Chapter 1 Philadelphia's Airport

This man dominates the vast majority of memory stories about the hero's iron will

When we are fragile and self-pitying for past events or setbacks

Something is enough to make us feel ashamed and weak

We can't ignore the power of example

That man gave a contemptuous smile to all hypocrisy in an era, and also gave a look at all the dreams of that era.

- To Iverson

The reporter interviewed Alan Iverson.

Reporter: What is the most important thing in your life?

Iverson: Wife, children, mom, my family. I love you because you love me.

Reporter: You always show a stronger desire to win than others, what does victory mean to you?

Iverson: Everything is as important as life. I can't tell, as long as I'm on the field, I'm going to get into a fighting state. I want to win every game, all I want to do is win.

The reporter interviewed Michael Jordan, the basketball god at the time of retirement, in 1997.

Reporter: Hello! Michael Jordan, of course, for your time, I'm just asking one question. Now that you're retired, who do you think is the most qualified to be the next you in the NBA?

Michael Jordan: Let's be honest, I'm not going to answer that question. If you want to talk about who is the most tenacious, who is the fastest, who is the bravest in the NBA. I would have no hesitation in recommending someone. That's last year's rookie champion, the 1.83-meter defender Allen Iverson.

Reporter interviews Kobe Bryant of the Lakers after the 2001 Finals.

Reporter: Bryant, first of all, congratulations on winning the championship title. Are you happy?

Bryant: No, I'm not happy because I haven't met someone as tenacious and he scares my heart.

Reporter: Oh! Oh, my God! Bryant, pardon me for being stupid, who are you talking about?

Bryant: Who else can the 76ers have, isn't it the one who only has one. At 83 meters, Alan Iverson, who wears pigtails but is never afraid of anyone. Seriously, in the face of him, I feel a lot of pressure in my heart.

In 2012, reporters interviewed a yellow man who was an NBA player from China.

Reporter: Hi, hello, Yu Yang. First of all, congratulations on leading the 76ers to this year's championship.

Yu Yang: Well, I'm very happy, it's all thanks to my teammates, without them, how could I stand on this stage of the championship?

Reporter: That's a good point, Yu Yang, I want to ask you, how did you choose to come to the NBA arena, and how did you choose the 76ers?

Yu Yang: Because of dreams, because of idols. When you see the bleak back that used to be on the 76ers court, when you see the bruised body, when you see the haggard and restless face. I guess whoever it is? As long as he's a fan of him, and if he has the ability, I think he'll choose to help him, and that he's my idol – Allen Iverson.

An airport from Philadelphia to Yanjing, China, in 2015.

The sun is scorching against the reflective concrete-cemented floor, which is the hottest midday sun. This is Philadelphia's airport, as it's noon with only a few pedestrians. Suddenly there was a commotion inside the rest stop, and there were blacks, whites, inside. Suddenly, a voice came: "Here they are." After saying this, the whole airport immediately fell silent.

Everyone's eyes were full of anticipation, and their eyes looked at the entrance of the station. Just then, two people came through the door. A black man, a yellow man, a black man wears a pair of black sunglasses, a small braid on his head, and is about 1.8 meters tall.

He wears a black shortcoat, a pair of shorts, and a pair of basketball shoes on his feet. His face looked a little melancholy, and his steps were not so steady, but his eyes could not see. The tattoo on his arm looms, and the word "loyalty" on his neck is even more obvious.

And the person next to him seemed out of place with his outfit, it was a man about the same height as him. But the skin is yellow, and this man is also wearing sunglasses. He was wearing a white suit and a pair of white leather shoes on his feet, and he looked energetic.

He wore glasses to cover his face, and he couldn't see it very clearly. However, his knife-like face and somewhat stilted nose look very good, and it should not be too much to describe this person as handsome.

There was no sound in the entire airport at the moment, and all the passengers at the airport looked at these two people. Suddenly, all you heard at this wide airport rest stop was the sound of "step, step, step" leather shoes hitting the ground. The two of them suddenly stopped, looking into the eyes of everyone, the black man and the yellow man took off their glasses, and they quietly watched the eyes of everyone at the airport.

The black man looked at the yellow man, his eyes were full of nostalgia, and there seemed to be a trace of tears in his eyes and feet, but it didn't look like it. And the yellow man's eyes looked at the hundreds of people on this airport, and suddenly an inexplicable sadness struck, and he had to withdraw his eyes, because such a scene was too serious, and he couldn't bear it psychologically.

At this time, a little white girl was only three or four years old. With blonde hair and blue eyes, she looked very cute, and she walked towards the two of them. Still holding something in their hands, the eyes of the two followed the little girl all the way. The little girl came to the yellow race, she stopped, and suddenly, the little girl opened her mouth to break the silence here: "Uncle, you are leaving Philadelphia, in order to thank you for your dedication to our Philadelphia, this is for you." ”

Saying that, the little girl handed the little man in his hand to the yellow man, he squatted down, and then took the little man in the little girl's hand, he knew that the little man was himself. So he picked the little girl up from the ground and said to the silent crowd at the airport, "Thank you, thank you for supporting me for so many years."

