Volume 1 Western Cowboy Chapter 036 Is this going to be popular abroad?

March 18, 2004, sunny.

The 03-04 season March Madness tournament has officially begun!

It can be said that this is one of the most enthusiastic sporting events in the United States every year.

As soon as March begins, basketball fans across the United States become extremely restless, just like animals that have just emerged from hibernation - it just so happens that March Madness is held in the spring.

During this period, everyone from the President of the United States to the thugs on the streets would discuss one question: "Who do you think will win this year?"

March Madness has even transcended the scope of sports and become an activity that everyone can participate in.

During this period, the NBA's ratings will be greatly affected. On the day of the NCAA finals, the NBA will not even schedule any games to make way for them.

This is a carnival month for fans, and it is also a carnival month for players.

There are no contract disputes, no "where to go in the summer" stories, and not so much intrigue here.

March Madness is the pure basketball stage for young players to write their passionate youth.

Which young boy doesn't have a passionate basketball dream in his heart?

That exciting plot like "Slam Dunk" is exactly what happens every March Madness.

One game decides the outcome, go home or move forward.

There are only twenty days from the opening game to the final day.

From the first game to the last game, the road to becoming a champion only takes six games.

In the NBA playoffs, if you lose a game, you still have 6 chances to comeback.

But in March Madness, if you lose a game, a ball, or a second, no matter if you are in North Carolina or Duke, sorry, you can only try again next year.

As for whether I can come next year, that’s not certain.

Because for senior players like Tony Allen and players like Wayne who have decided to participate in the draft, losing would be a regret that their youth can never make up for!

Therefore, unlimited vitality and bloody fighting are the most common states in March Madness.

Wayne sat on the team bus, looking at the fanatical fans around him, and couldn't believe that he was playing in the college league.

What’s the difference between this situation and the NBA?

No, the NBA can compare to this?

Since the March Madness tournament uses a one-elimination format, both teams will play in a neutral arena.

Today's game between the Cowboys and the Huskies is held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, the gambling city.

This stadium is definitely one of the most luxurious stadiums in the United States. It cost $300 million to build in 1983 and can host a variety of sports competitions.

The stadium has nearly 20,000 seats, plus 30 luxury boxes.

Even the home stadiums of most NBA teams cannot match these hardware conditions.

At the beginning, Wayne was still wondering, with nearly 20,000 seats, can they be filled?

Wouldn't it be embarrassing if there were large gaps in the stands?

After all, Las Vegas is not the home stadium of any team. Would so many people really travel thousands of miles to this neutral place to watch the game?

But now, looking at the crowded scene outside the window, Wayne knew that he was worrying for nothing.

Not to mention 20,000 seats, even if that number is doubled, it will definitely be full!

In fact, it was not just the Las Vegas scene. At this moment, every bar or restaurant in every city in Ohio was packed with people who were ready to watch the game together.

The Gallagher-Eibar Arena was also packed. Although the game was not played there, students could still enter the stadium and experience the atmosphere of watching the game live through the simultaneous live broadcast on the big screen.

This is what is called "cloud scene".

As a top ten team in the Associated Press national rankings this season, the Cowboys are extremely popular.

The names of the "Ohio State Twins" are now known to everyone.

March Madness

It should be quite dark. After all, Wayne's dark face has been tested by the unboxing system.

When the bus drove to the entrance of the stadium, Wayne saw a huge poster of himself and Tony Allen.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, he looks like a star player. But...why isn't Roy on the Huskies' poster?"

Wayne scratched his head. The players on the Huskies' poster were Nate Robinson and a guy whose name he couldn't remember.

Logically speaking, this huge poster should feature the two star players of both teams, right?

In fact, Roy was not really the star player of the Huskies. The two top players of the Huskies were "Little Potato" and Bobby Jones.

It’s just that Sutton felt that Bobby Jones was not as threatening as Roy, so he automatically ignored him when he was introduced that day.

After entering the gymnasium, Wayne, like all his teammates, couldn't help but exclaim "Wow".

You know what, the cheerleaders at the March Madness games are hotter and prettier than usual!

Those flaming red lips, those long flowing hair, that...

"Damn, focus Wayne, focus." Wayne immediately withdrew his gaze and muttered to himself.

