The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 72

1984 finally arrived—the year of George Orwell's grand and terrifying vision of the future…

The young punks were disillusioned with the world, watching CBS, MTV, and ESPN begin to dominate the scene, while Michael Jackson's management company and PepsiCo beamed with pride as they counted bundles of cash. All these companies were inspired by the historic transformation brought about by the album *Thriller*, ushering in a new era for popular culture…

In January 1984, Jackson's hair was burned while filming a Pepsi commercial, but this did not prevent him from sweeping the Grammy Awards in February, winning eight awards. His appearance at the Grammy Awards ceremony caused advertising rates to skyrocket... The film industry also felt this trend, and MTV strengthened the cooperation between film and music, targeting young audiences and hoping to become a spokesperson for teenage rebellion and anxiety...

In politics, Jackson was Ronald Reagan. Like Jackson, Reagan's voice inevitably carried a conservative tinge, but after refinement, it sounded fresh. However, what was even more surprising was the NCAA National Championship in March 1984, where a Catholic school from the Northwest sparked a nationwide frenzy, pushing traditional values ​​to new heights…

—Excerpt from Kevin Mattson's 2012 book, *We're Not Here to Entertain*.

At 5:30 a.m., as dawn broke, a group of people wearing red tracksuits were running in neat rows along the winding riverside road on the north bank of the Spokane River.

The air was chilly and damp in the early spring morning. Thick morning fog drifted and spread from the river, enveloping the roads and buildings along the river.

They ran carefully and in an orderly fashion, wearing bright red clothes, avoiding vehicles and pedestrians.

Heading north along the river, the group gradually left the riverside area and entered the city of Spokane, arriving near Gonzaga Prep School, where there is a large stadium, the only rugby stadium in Spokane.

Without lingering, the group turned west, heading towards Spokaneford Community College. As the morning mist gradually dissipated, the group's pace picked up, but no one fell behind.

By the time they arrived at Dwight Market Sports Center, the fog had lifted, the sun was rising, and the team turned south, the way back to the starting point, and began to speed up.

The leader shouted "Charge!" and the red team sped along the road like an arrow, passing through houses, shops, parks, laundromats, and parking lots, sweeping through every ordinary corner of the small town like a red wind.

Vehicles and pedestrians on the road made way for them, and children on their way to school stopped their bicycles and shouted encouragement to Gonzaga.

Cars stopped and honked at them, elderly people doing their morning exercises applauded them, and old ladies going out for a walk waved their canes in encouragement.

The high-speed sprint puts a tremendous strain on physical strength, and the originally compact team is stretched out, but no one stops or falls behind. When they see the black twin spires of St. Aloysius Cathedral, everyone knows that the finish line is not far away.

The leader, who was charging at the very front, shouted again, "Final acceleration!" As if he had a turbojet accelerator installed, he was able to accelerate and rush towards the church.

By this time, the people behind could no longer keep up and could no longer sprint. They could only obediently run at a steady pace to the finish line, stop in the square in front of the church, panting heavily, spitting out saliva, and the smell of blood filling their throats.

"Everyone did a great job today, no one fell behind, which is really remarkable. This is our last morning run before the national competition. Resting in the next few days is even more important. Building up physical strength is the top priority, as the national competition will be extremely demanding."

Berman kept a watch on and held a form in his hand to record the team members' scores. Running half a lap around Spokane early in the morning was the basic warm-up exercise for Gonzaga Bulldogs' training day.

He recalled that when he first arrived in Gonzaga, the team members found it difficult to endure his inhuman physical training, but Stockton felt it was nothing and could persevere relatively easily.

Now everyone can persevere, and there are even monsters like Gan Guoyang who finish the run as if nothing happened, standing there barely panting.

Bellman said to Gan Guoyang, "You're running too slowly. You're only 29 seconds ahead of second place. You should be more than 30 seconds ahead."

“I am a leader, and I need to make everyone see me. Besides, everyone is making progress, and it's difficult for me to take another step forward. I've done my best to run.”

