Volume 1 Western Cowboy Chapter 010: Prisoners
The Portland International Airport was crowded. It seemed that Wayne and his friends were not the only ones who came from other places to participate in today's fan meeting.
The Portland Trail Blazers during this period were considered a very popular team.
Although the Trail Blazers have only won one championship in ancient times, during the Bill Walton era.
Although they have never entered the finals after 1992, and although they once became a laughing stock for missing out on Michael Jordan in the draft.
But a fact that many people don’t know is that the Trail Blazers have appeared in the playoffs for 21 consecutive years since 1982!
This record of consecutive playoff appearances is not only the first in the NBA, but also ranks second in the entire North American sports league .
As a traditional strong team, the Trail Blazers' popularity in Portland is naturally high.
Walking on the streets of Portland, you can see fans wearing Trail Blazers T-shirts everywhere.
There are several giant billboards in the city center, all of which are displaying the Trail Blazers' promotional posters for the new season.
As soon as Wayne and Cody got off the plane, they headed straight for their target.
They had already eaten the meal on the plane, so they didn't hang around after arriving, but took a taxi to the home court of the Trail Blazers.
Portland is close to the Pacific Ocean, with cold, wet and rainy winters and hot and dry summers.
This climate is most suitable for growing roses.
Therefore, there are rose plantations of all sizes throughout the city of Portland, and a Rose Festival is held every June.
The Trail Blazers' home court also has a very romantic name - the Rose Garden.
Wayne has always believed that it would be a very stupid thing for the Trail Blazers to change the name of their home stadium to Moda Center because they sold the naming rights of the stadium.
After arriving at the Rose Garden, Wayne was completely stunned by the spectacular scene before him.
A large stadium with a dense crowd of cheering fans, this kind of scene Wayne had only seen before during military training reviews.
In addition to the fans, there were also performances by cheerleaders and mascots at the stadium entrance.
Wayne was not interested in these, but Cody beside him showed a satisfied smile...
The atmosphere was very joyful, but Wayne also heard a lot of shouting and cursing among the shouting crowd.
"What we need are real players, not a bunch of punks!"
"This team should just change its name to Portland Prison Team. These players are totally unreasonable!"
"Pippen and Sabonis are gone, but no one who should have left has left!"
"If you can't even manage your own players, how can we expect the team to perform well?"
Apparently, not all fans who come to the Rose Garden are so friendly.
Some people gathered here just to vent their dissatisfaction.
Speaking of which, the name "Portland Prison Squad" did indeed begin to emerge during this period.
Later, many Trail Blazers fans even directly called the period from 1995 to 2003 the "Prison Era" in the history of the Trail Blazers.
During this period, although the Trail Blazers' record was still acceptable, the relationship between the team and the fans had become extremely tense due to constant off-court troubles.
No wonder the team made such a sensation of this fan meeting.
Steve Patterson, the new general manager of the team who took office this summer, is committed to reshaping the team's image. To this end, they even picked Travis Outlaw, a forward with extremely exaggerated jumping ability, in this year's draft.
Of course, more importantly, he is the son of a police officer, a good boy who has abided by the law since childhood.
This grand fan meeting is probably one of Patterson's means to restore the team's image.
"Come on Wayne, let's go inside." After all, this was not the first time Cody had experienced such a scene. He led Wayne around the crowd with ease and walked to a place similar to a VIP channel.
At the entrance of the passage, there were two strong men in suits and sunglasses guarding it. They were dressed like agents from a movie.
Wayne hurriedly grabbed the admission ticket in his hand in advance, and when Cody walked up to the two of them, he casually took out the admission ticket from his coat pocket and shook it.
Although Cody thought he looked very handsome just now, the attention of the two "agents" was focused on Wayne.
His height of 2.11 meters is so dazzling!
As we walked into the rose garden, there were suddenly fewer people and the surroundings were no longer so crowded.
After all, admission tickets are not that easy to get.
If Cody didn't have an uncle working here, Wayne would probably just be shouting outside now.
The fan meeting was held in Training Hall No. 1 of the Rose Garden. As soon as Wayne and Cody walked in, the Trail Blazers players followed.
Suddenly, screams were heard in the training hall. Although not many people were allowed to enter, the small training ground was still packed.
The fans standing in the crowd were trying their best to squeeze forward or stand on tiptoe, hoping to see outside.
But Wayne doesn't have such worries. Having a good field of vision is so convenient that no one at the scene can stop him.
The Trail Blazers players smiled and waved to the fans in the stadium, and stopped from time to time to sign autographs.
Although now, these players all seem to be very friendly.
But looking at those faces, Wayne frowned.
