Chapter 648: 39章 Now Your Time
The Trail Blazers ended their first Eastern tour of the season on December 10. However, due to heavy snowfall, their flight was delayed, and they were stuck in the VIP lounge of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, waiting for the weather to improve.
A few days earlier, the Trail Blazers had played in the warm, comfortable South, including Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, and Atlanta.
They had won three out of four games, the only loss was against Atlanta.
After Gan Guoyang scored 81 points at home, the Hawks faced the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang again, playing fiercely, determined to defeat the Trail Blazers at all costs.
Scoring 81 points was certainly an honor that shone in the annals of the NBA, but it meant the Hawks became the background, destined to be continuously whipped.
This summer, Avia invited Dominique Wilkins to shoot an advertisement with Gan Guoyang.
Wilkins was reluctant to death, but he finally agreed, as the offer was too much to refuse.
In the ad, Gan Guoyang encounters Wilkins in a restaurant, and Wilkins, with a look of resignation, knows Gan Guoyang is about to mention that number.
Sure enough, when ordering, Gan Guoyang blurted out "81 burgers," Wilkins froze for five seconds with a blank expression, then asked, "Can you even eat 81?"
Gan Guoyang replied, "I’ll just eat one, the rest are for Barkley."
It turned out that Gan Guoyang was treating Barkley to dinner. Barkley appeared and told the waiter, "Bring 81 sandwiches!"
This advertisement was to promote the new 1989 Avia-Skyscraper, as the development of Skyscraper moved into a new phase with the end of the first triple championship.
After filming this advertisement, Avia planned to change their slogan, as the previous "Center is Center, Gump is Gump" was too lengthy.
And by now everyone knew that Gump was different from the usual centers, there was no need to emphasize it repeatedly.
Initially, Avia wanted to use "It’s My Time" as the new slogan.
After reviewing it, Gan Guoyang thought that although the slogan was imposing, it might make consumers feel distant.
Using Tang Jianguo’s words, consumers should not be persuaded but should see the situation clearly and make their own choices.
So, he suggested changing it to "Now Your Time" to inspire the youth fans and successors.
Thus, Avia added the new slogan "Now Your Time" at the end of their advertisements, voiced personally by Gan Guoyang, becoming Avia’s new catchphrase, consistently used thereafter.
Every major sports brand has its unique advertising slogan.
For example, Adidas started using their slogan "Impossible Is Nothing" in 1974, a famous quote by Muhammad Ali, to inspire athletes to break limits.
Nike launched their classic slogan "Just do it" in 1987, telling athletes to just go for it when they feel like exercising, without overthinking.
However, regarding this slogan, Gan Guoyang had mocked it, saying, "Don’t think too much, and don’t wear Nike, wear Avia instead, just do it."
Since changing the slogan in 1989, the competition between Nike and Avia gradually intensified, and conflicts began to deepen.
In previous years, the two companies collaborated more than they competed. Avia needed Nike’s marketing experience and international channels, while Nike needed to hype the competition between Gump and Jordan. The two brands targeted different consumer groups, thus coexisting peacefully.
However, as the companies grew, competition in business was inevitable, similar to the rivalry between Jordan and Gan Guoyang on the basketball court.
In the market, Nike outperformed Avia, gradually clearing out Converse’s remnants, but with Gump, Avia grew stronger and began challenging Nike’s status.
On the court, Gan Guoyang surpassed Jordan, gradually pushing the era of Bird and Magic Johnson into the trash, but Jordan also grew stronger, with the Chicago Bulls becoming the Trail Blazers’ biggest championship threat in the Eastern.
In the airport VIP lounge, an Avia advertisement was playing on the television, ending with Gan Guoyang’s "Now Your Time."
The Sporting News that followed reported the results of tonight’s game: On the road, the Trail Blazers narrowly defeated Milwaukee Bucks, Gan Guoyang scoring 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Jordan led the Bulls to a home victory over Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 50 points again this season, his second time reaching 50 points.
Rules, teammates, coaches’ changes—nothing altered Jordan’s high-scoring in games; he remained consistent, strong, and played increasingly as a team, smarter.
When the Trail Blazers returned to Portland, they were about to face the imminent threat from the Chicago Bulls, setting the stage for another Gan Qiao Battle.
Gan Guoyang stared at the television, watching the game replays, reminiscing about past games against Jordan. This year, he finally felt the threat from Jordan, like a thorn in his back, as if a fierce tiger was stalking him from behind. Even though you couldn’t see it, you could feel the chilling sensation.
This feeling was truly exhilarating.
Since 1984, Gan Guoyang had watched Jordan gradually rise.
He had reached the summit early, watching Jordan climb laboriously upwards, and now he had almost reached it.
There was nothing more delightful than defeating such an opponent.
Winning championships was wonderful, but if the opponent was too weak, it always lacked a bit of flavor.
At the end of Avia’s advertisement, every time Gan Guoyang said "Now Your Time," it seemed as if he was speaking to Jordan.
