Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Entering the new year, the SuperSonics were far ahead in their record, and in the All-Star voting, Yu Fei was leading as the top vote-getter by a million votes. Besides Yu Fei, Roy and Durant were also favored by the fans. According to ESPN's predictions, the SuperSonics are very likely to have three players selected for the All-Star game this season. In the local area of the SuperSonics, Clay Bennett claimed that there were numerous investors for the new arena of the SuperSonics, and if it weren't for the NBA's rule that building a new arena must have local government support, financing from society alone could gather the necessary funds. Compared to before Yu Fei's arrival, the influence of the SuperSonics in Seattle has dramatically increased. The Seahawks and Mariners, the other sports teams in town, felt this most profoundly. In past financial reports, the SuperSonics often reported last and always at a loss. But now, just two months into the NBA's new season, the SuperSonics hastily announced that their income to date had already broken even. Which means, starting today, every penny the SuperSonics earn is profit. Bill Tinsley, an economist from Seattle, states: "The SuperSonics are Seattle's biggest cash cow, their economic benefits are growing daily. According to statistics, the economic impact directly or indirectly triggered by Seattle will bring an economic effect of 300 to 500 million US dollars to the city." For a franchise that can be profitable with annual revenues of 70 million US dollars, this number is astonishing. The huge economic impact ultimately comes back to the initial question. "The economic miracle of the SuperSonics was created at the Key Arena. From an economic standpoint, Key Arena is limiting the potential of the SuperSonics. From the perspective of the city's long-term development, the planning for the new arena is urgent." Greg Nichols, the mayor of Seattle, went from initially being vague to gradually favoring the SuperSonics: "The SuperSonics have proven their cultural and economic value to Seattle. As long as they meet the statutory requirements, I will vote in favor (of the funding plan for the new arena)." The correctness in politics and the economic recovery are the chain reactions brought about by the SuperSonics' last season's championship. It seems everything is moving in the right direction. However, despite the advantageous timing and circumstances, there's still a force within Seattle obstructing the progress of the agenda. MCCAIT: Make Citizens Care About Important Things is Seattle's largest civil rights organization. Their mission is to compel the government to focus its energy and finances on the most urgent matters for citizens through active voicing and social movements. For them, helping the SuperSonics build a new arena is not one of those urgent matters. When the SuperSonics were losing money year after year, they believed that since the team wasn't profitable, taxpayers' money shouldn't be spent on a new arena for them. Moreover, if the team owners are billionaires, why should taxpayers' money be used to make these rich people even richer? Now that the SuperSonics are making money, their logic has become: since the SuperSonics are profitable and have societal support, why spend taxpayers' money? More than half of the Seattleites support MCCAIT, but that doesn't mean all these people are opposed to building a new arena for the SuperSonics. In such a large organization, different opinions are bound to exist. The current issue is, nearly half a year has passed since the SuperSonics won the championship, the recency effect has worn off, and the passion of the winning fans has cooled down. That is why Stern said one championship is not enough. They had to prove not only that they had money but also that they could continue to win. "One point I must emphasize is that the money from the city government does not go into my own pocket. The city government and other investors will become the owners of the arena." Bennett actively attended local Seattle TV stations, speaking endlessly about NBA economics. "Why do I say this is a good thing for Seattle? Because we have Frye. He can have a lasting impact on Seattle's downtown economy just like Michael Jordan did for Chicago in the 90s. I can assure you, the 250 million dollars in financing will bring a fivefold to tenfold return within ten years." Although the SuperSonics have to wait until next June to formally submit their financing plan to the city government, the related publicity has started as if it were an election campaign. Yu Fei was the core of the publicity. The SuperSonics' external slogan was, "Embrace Frye, exchange 250 million US dollars for a future of 5 billion US dollars." Even Yu Fei himself didn't know that he could bring an economic effect of 5 billion US dollars to Seattle in the future. However, he understood Bennett's approach of painting a rosy picture for the citizens. Because the MCCAIT organization had played the card of "focusing on specific people and events," they had to paint that picture—it was a magical hedge. In the past two years, Yu Fei's name and image had been overused by the people behind him. The result was that people in the circle could hear or see his name wherever they went. His name began to become a symbol, and the media's attention to him started to explode. Outside, Yu Fei hardly had any privacy to speak of. Kwame Brown envied this kind of attention, where just going somewhere meant countless eyes were on you. Yu Fei gave him a blank look, "Being Frye for a day might be a dream come true for you, but have you thought about living like this every day of the year?" "What's so bad about that?" Brown would die to become such a person. Yu Fei sighed, Brown couldn't understand his pain because he hadn't experienced it himself. Brown absolutely couldn't understand. Not