My God, no wonder the Trail Blazers have been called the prison team in recent years, no wonder some fans outside are so angry.
Look at these gentlemen, none of them are easy to deal with!
Rasheed Wallace, who was walking in the front, was nicknamed "The Roaring Lord".
What Trail Blazers fans worry about most in every game is not that he will perform poorly, but that he will mindlessly ask for a technical foul.
41 technical fouls in a single season, who else?
A few years ago, it was he who threw the towel directly into the face of his veteran Sabonis after losing the game, causing Sabonis to leave the Trail Blazers angrily.
In addition to the game, Wallace also had troubles off the court.
Last season, when Wallace was searched by the police for speeding on the highway, the police found a large gun hidden in his Hummer. Wallace was arrested on the spot and suspended for 7 games by the league.
This is not the first time that Wallace has gotten into trouble because of the poison level in recent years.
Behind Wallace, "Flying Squirrel" Damon Stoudemire showed his full white teeth. The former Rookie of the Year winner looked like a full-name idol.
But don't be fooled by his appearance and size, he has done a lot of glorious deeds.
Last season, Stoudemire and the head coach had a complete falling out, making the Trail Blazers' already messy locker room even more chaotic.
Of course, the "flying squirrel" has also been involved in many big things.
On the other hand, Zach Randolph, who has a baby face, got into a fight with his teammates during practice last season. That guy was an absolute jerk until he arrived in Memphis.
At this time, Reuben Patterson, who called himself "Kobe Killer", was taking photos with the young fans. It is said that no one in the locker room likes him because his temper is too hot.
Most of the tough guys on the court have a bad temper towards their opponents, but Patterson is extremely unfriendly even to his teammates. When he gets angry, he even beats his teammates.
It was this "great man" who had a big fight with Randolph on the training ground last season.
Of course, how can we forget that he was once accused of raping his own babysitter...
The rest, such as Bunch Wells, Jeff McGinnis and others, are not easy to deal with either.
Rape, drug use, violence, locker room conflicts... You can find a .
"It's simply excellent, this lineup is really amazing." Wayne wiped the sweat off his forehead. He didn't know how stubborn the former general manager of the Trail Blazers had to dare to get these guys together to play.
The point is that despite all the trouble, the Trail Blazers can still make the playoffs every year in the Western Conference, where there are so many strong teams. They have no excuse to rebuild...
Of course, today everyone on the Trail Blazers team was dressed in suits and behaved properly, completely different from the thugs they usually look like on the court.
After all, this event was originally held by the team to improve the team's image and get closer to the fans.
The players are also aware of this, so no one messes around.
Amid the cheers of the fans, the "prison members" of the Trail Blazers walked to the center of the court and said a few nice words in an official tone to look forward to the new season.
Finally, when Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks was speaking, Wayne noticed that Rasheed Wallace looked at him more than once in the crowd.
After the two looked at each other for a second, Wallace showed an unsettling smile on his face.
Wayne felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, but with his height he really had no way to escape. He was too eye-catching and couldn't keep a low profile.
"Okay, now it's time for the part that everyone is looking forward to the most! Let's see which lucky ones will get the chance to compete with the players!"
After the Trail Blazers coach said this, the atmosphere on the scene reached a climax.
The most special part of this fan meeting officially kicked off.
The Trail Blazers will send out Stoudemire, Randolph and Wallace to play, and each of them will select a lucky fan to play five one-on-one games with them.
This kind of activity is very common in the NBA. During the offseason, many players will appear on the basketball court to interact with fans.
But this is the first time the Trail Blazers have tried this at a fan meeting.
Stoudemire picked a young fan as his opponent, while Randolph picked a very .
When it was Wallace's turn, "The Roaring Lord" stared straight at Wayne.
"I've been observing you for a long time, kid, it's you!"
Wallace said, hooking his finger at Wayne.
Wayne's height "harmed" him this time.
"Yeah! It's really you! I told you that you had a high chance of being selected, hahahaha! Go ahead, Wayne, playing against NBA players, isn't this what you've always dreamed of!?"
The moment Wayne was chosen, Cody climaxed and pushed Wayne out.
Wallace looked at Wayne with a smile, as if he was having fun.
Wayne immediately became nervous, even though he had a lot of sparring with Tony Allen on the training ground over the past week.
But no matter what, Mr. Tony is just an NCAA player now.
Wallace is now a genuine NBA All-Star!
Last season, he averaged .
"Come on, kid, let me see if your height is just for show." Wallace put his arm around Wayne's neck. "I don't pick on the weak. Show some strength so I won't be so boring, okay?"
What the hell, you're still threatening me?
Wayne was a little at a loss, but at this moment, the system interface suddenly popped up.
Here comes the mission!