Bellman was satisfied with Gan Guoyang's answer. At that moment, he noticed a person taking pictures of them with a camera near the bushes not far away.

He yelled, "Hey! What are you doing, you son of a bitch? Which newspaper do you work for? Are we some kind of state secret weapon, or Soviet spies? You need to keep an eye on us like this!"

As he spoke, Berman jogged over and pulled the man out; the Bulldogs had been subjected to far too much media harassment lately.

During the preparation period for the national tournament, hotel rooms near Gonzaga University were fully booked, and reporters from newspapers, radio stations, and television stations all over the country came to the team hoping to get even a glimpse of the team.

To protect the players' privacy and allow the team to focus on preparations, Berman refused all attempts to photograph or interview the players, as he did not want these young players to be disturbed.

Bellman chose a foggy morning to start his day's training, but he still couldn't escape the reporters' keen sense of smell; they were like paparazzi, relentlessly infiltrating his area.

Although he managed to grab the reporter, Berman didn't have the authority to confiscate his camera. He had no choice but to yell at the reporter and chase him away.

The coaching team is trying to create a stable and peaceful environment for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in preparation for the all-around challenge of the national competition.

As the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, they could be eliminated in the first game. This has nothing to do with their ability, because the NCAA national single-elimination format is so brutal that anything can happen.

The clamor of public opinion will amplify everything: victory, defeat, happiness, loss, joy, and pain. Emotions that originally belonged only to you and your teammates will swell like a tumor under the influence of external forces, remaining forever in your body and tormenting you until you die.

Having experienced all of this, Berman is very sensitive to the swarms of reporters who come like wild dogs and vultures, and he drives them away as soon as he spots them, preventing them from getting close to his precious players.

However, during a break in training today, Dan Fitzgerald approached Bellman and discussed holding a media open day the day after tomorrow, inviting reporters to the school to interview students and let them know about the bulldogs' preparations.

Berman was surprised and said, "Dan, we agreed to protect our players before the national tournament."

Fitz said, "Yes, we want to protect the players, but isolation isn't necessarily protection. We're not a concentration camp, so why not let the reporters in to get the information and actually stop the harassment?"

"But I have experienced that kind of gossip and noisy public opinion environment, which can cause people to lose their mental balance."

“I know Bobby, but you also have to believe that our players are different, right? We're not like many teams. Our baseline record is second in the nation, only behind Stanford. We have no tattoos, no alcoholism, no drug use, and not a single player has been warned for academic reasons. They are all academically excellent, hardworking on the court, and law-abiding off the court—they are all top-notch kids. We should show that to the nation. We are proud of them, aren't we?”

After thinking for two minutes, Bellman nodded in agreement with Fitz’s opinion. Although he had not completely given up drinking since arriving in Spokane (he would occasionally go to his father Stockton’s bar for a drink), he had broken his drinking habit.

Fitz patted Bellman on the shoulder and said, “We are not Georgetown, and you are not John Thompson. We have our own culture and values, and we firmly believe that our belief in these values ​​is the key to getting to where we are today.”

Bellman rolled his eyes and said, "The key to our success today is Gan. Gan is also part of the faith! He is Gonzaga's basketball Jesus."

As Dan Fitzgerald had hoped, the Gonzaga Bulldogs held a public training session before departing Spokane and were open to all media outlets for interviews.

That afternoon, the Kennedy Center was packed with people, including not only reporters, but also many students, school leaders, and local celebrities.

After training and interviews, the school held a simple departure ceremony for the team, where each Gonzaga student threw a golden orange rose, symbolizing victory, onto the field to express their best wishes for the bulldogs' first national championship journey.

On this day, the florists in Spokane sold out of roses, and even the red and white roses were dyed gold.

The Bulldogs, fully equipped and ready, then departed from Spokane International Airport for their competition venue: Salt Lake City.
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"What kind of place is this? Why is there nowhere to eat at night? My stomach is growling."

"I thought Spokane was the most desolate and quietest city at night. Fuck, that's because I haven't been to Salt Lake City!"

