For basketball players, no matter where they are in the world, as long as the news is not so blocked, they must know that the United States represents the highest level of basketball, and the NBA is the highest competitive basketball league in the world.
Every strong basketball player, as long as he is passionate about basketball, wants to try his hand at a high level in the United States. However, due to various reasons, from the founding of the People's Republic of China to 1978, China basketball players never had the opportunity to experience American basketball culture.
197 1 Things are getting better. That year, President Mao Zedong personally approved the invitation of the American table tennis delegation to visit China, and a vigorous "table tennis diplomacy" began, and Sino-US relations officially broke the ice. 1976 After the downfall of the Gang of Four, Sino-US relations gradually got on the right track. By 1978, basketball officially became the highlight of "sports diplomacy", and China and the United States began to communicate in the field of basketball.
In June165438+1October this year, with the joint promotion of the Chinese and American governments, the China men's basketball team was invited to visit the United States for the first time, and the women's basketball team also visited the United States with the delegation. Men's and women's basketball teams have played against many American teams and started a series of "China-US Basketball Friendly Invitational Tournaments". As the absolute main force of the national team at that time, Zhang Weiping went out with the team and set foot on American soil for the first time in his life.
When it comes to "basketball diplomacy" between China and the United States, many people's first impression is1the Washington Bullets' trip to China in August, 979. But in fact, Bullet's visit to China was a courtesy return visit from the United States, but it was the visit of China men's and women's basketball teams to the United States in June 1978+0 1. It was the success of the men's and women's basketball match in China in the United States that laid a solid foundation for the "basketball diplomacy" between the two countries.
China's women's basketball team flew directly to the United States. Before visiting the United States, the men's basketball team stopped in Argentina and stayed in Buenos Aires, the capital, for some time. They have played against several local professional teams, winning more and losing less. After the last game, the players from both sides sat together for dinner. A black American player heard that the China men's basketball team was going to the United States, and turned to Zhang Weiping, who was sitting next to him, and asked, "Do you know who to play with?"
Zhang Weiping replied, "Several university teams. The first one seems to be called UCLA. " When the other party heard this, his chin almost fell to the table: "This UCLA is too powerful. You can't beat them as easily as you beat us. "
At that time, due to various conditions, China basketball players, including Zhang Weiping, really knew little about American basketball, and there was no channel to inquire about relevant information. At that time, he didn't know that the basketball team of UCLA is a famous traditional giant of NCAA, nicknamed "Brown Bear", and just completed the great feat of "winning the 10 championship in 12 years" under the leadership of legendary coach john wooden, including an unprecedented round of "seven consecutive championships".
In fact, in order to fully show sincerity, the then American government attached great importance to this "Sino-US basketball cultural exchange", and the opponents arranged for China men's and women's basketball were all basketball elites. In terms of men's basketball, in addition to UCLA, the opponents at the first stop are San Francisco University (the alma mater of bill russell, the "Lord of the Rings" in NBA), Wake Forest University (the alma mater of Duncan and Paul), Georgetown University (the alma mater of Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo and Iverson) and Rogers University (a famous school in Greater new york). In terms of women's basketball, in addition to UCLA, the University of North Carolina and the University of Maryland, the American women's basketball national team was also arranged to play the last game with them.
At that time, China and the United States had not formally established diplomatic relations, and all external liaison work needed to be completed through the China Liaison Office in the United States. China men's and women's basketball delegation is led by Mou Zuoyun, a veteran basketball player from China. The men's basketball team is led by Qian Chenghai. The main players are Zhang Weiping, Mu, Huang Bojie, Kuang Lubin, Wang Deli, He Juhua, Wang Zongxing, Xing Weining, Zhang, Liu Jizeng, Chen Kai, Ji and others. The women's basketball team is led by coach Zhou Yixian, and the players are Song Xiaobo, Zhang and Sun Ruiyun.
The first stop of the plane in Los Angeles is at night. During the descent, Zhang Weiping, as curious as others, looked down from the side window. In the dark, I saw lights everywhere on the earth, and the stars were connected together, like a vast ocean of lights, which was very spectacular. Zhang Weiping in admiration, can't help but think, turn on so many lights at night, it takes more electricity.
A little closer to the ground, Zhang Weiping found a parking lot next to the airport, with a lot of cars parked. Take a closer look, there is a huge screen next to it, with Hollywood movies in the open air. Light and shadow flow, especially dazzling in the dark night. At that time, even 14 inch black-and-white TV was a rare thing in China. Suddenly, the boys in the men's basketball team really opened their eyes and were amazed.
After getting off the plane, picking up the luggage, the men's basketball team got on the bus arranged by the United States, walked all the way through the brightly lit Los Angeles Expressway, and walked 50 kilometers from the airport to the hotel. The next day, the team members need to cash traveler's checks at a specific bank, and American drivers have to drive 50 kilometers to find the bank's branch in Los Angeles. Zhang Weiping thought, "Isn't this Los Angeles too big?"
At that time, I was new here, I had no sense of direction, and the light was insufficient at night, which led to many misunderstandings. In fact, from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the bank are two different directions, but in any case, the bustling and sparsely populated Los Angeles really left a deep impression on Zhang Weiping.