How did the focus go there?

"Wayne!" At this time, Teacher Tony's shout helped Wayne come back to his senses.

"Tony?"

"I'm a little nervous."

"It's not like we didn't play in March Madness last year. Why should I be nervous?"

“It’s different from last year. We didn’t get so much attention last year. We were just here for show.

But this year, we are one of the top seeds in the tournament! If we lose, everyone will be disappointed in us!"

"That's true. Besides, there are probably quite a few scouts on site during these games."

"Stop talking now, I feel like I need to go to the bathroom." Teacher Tony couldn't help but tremble in his legs when he mentioned the scouts.

After all, he was only a junior last season, so if he didn't play well, he could come back for another year.

But as he is already a senior this year, if he cannot be selected securely, his career path will be very bumpy.

That whole family is still waiting for him to play in the NBA to support the family.

"So you shouldn't be nervous. You don't want to fall back to the second round in the mock draft, right?" Wayne knew Teacher Tony's difficulty. This was the dilemma of senior players.

"Yeah!" Tony Allen nodded firmly, then grabbed Wayne's wrist, "Let's cheer for you, Wayne. Your hard work for a whole season depends on these few games!"

"I..." Wayne looked at Teacher Tony's hands that didn't know where to put them and really wanted to slap him.

It's such a passionate game, why did you make it so sissy?

Who would believe it if I told anyone that this NBA defensive star was so nervous that he pulled his teammate's hand before a game in college?

Some people, you really can't judge a person by his appearance.

After everyone arrived at the locker room, fans began to enter the stadium one after another.

Although the locker room has a soundproof door, you can still hear the rumbling footsteps and shouts outside.

Old Sutton had a serious expression on his face, and his son Sean was so nervous that he kept flipping through the tactical manual that he had developed over the past two days.

Everyone is on high alert, carrying too many expectations and eyes.

It would be a lie to say that Wayne wasn't nervous, but he was able to control himself and didn't reach the point of pulling his teammates' hands...

Before the game, Wayne also called his parents at home.

Since Wayne decided to participate in the draft, his parents have called him more and more often, and even offered to come here to take care of Wayne.

Participating in the NBA draft is a big deal. Which parent doesn't want their child to prepare well and peacefully?

Just like before the college entrance examination, parents all hope that their children can eat well and sleep well, and they are willing to take care of them in every possible way.

In Wayne's parents' view, the draft is equivalent to a "college entrance examination" for basketball.

But Wayne declined their kindness, as he felt that having his parents come would distract him.

However, daily telephone reports are indispensable, and reports before the game must not be forgotten.

Although it is impossible to watch the live game in China, Wayne's parents said on the phone that they would wait until the results came out before going to bed.

Otherwise they won’t be able to sleep well.

Well, Wayne actually has more pressure because he knows that in addition to the United States and his parents, there should be many fans in China watching him.

So Wayne dared not to be nervous, because the more nervous he was, the more likely he would perform poorly.

After the players had changed their clothes, old Sutton, who had been silent all along, stood up.

He took out the four NCAA Coach of the Year trophies he had won so far in his coaching career from a small box next to him.

"These trophies carry far more than just my honor, but the honor of everyone that year! When I see these trophies, I will think of the players who walked with me all the way that year.

We have been through the lows and now we have the opportunity to climb to the top.

This year, we have great hopes of making a breakthrough in the championship and we have a good chance of being in a position that no one has ever been in before.

So, go out there and show yourselves! Make me proud of you and let’s make some memorable moments!”

Old Sutton did not talk about tactics or emphasize key points, but just chatted with the players.

Because he knew that talking about tactics at this time would be counterproductive.

When the players go on the court, their minds will be confused and they won't be able to remember anything, so it will be useless to talk about tactics.

Instead of doing this, it would be better to motivate the players and eliminate their nervousness.

After all, he is an old coach. When it comes to controlling the players' emotions, old Sutton is very good at it.

Teacher Tony was obviously persuaded and secretly hit his chest.

Wayne also took a deep breath. The final sprint before the draft tryout is now!

Finally, Sutton gathered everyone together in a circle and shouted a few slogans.

The young men all had fire in their hearts, and old Sutton could ignite it at any time.

