Losing to the Pacers, being killed by Miller in the final seconds, left the Trail Blazers feeling terrible.
Especially Kobe, not only did he lose the game, but he also looked very embarrassed against Miller.
In the previous game against the Knight, he thought he had found his rhythm, but within just two days, reality knocked him back to square one.
Before the game, he was excitedly thinking he would have a wonderful performance, but instead, Little O’Neal did much better.
Facing the strong inside lineup of Schmitz + Double Davis from the Pacers, Little O’Neal scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
Scoring in double figures for the first time in his career, managing to get double figures in a game where the whole team only scored over 90 points was not easy.
Among a bunch of veteran inside players, Little O’Neal showed a lot of energy, as young as a colt.
Compared to Kobe, Little O’Neal felt less pressure, he wasn’t getting as much attention as Kobe.
Or perhaps, Kobe’s presence helped Little O’Neal absorb most of the pressure and attention.
This has to do with the public’s expectations for the two; Kobe is seen as a possible next Jordan.
But no one thinks Little O’Neal will be the next Ah Gan, at most, he’s considered the next Mitchell Thompson.
And the hope for the next Ah Gan is placed on a senior who is about to participate in the 1997 draft, a big guy.
With no time to brood over the failure, the team flew overnight to their next destination; they were heading to New Jersey.
Gan Guoyang looked at Kobe feeling down and comforted him: "Don’t be discouraged, that’s how the NBA is, you won’t always win, nor always lose. Some nights we’ll have terrible luck. Like when you go to a hotel and call an escort; sometimes she’s pretty, it’s a lucky night. But sometimes you get someone ugly, and you just go through with it miserably, feeling dejected. But what can you do? Pay the money, leave, forget about her, and wait for a pretty girl to come along next time."
This was Kenny-Carl’s "ugly girl theory" to comfort Gan Guoyang when he was a rookie.
Until today, Gan Guoyang remembers it as a way to comfort oneself and correctly face failure, which is to forget it quickly and keep moving forward.
Kobe stared at Gan Guoyang for a while and said: "Why not switch her? If she’s too ugly, I’ll just switch."
Gan Guoyang was momentarily speechless, paused for a bit, and said: "It’s just a metaphor; I actually don’t call escorts."
"I’ll definitely change if I find someone pretty, I definitely won’t settle for an ugly one," Kobe said emphatically.
Kobe has his unique rebelliousness, and he maintains his own stance on victory and defeat.
Gan Guoyang did not dwell on this issue too much, he respected Kobe’s thoughts while reminding him: "Switching is fine, just don’t force it."
In the remaining time, Gan Guoyang, with nothing to do, began flipping through newspapers; Pioneer One always had various latest newspapers and magazines for players to pass the time.
The biggest news in November 1996 was of course Clinton’s successful re-election in the presidential election.
After surprisingly defeating the elder Bush and successfully being elected in 1992, Clinton’s first term was not very smooth.
By 1994, the year Gan Guoyang retired, the Democratic Party lost the House elections, and his domestic approval rates were declining.
The presidential spouse was entangled in various scandals, making people question what kind of people the so-called First Family really were.
But as America’s economy steadily improved and the nation slowly emerged from the economic downturn of the 1990s, Clinton’s polls returned to their peak.
It showed that the vast majority of Americans are realistic, if you can lead everyone to stable days, then they’ll vote for you; as for what you do privately, it’s not as important.
Before the 1996 election, Gan Guoyang’s comeback once outshone the prosecutor’s indictment of the First Lady, clearing Clinton’s last landmine before the election.
In the November election, Clinton easily defeated Bob Dole, successfully securing another term, continuing to be the helmsman of America’s big ship.
These were all ordinary, normal content; there were also some rumor-related conspiracy theories in the newspaper media, suggesting that Ah Gan played a key role in the presidential election.
Because many major events involving Ah Gan over the years had timing points closely linked with Clinton’s polls.
Reporters and editors, who are good at imagining and sensationalizing, had reasons to believe there was a multifaceted connection between Ah Gan and Clinton’s election.
One reporter organized information on how Gan Guoyang met Clinton in the 80s, right up to his comeback in 96, in chronological order.
He wrote that behind Clinton’s election, there might be manipulation by a major country across the Pacific Ocean and that Ah Gan was actually America’s most sophisticated spy.
This tabloid ran with a sensational headline: "Eastern Cyborg of the 80s, actually the biggest nail planted in United States."
Catching the presidential election buzz, the tabloid’s sales soared, and this content was widely reprinted by many media outlets and joked about on many talk shows and late-night programs.
Gan Guoyang enjoyed reading these contents as if they were stories; he never thought that after so many years, American society is still a melting pot of rumors.
People all over the world love rumors, love conspiracy theories; the world’s rumors share one stone, Americans claim eight bushels.
All future rumors, scams, and conspiracy theories appearing in an open Chinese society can find precedent in America.