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On January 1, 1997, the Trail Blazers faced the Suns in Phoenix.
In previous games against the Clippers and the Warriors, the Trail Blazers won even without Gan Guoyang.
This significantly boosted the confidence of the Trail Blazers; it turns out that even without you, Ah Gan, we’re still pretty formidable.
However, the game against the Suns quickly brought the Trail Blazers back to reality. Facing a not-so-strong Suns, the Trail Blazers encountered a setback at the beginning of 1997.
In poor form, they were severely defeated by the home team, suffering a major defeat, losing by 21 points—the worst loss of the season.
It was at this point that the Trail Blazers started missing Ah Gan, thinking if he were here, even in a loss, it wouldn’t be so brutal. Ah Gan would have held the fort.
In this game, Kobe scored 20 points for the first time in his career, earning 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists coming off the bench.
Of course, his small milestone did not bring victory, instead accompanied by the bitterness of defeat. Kobe still had much to learn about leading a team to victory.
Back in Portland, the whole team received a two-day break, but Kobe didn’t want to rest because on January 4, the Trail Blazers would face the Chicago Bulls at home.
After two seasons, the much-anticipated Gan Qiao showdown returned to the NBA, the most eye-catching regular-season matchup since 1984, bar none.
Times have changed, with the once-dominant Trail Blazers now challengers, and the previously struggling Jordan and the Bulls have become the league’s rulers.
After winning the 1994 championship and reclaiming the championship in 1996 with a 72-win regular-season record, Jordan was considered the best player in the league, and the Bulls the best team.
Even with Gan Guoyang’s return, his edge over Jordan was no longer as overwhelming as it once was.
This was evident in the All-Star voting, where Jordan slightly led Gan Guoyang in the 1997 All-Star game voting.
Of course, the battle on January 4 would undoubtedly significantly impact their votes.
Gan Guoyang would certainly not want to lose in this long-awaited Gan Qiao showdown, knowing the Trail Blazers lacked the overall strength of the current Bulls, so he carefully prepared for a week in Los Angeles.
On January 3, Gan Guoyang and his teammates gathered at Willamette University’s gymnasium for a full four-hour training session.
The players were very focused, as they were about to face the Bulls. No one spoke, just practicing intently.
Halfway through the training, Gan Guoyang said to Bird, "I don’t like this atmosphere; everyone is as if they’re facing a formidable enemy. In the past, only the Bulls would be like this against us, not us against them."
Bird replied, "Times have changed, the world is always changing, you must accept this, Sonny."
"No, I will never accept it."
"Then win the game and take the championship."
"Why didn’t you win more championships before?"
"Go run ten more laps, faster, quick!"
On January 4, just past 6 PM Pacific Time, the Portland Rose Garden Arena was already packed.
Three years later, the Gan Qiao showdown, a clash of titans, was about to happen again.
Before the game, Gan Guoyang and Jordan shared a globally-watched handshake on the court, cameras and photo equipment capturing the significant moment.
There was no ignoring or warm embrace, just the perfect handshake, precisely reflecting their current relationship—friends but more so rivals.
Once, they were more friends than rivals, very close, almost talking on the phone weekly.
Later, they became equal parts friends and rivals, battling in the finals, drifting apart yet still intertwined.
Now, rivals more than friends, they appreciated each other but found it hard to share everything openly.
Jordan ultimately did not walk the path Jackson wanted of "hating Ah Gan." He just couldn’t hate.
But he found another path of his own: to walk Ah Gan’s path, leaving him no way forward.
During Gan Guoyang’s two-year absence from the league, Jordan became the league’s representative, the face of the NBA.
Even though they lost to the Heat in 1995, the triumphant return in 1996 proved Jordan to be the league’s best player.
He received the most attention, the best endorsements, the largest brand influence.
Sports Illustrated wrote, "When Ah Gan left, Michael immediately perfectly filled that void."
Now standing before Gan Guoyang, Jordan no longer had that trace of fear and trepidation. He smiled, casually chewing gum, shaking hands lightly saying, "Welcome back, Sonny."
Gan Guoyang shook his head slightly and said, "Michael, you’re really annoying with that look."
Jordan smiled more brilliantly and said, "That’s how you used to look."
"I’m not as annoying as you."
"You were, even more annoying than me."
The two bumped fists and returned to their respective halves; the game was about to begin.
At the same time, in an apartment in Los Angeles, Hu Weidong finished the noodles his mother made and sat on the sofa waiting for the game to start.
Hu’s mother nagged in his ear, saying if it doesn’t work out, come back home. They had found someone for him and he should get married. What’s better about playing here than in America?
Money isn’t everything; being close to family and mutual help make life much better.
Hu Weidong kept silent, just staring at the TV screen quietly waiting.
Elsewhere, in Buton Beer’s Los Angeles office, Zhang Weiping had just finished working overtime.
The boss invited him to a bar for dinner, also to scope out the new bar’s liquor sales.
Zhang Weiping was doing quite well at Buton Beer, but he was unwilling to leave Los Angeles for San Francisco. Otherwise, he could have moved to a higher position.
The TV in the bar was on, tonight was the Gan Qiao battle, many people came to watch the live broadcast, eager to witness this earth-shattering battle.
The boss again urged Zhang Weiping to go to San Francisco, saying if he would manage the entire Western Conference area, they could offer him some shares and make him the East Asia market’s president, expanding into the Greater China Region.
Zhang Weiping sipped his drink, saying something perfunctory, while keeping his eyes on the TV, saying he wanted to watch the game to the end.
Meanwhile, Michael Jackson had left the Los Angeles Dream Manor, heading to Honolulu, Hawaii, to officially kick off his 1997 History world tour.
The concert was held at the Aloha Stadium, accommodating 35,000 spectators.
The performance on the 4th was to begin at 7:30 PM Hawai’i time, due to time difference, three hours behind Los Angeles.
As the game started in Portland, it was only 4:30 PM there, so Jackson rehearsed and prepared while having his assistant turn on the radio to play the Bulls vs. Trail Blazers game.
"Will it be a win or a loss? Win or lose?" Jackson kept asking himself this question internally, truly placing his marital decision on the game outcome.
"To be or not to be... that really is the question."