Compared with the extremely rich material conditions, Zhang Weiping is more impressed by the cultural quality of the local people. On the night of arriving in Los Angeles, on the way from the airport to the hotel, the men's basketball team witnessed this phenomenon. Although there is a red light ahead, there is no sign of a car on the road. With the habits at home at that time, you can safely drive forward. However, when American drivers see a red light, they immediately stop and wait until it turns green before stepping on the gas pedal to move on. Men's basketball boys generally don't understand. At that time, the country was not open, and the concepts of order and rules were new to China people. At that time, the boys in the men's basketball team suddenly saw the "consciousness" of American drivers, which was refreshing. Now, I'm afraid it's nothing.
In order to take care of the daily life, transportation and communication of China men's and women's basketball teams, the United States has specially organized a reception team of nearly ten people, all of whom can speak fluent Chinese. The leader is a veteran who has just retired, saying that he is a veteran. In fact, he is not very old, about thirty-four or five years old. In the evening, the veteran welcomed the men's and women's basketball teams in China on behalf of the US government. After the meal, the topic of both sides naturally turned to American basketball.
The veteran asked, "Do you know anything about American basketball?" The players of China men's basketball team and women's basketball team looked at each other, but no one answered. At that time, the problem was like a stone, and the scene was quite embarrassing. Zhang Weiping thought, we can't make a fool of ourselves. When I first joined the team at the age of 14 or 15, I heard from the coach that an American star was obviously a basketball player, and the level of events such as the 100-meter running and high jump was better than our national record. Zhang Weiping vaguely remembered his name and immediately blurted out: "If you don't know anything else, you know that there is a star named Chamberlain, awesome!"
The veteran listened to the music and said, "This Chamberlain lives in Los Angeles now. Do you want to meet him? " Of course, the players welcome, so the veteran patted his chest: "It's my treat, you wait."
The next afternoon, the China men's basketball team warmed up in UCLA Gymnasium. Halfway through the practice, I suddenly heard something at the entrance of the arena. Zhang Weiping turned around and saw a big black-faced man with a height of more than 10 meters strutting in from the outside, and walked towards them in three steps and two steps. This man turned out to be the legendary "Zhang Dashuai".
Zhang Weiping, this little Zhang man has his own appearance, wearing a pair of pale pink pants, white canvas sneakers, a pink tight vest, a big beard and a pair of big sunglasses on his head, swaggering and defiant. Zhang Weiping thought, "You know what this NBA star means."
Although Chamberlain is full of style, he is particularly polite when he is with the boys of China Men's Basketball Team. He basically answers questions and is respectful. Zhang Weiping asked him, "Do you still play basketball?" Chamberlain smiled: "Not much. I mainly play volleyball now. " Later, the veteran introduced that Chamberlain had retired and built an old castle on the top of the mountain nearby. All the facilities in the castle are tailored to his height, and everything is extra large. Because he likes volleyball, Chamberlain bought a volleyball team with his own money. He was the boss, general manager, captain, head coach and main player and had a good time.
After chatting for a while, Chamberlain left early. Zhang Weiping knew that the opportunity was rare, so he called everyone together and took a photo with Chamberlain. The women's basketball team was training next to it. When they saw the men's basketball team taking a photo with Chamberlain, they immediately shouted that they also wanted to take a photo together. So Zhang Weiping asked Chamberlain to take a photo with the women's basketball players. The veteran went up to ask a few questions and came to reply: "Chamberlain said he likes to take photos with the girls. He will come right away!"
So, "Zhang Dashuai" wanted to go and stay, and took the initiative to take a group photo with the women's basketball players. The girls lined up in front, and Chamberlain stretched out his long arm and hugged everyone in his arms, smiling from ear to ear. After taking the photo, I shook hands with the girls and thanked them. Everyone lamented: "I didn't expect this NBA superstar to be so approachable." At that time, they didn't understand. Later, they heard that Chamberlain's favorite boast in his life was "sleeping with 20,000 women" and he always liked to roll around in the powder pile. ...
On the match day, Chamberlain came uninvited and took the initiative to watch the women's basketball match in China at UCLA Arena. After coming over, "Zhang Dashuai" saw all the men's basketball players watching the game in the stands, so he came directly to sit with everyone, chatting and chatting, full of enthusiasm.
There were many fans watching the game in the stands at that time. Chamberlain came, and everyone swarmed and asked the big star for his autograph. Chamberlain also comes to the net, who asked him to sign, he will sign, but he never raised his eyes. This is a completely standardized assembly line operation. The boys on the men's basketball team lined up to ask Chamberlain for his autograph. Zhang Weiping dug out the order book of this competition and gave it to Chamberlain. Chamberlain looked up and recognized the young man of China men's basketball team who had a good chat with him. When signing the autograph, he wrote his full name on the order book with great care, and his attitude was completely different from that of the fans just now.
When the women's basketball team is finished, it's time for the men's basketball team to play. Zhang Weiping and his teammates entered the field to prepare. UCLA men's basketball players also entered the arena one after another, and the cheers of the fans at the scene suddenly reached the highest decibel, almost deafening. Zhang Weiping took a casual look at Chamberlain and saw the NBA superstar lying lazily in the stands, his eyelids drooping and he was about to fall asleep. When the game was about to jump, Zhang Weiping went to the middle circle and looked at this Chamberlain. He had disappeared from the stands.
It seems that although UCLA is a famous NCAA superpower, this "Zhang Dashuai" doesn't care about their game at all. The reason why this day is "uninvited" is to see the girls in China play ball with their own eyes.