With his encouragement, Wayne and his teammates rushed out of the locker room with full enthusiasm.

As soon as Wayne ran out of the player tunnel, he was dazzled.

Nearly 20,000 pairs of eyes and countless cameras and reporters were watching them!

Most of the fans at the scene wore orange T-shirts and stood up and cheered - that is the main color of the Cowboys.

Larry Bird sat in his office, staring at the screen.

Next to him sat the team soul Reggie Miller, and... Artest who followed Miller to join in the fun.

"Who did you say was great?" Seeing the Cowboys players coming out, Artest moved his face closer.

"That Asian guy." Bird answered unhappily. He obviously wanted to invite Miller to express his opinion on Wayne. He didn't know why this brainless guy came to join in the fun.

"Oh, he's so thin. I estimate one elbow can make him lie down for a week , hehe." Artest said, showing off his iron elbow, seeming quite proud of it.

Bird couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth twice. This guy... there must be something wrong with his brain!

At the same time in Detroit, in the physical therapy room of the Palace of Auburn Hills, Rasheed Wallace, who has moved to the Pistons, was receiving a massage while watching TV.

Billups, who was also preparing to receive physical therapy, walked in and picked up the remote control to change the channel, but was stopped by Rashid.

"Huh? Ohio State vs. Washington? What's so interesting about this? There's Connecticut on the next channel. Don't you want to watch Okafor?" Billups looked confused. Isn't the game between the top pick candidates more exciting than this?

Moreover, Billups graduated from the University of Colorado, which was badly beaten by Ohio State this year.

Therefore, Billups has no good feelings towards the Cowboys.

"Just watch this game, Ray (Billups' middle name). Don't you want to see how the Cowboys were defeated?" Tianzun was furious. Although he was no longer a member of the Trail Blazers, he had not forgotten the humiliation he suffered in Portland last year.

"Now that you mention it...Okay, let's watch this game." Billups spread his hands. He would be very happy to see the Cowboys lose.

Trail Blazers general manager Patterson was also staring at the screen. The reason he decided to grit his teeth and send Rasheed Wallace away in the middle of the season was because he believed Wayne could replace him.

Countless eyes were on Wayne, including, of course, Nate Robinson and Bobby Jones who were present.

The two were eager to try, but the opponent was only 2.06 meters tall and couldn't jump very high, so there was nothing to be afraid of!

Especially Jones, he doesn't care how tall the opponent is, because he has dunked over countless people who are taller than him, and height can't prevent him from completing aerial performances time and time again.

Dunking on Wayne in front of so many people and so many cameras...it's exciting just to think about it!

Wayne didn't know that he was being stared at by the two spring men with malicious eyes. Halfway through the warm-up, someone suddenly said that they wanted to interview him on the sidelines.

Wayne turned his head and saw that it was Coach Zhang and the staff from CCTV Channel 5!

"Coach Zhang, why are you here?" Wayne was a little surprised, because in this era, let alone NCAA, even for NBA games, the country rarely sends a team to the scene.

Generally speaking, only NBA finals-level games will have Chinese reporters and commentary teams go to watch the game on site.

It was not until the wealthy Penguin Entertainment entered the NBA that it created a precedent of having a team of Chinese reporters on the sidelines to interview almost every game.

"You have to come, we want to make a complete record of your process from March Madness to the draft! Play well, Xiao Wei, many fans in China are waiting for news from you!" Zhang Weiping smiled from ear to ear. It was also his first time to watch a March Madness game in person and he was very excited.

"Yes, I'll let you go back with good news."

"Oh, that's right!"

Nate and Bobby, who were far away, saw that the Chinese reporters had arrived and became even more eager to get started.

Damn, if we play well today, will it become famous even abroad?

They have already begun to fantasize about becoming famous all over the United States after this game.

Soon, the referee signaled that both starting players were ready.

Nate and Bobby's eyes were full of Wayne, but the most nervous person on the Huskies team was Roy.

Because Roy found that Wayne was not looking at Nate or Bobby, his eyes were full of himself!

"this……"

Roy swallowed, he didn't know how a small role player like him could be targeted by the big boss.

At this moment, the referee threw the ball into the air, and the Cowboys' March Madness journey officially began.

The Huskies won the first attack and Nate Robinson advanced with the ball.