long ago, when Yu Fei and his rumored girlfriend Rachel Lefevre attended an event for Twilight City, just because the paparazzi captured him talking to Twilight Girl Kristen Stewart, they started speculating whether he and Kristen had something going on. And such gossip appeared about him almost every few days. Media from different industries began to take an interest in him, eager to explore his secrets and dark side. For them, creating a god was fun, but shattering the idol was interesting too. Yu Fei's rise to power had just reached the post-1996 Jordan's position, but the scrutiny he faced was of the 1993 Jordan level. To the media, he was still missing a major scandal to perfect his image—they didn't believe anyone could be without flaws; if you were human, you had weaknesses. Jordan had a gambling habit, Woods was addicted to pleasures of the flesh, Tyson had too many issues to count, Magic Johnson contracted HIV, Bird didn't speak like a normal person... Starting with the baseball god Babe Ruth, down to the modern sports history's first superstar Joe Namath, everyone had their shortcomings. But what about Yu Fei's flaws? Arrogance, vindictiveness, relentless pursuit of enemies, and a lack of reverence for his seniors... anything else? As an athlete, these weren't serious issues. Those media focused on tarnishing the idol felt, "Frye is still missing a The Jordan Rules style book to reveal his true colors." Yu Fei could easily handle sports journalists and was an open book when it came to basketball. But what about tabloid journalists, those focused on social hot topics, and entertainment reporters? Yu Fei had no energy to deal with these people. He made a choice similar to Jordan's. He closed himself off. Starting from 2009, anyone wanting to interview Yu Fei needed to make an appointment through his assistant, Lin Kaiwen, and wait for his own approval. The sports journalists who focused on basketball coverage were collateral damage. Because Yu Fei treated all media the same. This led to those in the basketball media trying to write positive articles about him in hopes of getting close to Yu Fei. It was during this time that Yu Fei encountered the no-go zones that Jordan had set up for the gods and others. Suddenly, a class difference began to appear between the players and the media. Sports journalists had to tread carefully around Yu Fei, thinking of all ways to avoid making a mistake. They imagined scenarios where, if they upset Yu Fei, they would never get another chance to approach him. Because that's exactly what Jordan did back in the day. In the middle of January, the SuperSonics visited Chicago. A journalist from the "Chicago Reader" wanted to do a short interview with Yu Fei. Yu Fei glanced at Lin Kaiwen. Understanding the cue, Lin Kaiwen stepped forward and said, "Frye is not accepting interviews today, you can ask your questions after the game if you have any." "I only have one question." The other party pleaded. Lin Kaiwen said impatiently, "Don't make me repeat myself, you can't get any answers from Frye now!" The journalist was desperate. After Yu Fei and Lin Kaiwen had disappeared, someone beside the journalist said discontentedly, "That asshole is just a dog by No. 44's side, what right does he have..." The rejected sports journalist, pale-faced, said, "What gives him the right is that No. 44 is willing to keep him by his side." Now, the refused journalist will work hard for a credential to tonight's post-game media access room. Today was Yu Fei's first visit to Chicago this season, with countless media gathered and visitation rights mostly booked by major newspapers, leaving no better opportunity for these small fry to get close to Yu Fei. That night, Yu Fei actively guarded Ross. And he had a question for Ross. "Derrick, you have to tell me why you chose No. 23 over me." Every time Yu Fei said this, he would score over Ross's head. "No other reason." "Wrong answer." The next round, Yu Fei backed Ross down and overpowered him. In the end, Ross had a memorably bad game. He shot 2 for 12 from the field, while Yu Fei almost called out his shots, scoring 35 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out 8 assists all over him. Some thought that Yu Fei was too rough on Ross, a clear case of bullying. When Yu Fei arrived at the media access room, dozens of media outlets and nearly a hundred people crowded into a small room. Everyone was eager with anticipation, hoping to be called upon. In Yu Fei's eyes, these people all seemed to sport friendly smiles, almost convincing him that the media present were his fans, there for him, and would never do him any harm. Yet Yu Fei deliberately chose a local Chicago media member to ask the first question of the evening. "Frye, you scored 35 points tonight, but 24 of them were over Derrick Ross. Is this motivation... or... suppression?" Yu Fei smiled and said, "What do you think?" The other party took a deep breath, knowing that his response would determine his future ability to question Yu Fei. He knew that his fellow journalists were spineless wimps; they would kneel and lick Yu Fei's filthy feet, but he was a Chicago journalist. In Chicago, there is only one god. "I think you weren't kind to Derrick!" The journalist boldly stated. "At the end of the draft, someone asked Derrick who his favorite player was. He first said me, then he mentioned No. 23," Yu Fei answered slowly, "Eventually, he said he preferred No. 23. I couldn't understand what I lacked compared to No. 23. So, to make him like me better, I decided to play tonight like No. 23 would." Yu Fei's tone wasn't harsh, and his facial expression remained unchanged, with a slight smile still on his lips. However, to everyone there, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became more somber. Because Yu Fei was staring down the Chicago journalist like a wolf and softly asked, "Do you think I resembled No. 23 tonight?"