Iverson seemed so unconventional and different.

The 76ers have had players like Chamberlain, Cunningham, Julius Erving, and Moses Malone; they were either giants or elegant figures.

Allen Iverson was an unassuming little man, but his energy was beyond imagination, and Philadelphia fans were hoping that Iverson would become their own Michael Jordan.

Why not their Forrest Gump? Because Iverson is too unlike Forrest Gump, and many young fans hope that young players and teams can beat Forrest Gump.

On game night, the National Bank Center in Philadelphia was packed with 21000 seats. After Iverson's successful challenge against Jordan, people were looking forward to his challenge against the ultimate boss, the perfect classic hero Forrest Gump.

On the posters outside the stadium, Allen Iverson and Gan Guoyang are facing off, with the diminutive player challenging the NBA's greatest giant. People eagerly anticipate whether Iverson can shake off Gan Guoyang during the game.

The team's wins and losses were not important; winning one-on-one duels was essential. This reflected the values ​​of the NBA in the late 90s.

Fans are increasingly focusing on individual skills, and techniques such as breakthroughs, dunks, crossovers, and fadeaway jump shots are popular among young people.

As for team tactics, smooth passing, backdoor cuts, etc., they're boring; most teenagers don't like watching those things.

The NBA is also intentionally guiding the rules to change and evolve the game in a way that viewers prefer.

A move like Allen Iverson using a crossover to shake off Jordan would have been called a dribbling violation 10 years ago, in the 1986 season.

By the early 90s, the requirements for these actions had been relaxed, and by the late 90s, because fans liked them, referees became increasingly lenient in their calls for ball handling and wrist flicking.

Even so, Iverson was still called for a considerable number of traveling and palming violations during his rookie season, and the authorities still imposed some restrictions on these violations.

Seeing the intense pre-game promotion, Kobe was itching to play and was quite unhappy.

He performed well after Christmas, playing more and more minutes, and away fans started asking him for autographs.

However, when Kobe arrived in his hometown of Philadelphia, he was surprised and disappointed to find that not a single local Philadelphia fan remembered him.

Apart from his parents and high school classmates, everyone else in the entire arena treated him like he was invisible.

Not entirely. Kobe saw a sign with his name and a cartoon on it that read, "Kobe, West Coast shit."

Kobe didn't know the reason; he couldn't understand why the Philadelphians had suddenly forgotten him.

This angered Kobe, and as he was about to go on the court, he told Bird, "Coach, I want to get on the court soon, I want to start."

Bird saw through Kobe's emotions and said, "I'll put you on the court, but before that, sit on the bench and observe. I'll have you guard Iverson, and if you don't do a good job, the whole city will laugh at you."

Kobe stopped talking. Bird had a firm grasp on Kobe's emotions, making the young man sit obediently on the bench and await orders.

For the Trail Blazers, this game wasn't too difficult, because the 76ers are a bottom-tier team, still at the bottom of the Eastern Conference despite having Iverson.

Iverson's performance was outstanding, but as a rookie, especially a 6-foot guard, it was indeed difficult to change the overall appearance of a team in a short period of time.

At 7 p.m. Eastern Time, the game between the two teams was about to begin. Iverson, wearing jersey number 3, stepped onto the court. He was the shortest and thinnest player on the court.

He's 21 years old, already has a daughter, and looks much more mature than Kobe.

Unlike most rookies who either idolize or cower in fear when they first meet Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump is different.

Before the jump ball, he walked up to Forrest Gump and said in a magnetic voice that didn't quite match his appearance, "Forrest Gump, I don't like you, but I'm not afraid of you either."

He stood with his hands on his hips, eyes wide, looking up at the statue that was even taller than Jordan, and challenged the NBA's first classic hero.

Gan Guoyang didn't get emotional or spew any trash talk, nor did he make any expression. He simply said calmly, "I smell the aroma of bread. What about you, Alan?"

Iverson felt a chill run down his spine. He realized he might have made a mistake; the legends the veterans told about Forrest Gump might actually be true.

(End of this chapter)