Chapter 345: Chapter 101: The Impact of the Olympic Gold Medal
As Kobe watched Su Xi stand atop the scorer’s table, arms spread wide to receive the tsunami of cheers from the entire arena, it was as if everyone was worshipping him.
Kobe was envious.
’So, this is what it feels like to be on top of the world.’
He didn’t know what song the Chinese fans were singing at the top of their lungs, but when a member of the Chinese Team handed Su Xi a national flag, and he draped it over his shoulders... in that moment it billowed in the wind.
This is what a true man should be!
Kobe felt that all the highlights of his entire life, combined, couldn’t compare to the glory Su Xi was basking in right now.
’It turns out... a basketball player’s proudest, most glorious moment isn’t lifting the Finals MVP trophy. It’s leading your country to a gold medal on the international stage.’
’I have to be in the next Olympics.’
Kobe clenched his fists, his resolve hardening.
Just then, Su Xi jumped down from the scorer’s table. His teammates rushed to meet him, pulling him into their most enthusiastic embraces.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, Argentina’s head coach was still protesting to the officials. He argued that Scola had been knocked to the ground by a flagrant foul from the Chinese Team, and therefore, Su Xi’s basket shouldn’t count.
Because of his persistent badgering, the officiating crew went to review the replay. They confirmed that Wang Zhizhi had not committed a foul. Then, they continued to watch the tape and discovered that during a pick-and-roll screen, Scola had swung an elbow that connected squarely with Su Xi’s face, which was why his mouth was now full of blood. At that, the Argentinian coach and team manager who had been pressuring the officials froze. When they then saw Scola chasing Su Xi, trying to step on his shoe to trip him, only to injure himself in the process, they hung their heads in shame.
However, the International Basketball Federation had no intention of letting them off so easily.
Their fury had been ignited. Pulling dirty moves on the international stage was a completely different matter than doing so in a professional league.
"An additional suspension is mandatory. He must be ejected. And we must re-evaluate the validity of Argentina’s last score." The International Basketball Federation issued three directives.
Argentina had suffered a double loss.
They had lost the game and their integrity.
Scola had already been carried off the court by medical staff, and now he would not be allowed to participate in the silver medal ceremony.
Whether he could play in the next Olympics would depend on how many games the International Basketball Federation added to his suspension.
Argentina’s reputation would be tarnished because of him, making them an international laughingstock and the center of the biggest scandal of the Athens Olympics.
At this moment, Coach Ruben’s heart was filled with nothing but regret. ’Why the hell did I go argue with the refs?’
Just then, the executive chairman of the International Basketball Federation added, "Pull up the replay of Yao Ming’s injury..."
The staff quickly cued up the replay. When they saw Scola shove Yao Ming, causing Yao to twist his ankle on the landing, the atmosphere at the scorer’s table instantly froze over. The Argentinian coaching staff couldn’t even lift their heads, and the rage from the International Basketball Federation was now uncontrollable.
To pull something like this on the international stage, to use such a move in the gold medal game... the maliciousness was off the charts.
At this point, the Argentinian sports officials felt like killing Scola.
’Winning the silver medal would have perfectly fulfilled this year’s mission. But he just had to pull this stunt. Wasn’t this just dragging Argentina’s name through the mud?’
’And of all people, you messed with two superstars, Yao Ming and Su Xi... Just wait to be torn to shreds by the media.’
At this moment, no one had any sympathy for Scola’s painful injury. In fact, they thought he got off a little too lightly.
...
As the Chinese Team stood atop the gold medal podium for the first time in history, the national flag was raised to the arena’s highest point, and all the Chinese fans in the crowd sang the national anthem in a powerful chorus.
Tears glistened in Su Xi’s eyes.
His teammates around him also had tears streaming down their faces. It was a dreamlike scene.
Before heading to Athens, the national team’s highest goal had been to make the podium and win a medal. But now, they stood at the very top, with Argentina and the United States below them.
LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson—these household NBA names had to tilt their heads up to look at them.
Su Xi had once again come out on top of James.
Although Olympic achievements wouldn’t be listed on an NBA stat sheet, from now on, any discussion of Su Xi would have to include a new title: Olympic gold medalist.
That was something LeBron James didn’t have.
After the award ceremony, the members of the Dream Team made a quick exit, terrified of sharing a camera frame with Su Xi and just as scared of being cornered by reporters.
LeBron James was the fastest to leave, not even glancing back.
Duncan and Iverson, on the other hand, reached out to congratulate Su Xi. The veteran players had more class and a better sense of sportsmanship.
Su Xi was quickly swarmed by reporters. He had made history. Back home, he had become the face of basketball; the entire Divine Land was abuzz because of him, and the passion of the nation was ignited by him.
"I just did a small part. Securing the victory and winning the gold medal was a credit to the entire team."
Su Xi wasn’t just being humble; it’s a five-man game. If he went out on the court by himself, it’s not like the other team would play against him.
"Yao Ming was indeed injured. He sprained his ankle, and we couldn’t let him risk it. His health is paramount; he shouldn’t have to risk his career to play in this game."
"Besides, he wouldn’t have been able to play at a high level while injured. So I told him: ’Don’t drag me down.’ And that convinced him."
Su Xi said this with a smile. When you win, you can get away with saying anything.
At that moment, a reporter asked him, "We saw your mouth was full of blood. Are you injured as well?"
"It’s nothing," Su Xi replied with a nonchalant smile.
Then, the reporter asked, "Were you under immense pressure when you took that game-winner? Did you ever think about what would happen if you missed?"
"I was calm. I knew I was going to make it," Su Xi told the reporter earnestly. "So, I never considered what would happen if I missed."
"What do you think would’ve happened?"
Su Xi threw the question back at the reporter.
"You probably would’ve been crucified," the reporter said. "The fans back home were desperately hoping the Chinese Team would win the gold."
Su Xi just smiled.
Then, reporters from other countries began to ask questions, and Su Xi answered them one by one.
This continued until a reporter from ESPN asked him, "What do you think is the difference between winning a title at the Olympics and winning one in the NBA?"
"When I win in the NBA, you get all sorts of people pointing fingers, calling me lucky, saying I only won because I was on a strong team. But now? What can they say now? You’re telling me the Dream Six Team isn’t strong?"
When Su Xi spoke English, his words were often at their most lethal.
ESPN was left speechless by the jab.
It was bad enough that the Dream Six Team hadn’t won the gold, but now Su Xi was rubbing salt in the wound.
The ESPN reporter took a deep breath and said, "Are you implying the Pacers aren’t a strong team?"
"The Pacers are the reigning champions. You tell me, are they strong?"
Su Xi tossed back the rhetorical question.
He then ignored that reporter, exchanged a few words in Chinese with the domestic journalists, and turned to head for the players’ tunnel.
...
While Su Xi was on the flight back to China, the International Basketball Federation announced Scola’s punishment: an additional three-year suspension from all International Basketball Federation-sanctioned events.
This meant he would be unable to play for his national team for at least three years.
But no one felt any sympathy for him.
Once footage of him striking Yao Ming and Su Xi was released, he immediately became public enemy number one in the media.
Even the American media joined the fray, demanding that the International Basketball Federation revoke Argentina’s silver medal and re-examine their game against the Dream Team. The American media machine was powerful; it quickly found its narrative and a reason for their team’s failure.
It was Argentina. It was the despicable Scola who, with his dirty tactics, destroyed the Dream Team’s championship dreams. If Argentina hadn’t pulled those cheap shots, the Dream Team would have surely made the finals. And if the Dream Team was in the finals, what chance would the Chinese Team have had?
Could one NBA star, Su Xi, really defeat an entire team of them?
Their logic was internally consistent.
For a time, this narrative became quite popular within the United States.