But today I'm going home, back to my other home, which is called China. Of course, Philadelphia will always be my home, and I have a family here, and my brothers, thank you all for coming to see me off today. With that, he bowed 90° to the crowd. Then he slapped the black man next to him.

Immediately, there was a round of applause at the airport, and some even shed tears. His name is Yu Yang, he is a Chinese, 24 years old this year, he has been in the NBA for 4 years, and just this year he announced that he would leave the United States and return to his own country, China, because he was needed there.

And the black man next to him kept staring at his face, his eyes showed reluctance, and there seemed to be a tear in the corner of his eye. He is Allen Iverson, a '96 NBA rookie, captain of the American Dream Team in 2004 and now the captain of the 76ers, and he is teammates with Yu Yang. I think anyone who loves basketball will know about Iverson, after all, he has accomplished one seemingly impossible miracle after another.

At this time, the people at the airport stood up, what were they doing? Oh! They sang? Yes, they are really singing, the song "Farewell" that the Americans sang to say goodbye to their friends.

Yu Yang clearly heard the song, the familiar song. The little girl he was holding, as well as Iverson beside him, sang the song. Suddenly, the whole airport was filled with parting songs, and the sad atmosphere was spreading.

Yu Yang was full of tears, he was patient, patient not to let the tears fall. He dropped his head, and tears fell to the little girl's hands. The little girl hugged Yu Yang, and she also cried.

Iverson beside him also shed tears, this was the first time in his life that he shed sincere tears for a friend. Who would know about his friendship with Yu Yang?

At this time, the people in the rest station of the entire airport cried, and the song with the crying voice slowly spread in the airport. For the first time, Philadelphia's airport was filled with sad partings.

"Please board the plane for all passengers flying to Yanjing, China, and the plane will take off immediately." A radio voice rang out in the air, and the words pierced the hearts of everyone at the Philadelphia rest stop because Yu Yang was about to leave them.

Yu Yang raised his head and looked at the space, tears flowed into his mouth, and after a long time, he calmed down, looked at the hundreds of people and said, "Goodbye, my friends, I'm leaving Philadelphia and going home." ”

Everyone didn't speak, they looked at Yu Yang reluctantly, Yu Yang put down the little girl, and he bowed 90° again. The crowd didn't speak, he turned to look at Iverson on the side, and reached out and patted Iverson's chest. Said: "Ai, I came to Philadelphia for you, even if I leave Philadelphia, I hope you can win the championship again this year." ”

Iverson wiped the tears from his eyes, he didn't say anything, and opened his hands to hug Yu Yang.

After a long time, he let go of the other party, and Yu Yang stepped onto the plane with heavy steps, and he looked back to see that hundreds of people were looking at him. He waved his hand at everyone, and then Iverson said, "Yu Yang, we are brothers. ”

Yu Yang nodded, squeezing out a very reluctant smile on his face, after which he put on his glasses and turned to board the plane. "Passengers from the United States to Yanjing are seated. The plane began to take off. The radio rang out again.

on the airport.

"Hehe, I heard that Yu Yang and Iverson won this year's championship together."

"Yes, Yu Yang, this guy has won glory for China! Look at his tattoos. "Take the newspaper in your hand.

"Ha, isn't it, but I like his sentence the most, I'm Asian, but to say that I'm a Chinese."

This was the conversation between two middle-aged people sitting not far behind Yu Yang, Yu Yang smiled nonchalantly, he wore glasses and no one recognized him.

There should be a place next to him, but no one came. So Yu Yang closed his eyes and rested, and as soon as he closed his eyes, he heard a girl talking to the waiter: "May I ask where this location is?" ”

The waitress said, "Hello, Miss, it's the gentleman in the sunglasses." ”

"Thank you!" Yu Yang frowned when he heard this, he turned his head to look, the girl looked to be in her twenties, wearing a dress, with her sister's head, and two small dimples appeared on her face, looking very beautiful and cute.

"Sun Xiaoxiao." Yu Yang called out the name.

The girl looked at the voice, and it was a tall figure, the man in the sunglasses. The girl suddenly became excited and shouted, "Yu Yang, is that you?" ”

As soon as these words came out, the two men who had just communicated at the airport poked their heads out, and they saw the familiar figure and said in surprise: "Yu Yang, it's really Yu Yang!" ”

Yu Yang nodded at them, then took off his glasses, and Sun Xiaoxiao walked towards Yu Yang's position. With a smile on her face, she walked up to Yu Yang and sat down without hesitation. She carefully probed Yu Yang and asked, "Yu Yang, you have changed, and you are not as naughty as before." ”

Yu Yang made a helpless gesture, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Is there one?" That's how it should be! Hehe. ”

Sun Xiaoxiao said sweetly: "Yu Yang, I saw you win the championship on TV." But how did you get back to China? ”

The two middle-aged men also poked their heads out and looked at Yu Yang, they were all waiting for Yu Yang to speak, Yu Yang looked at the time, and now the time in Yanjing is more than 9 o'clock in the evening. Thinking that he still had 48 hours to reach Yanjing, he looked at Sun Xiaoxiao and said, "Okay, then I'll tell you this story." "Talking about the story of the two men who pricked up their ears and waited for Yu Yang.;