"Steve, how much longer do we have to walk? My throat is so dry and I'm so hungry."

On the evening of March 15, 1984, due to a flight delay, the Bulldogs did not arrive in Salt Lake City until 8:30 p.m., an hour and a half later than scheduled.

When I checked into the hotel, it was already past 9 p.m., and the Salt Palace Hotel's buffet restaurant was out of food.

A group of hungry people had no choice but to wander around Salt Lake City, looking for a restaurant to get a hot meal.

As a result, most restaurants in Salt Lake City were closed at that time. If the Bulldogs' players and coaches hadn't been white and wearing sportswear, the passing police would probably have taken them to the police station for a thorough interrogation.

With the help of two kind police officers, the Bulldog team found a movie theater that served food. Each of them bought a movie ticket and ate hamburgers, fries, and cola while watching the movie in the dark theater.

They chose the movie "Once Upon a Time in America," which had just been released this year. After watching it for an hour and a half, everyone was completely confused and said they didn't know what it was about.

Gan Guoyang, munching on a hamburger, said, "It must be because too much was cut out that it looks bad, especially since all the protagonist's memories were cut out. The one who controls the past can control the future."

“I don’t want you to dominate the past, I want you to dominate the three-second zone, Gan,” Bellman reminded Gan Guoyang.

After returning to the hotel, Stockton and Gan Guoyang said that Salt Lake City was a terrible place and it was bad luck to start the national tournament here.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "Then you're in for a lot of trouble."

On March 17, the NCAA National Championship entered its second round.

On the day the Bulldogs arrived in Salt Lake City, Dayton University defeated Louisiana State University to earn the chance to challenge the West Division No. 2 seed, Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Louisiana University only stayed in Salt Lake City for two days before returning home to end their season's efforts.

Salt Palace, originally home of the Utah Jazz, was vacated for use by college teams.

The Jazz's game attendance has consistently been less than 50% of capacity. The owner has been considering moving the Jazz to Las Vegas instead of keeping them in this Mormon community, a place where you can't even find a place to eat at night.

But tonight, the Salt Palace, with more than 10,000 seats, was packed to capacity. Even before the game started, the noise was so loud that you wanted to cover your ears.

Before the match, the Bulldogs players looked a bit nervous, their faces serious and tense, with Stockton's lips even turning slightly pale.

Only Gan Guoyang remained calm; he simply felt the scene was too noisy, and people had to shout to communicate with each other.

However, when the game started, he felt that it was much quieter around him. It wasn't that the sound was quieter, but that he was focused and no longer paid attention to things outside the game.

The two teams had never played against each other before, which is the most exciting part of the NCAA national tournament. Anything can happen when two unfamiliar teams meet.

Even among arch-rivals, the rapid turnover of student players and the frequent changes in rosters make the outcome of the match unpredictable.

Dayton is an offensively-oriented team with a strong outside shooting presence. Their leading scorer, Roosevelt Chapman, is a very effective offensive guard.

He scored 30 points in the first round against Louisiana State.

From the very beginning of the game, Chapman launched a relentless attack on the Bulldogs' outside shooting.

His skillful dribbling, powerful breakthroughs, and accurate pull-up jump shots threw the Bulldogs' backcourt, who were used to zone defense and had never encountered such a strong black shooting guard in the regular season, into chaos.

In the first half, Chapman scored 19 points in just 20 minutes, proving unstoppable at the Salt Palace.

However, looking at the score, Dayton University was still trailing the Bulldogs by 4 points, 44-48.

Gan Guoyang scored 23 points in the first half, exactly 4 more than Chapman.

During halftime, Gan Guoyang said to Stockton, "John, in the second half, you need to take care of Chapman in defense. If you can't take care of him, I'll take care of him first, and then I'll take care of you."

Stockton scored only 2 points and had 3 assists in the first half, along with 2 turnovers. His individual performance was completely overshadowed by Chapman.

Upon hearing Gan Guoyang's words, Stockton's lips, which had been pale, regained their color, and his eyes became as aged and resolute as rocks.

(End of this chapter)