The general public was happy to believe Argentina had stolen the victory. After all, didn’t Argentina have a history of stealing championships this way? Wasn’t the World Cup won by Maradona’s handball, after all?
The Chinese media was also furious. Although Yao Ming’s injury report came back as only a minor sprain and Su Xi just had some bleeding gums, Scola had nearly cost them the gold medal.
This resentment naturally had to be vented somewhere.
When the media from both China and the United States began to lambast the same person, it was inevitable that Scola would receive the harshest possible punishment.
...
The flight landed at Beijing Capital International Airport. The moment they stepped into the terminal, they were hit by the passion of the entire nation. A massive crowd of fans packed the arrival gate to welcome their Olympic heroes home, holding banners and excitedly chanting the names of Su Xi, Yao Ming, and the others.
Officials from the General Administration of Sport were also there to greet them, presenting the men’s basketball players with flowers.
The sense of ceremony was in full effect.
After all, this was the first gold medal in the history of the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team. Its significance was immense, even landing a spot on the primetime national news broadcast that evening. This just showed how astonishing its impact was.
With this gold medal, Su Xi became the most famous person in the entire country. He was a shoo-in for numerous awards this year, not just in sports, but in social and public categories as well.
Su Xi finally managed to get back to his hotel, only for Huang Xiaoman to tell him, "You have 46 commercial shoots lined up."
Su Xi was completely stunned.
"That many?"
"And that’s after we’ve already screened them, my great hero. Do you have any idea how popular you are right now? From the ninety-nine-year-old down to the toddler just learning to walk, who doesn’t know that Su Xi is the great basketball hero?"
Su Xi thought that was a bit of an exaggeration.
But the reality was even more outrageous.
Su Xi was granted a Capital City residency permit and was also awarded an apartment by the government. On top of that, a real estate developer quickly gifted Su Xi a villa, free of charge.
Then another company gifted him a basketball made of solid gold.
His hometown gave him a cash reward, and many other companies wanted to give him houses and other gifts.
If Su Xi had the nerve for it, he could have toured the country and collected tens of millions in cash, plus tens of millions more in gifts, without any issue.
And this was in 2004.
It just goes to show, once you become a celebrity in China, making money is as easy as breathing.
In the end, Su Xi accepted the residency permit, the government-awarded apartment, and the villa in the Capital City (for which he attended the company’s ribbon-cutting ceremony and posed for an outdoor photo for their ad campaign).
He also accepted the house gifted by his hometown’s government but donated all the cash rewards to support local basketball programs.
In fact, it wasn’t just Su Xi. His other teammates were all going through something similar.
Each one returned to their hometown in glory and made a fortune... though not nearly as much as Su Xi.
Still, it was the most glorious moment of their professional careers.
Even the players at the far end of the bench were enjoying this hero’s treatment.
After all, this was the gold medal that had brought the most pride and excitement to the entire nation.
With the sensation caused by this gold medal, basketball was catapulted into the position of the most-watched sport in the country. More and more kids were choosing to play it.
This gave Su Xi hope. He believed Chinese basketball would definitely seize this opportunity to grow stronger and stronger.
Su Xi decided to stay in China for a while, shooting commercials while also running more training camps to cultivate new talent.
Furthermore, with Nike’s help, he would train more grassroots coaches, allowing them to learn the most scientific and efficient training methods and the most advanced basketball philosophies.
Nike was more than willing to support Su Xi’s efforts. For one, it would increase their influence. For another, if the Chinese basketball market grew, they would earn more money.
In Su Xi’s view, as long as the grassroots basketball scene was properly developed, talented players would surely spring up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
Although there might be a gap in physical talent compared to black players, things like basketball IQ, team spirit, and tactical execution... these were all areas where they could excel.
Su Xi stayed in China from the end of August, through September, and into October.
His return trip to the United States was pushed back again and again.
Finally, in September, Scarlett Johansson decided she’d had enough and just flew to China herself.
She really couldn’t bear to be away from Su Xi.
...
