On January 16, Clippers media director Rob Richele immediately diverted to Los Angeles International Airport after sending his three children to school.
There is an important guest that he needs to receive today.
We arrived at the airport at ten o'clock. Also waiting at the airport were reporters from the Los Angeles Times, Ada, the administrative coordinator of the media department, and Jordan Peele and his documentary crew.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm a little late. I have to take the kids to school in the morning."
Racheli was sweating profusely and apologized to the people who arrived first, then looked at the time and saw that the plane would land in five minutes.
Jordan Peele took out a tissue and handed it to Rachelle, saying, "Rob, you're sweating a lot again. Come on, give our media director a shot."
The cameraman of the documentary crew pointed the camera at Racheli, and Michael Key on the side asked: "Hey, Rob, what kind of guests are we going to receive at the airport today?"
Racheli wiped her sweat and said softly: "Starting filming? Is this the material for the documentary?"
Michael Kidd: "Yeah, tell me Rob."
Racheli cleared her throat and said: "Well, today we arrived at the airport to greet a special fan. He is from Cameroon, Africa. About a month ago, our staff received a letter from a fan. This fan Fans say he is a student at a seminary in Cameroon and is very interested in basketball. His ideal is to become a priest and one day watch an NBA game."
Michael Key asked: "Oh, what does becoming a priest have to do with watching NBA games...?"
Racheli said: "It doesn't matter. I just emphasized his thoughts! Remember to remember this paragraph, and I will continue. In fact, we receive a lot of letters like this, because there are too many to reply in time. But once At the team meeting, Mr. Smart requested that we expand our fan work and not stick to the Los Angeles community, but look globally and to further places!”
Michael Key asked: "Did Mr. Smart really say that?"
Racheli said: "That's really what he said. He said it's best to go to the Antarctic for fan work. If he can recruit Penguins to be fans, he would promote me to the vice president."
"Okay, coming back to this fan, we adhere to the purpose of spreading the spirit of basketball to all parts of the world. We carefully responded to this young fan's letter, and then decided to invite him to the United States to watch an NBA game! That is tonight , the game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The plane arrived at 9:50...Oh, let me see, the plane should have landed."
The big screen at the airport showed that the direct flight from Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, to Los Angeles had landed and the passengers would arrive at the lobby.
14-year-old Pascal Siakam traveled so far away from his hometown of Cameroon for the first time and arrived in Los Angeles in the United States on a huge Boeing plane.
The United States is a place that often appears in our ears but feels out of reach.
His father, Chamo Siakam, often told him that if you play basketball seriously, one day you can enter the NBA and come to the United States.
But little Siakam is very rebellious. He doesn't want to listen to his father. He has never thought about going to the NBA to play basketball. He wants to be a priest.
He thinks being a priest is cool, he will gain respect from many people, and he can talk to God.
This is much cooler than running around on the court with a basketball. Although his father, a professional athlete, gave him good sports genes, he did not intend to make full use of it.
Of course, becoming a priest is not necessarily a good choice. The days of studying in a seminary are really too strict and hard-working.
Like many children, 14-year-old Siakam has no clear idea of who he wants to be in the future.
He opposed his father just because he didn't want to listen to his father. He wanted to have his own ideas, but what were his own ideas?
He doesn’t know either, so whatever.
More than a month ago, my father suddenly wrote letters to many NBA teams in his name, hoping to get responses from these teams.
Siakam knew what his father wanted to do. He thought maybe a team would reply, and then when he saw the reply, he would become interested in basketball.
Adults are so naive sometimes. Will the other party reply to you when you write a letter?
Little Siakam looked at the world map in the seminary classroom. The United States and Cameroon were almost half a world apart, with the vast Atlantic Ocean in between.
Although I don’t have any hope in my heart, what if it happens? What if any team replies?
The moment the letter was sent, a seed of expectation was planted in Siakam's heart.
He began to imagine that in the distant United States, that prosperous and most powerful country in the world, there was a group of people who formed a league because of their love for basketball. They were the best basketball players in the world, fighting hard for a championship.
Children still don’t understand what a business alliance is. To them, basketball stars are just like superheroes in movies, fighting for honor, victory and peace.
In fact, at this point, Chamo Siakam's goal has been achieved.
The seeds have been sown, silently taking root and sprouting, and one day they will grow into a big tree.
Many children plant seeds in their hearts when they are children, and when they become adults, they rely on the trees that grow from the seeds to support them throughout their lives.
But Chamo Siakam didn't expect that an NBA team actually responded to his letter!
He couldn't believe it when he received the letter. Without opening the envelope, he went straight to the seminary where his son studied and handed the letter to Siakam Jr. with his own hands.
Siakam Jr. was extremely surprised. He was even more excited after opening the letter and letting the priest read the contents, because the letter said that Siakam Jr. would be invited to Los Angeles to watch the NBA game live, and the cost will be borne by the Clippers.
So, on January 16, 2010, Siakam Jr. flew to Los Angeles with his father.
In the departure hall, the father and son met the Clippers staff and media who greeted them.
Racheli immediately led people to greet him. The father and son were flattered by the fat man's enthusiasm and felt that they were greatly respected.
Of course, Richele's efforts are not in vain. The reporter of the "Los Angeles Times" is here. He will cover this fan feedback event throughout and do a good job of promoting the Los Angeles Clippers.
Such an activity will definitely arouse enthusiastic responses, especially in an immigrant society like the United States.
A high-ranking NBA team invites fans from small African countries to travel thousands of miles to watch an NBA game.
What a touching story that can bring positive publicity to the Clippers, the NBA, and even the entire American society!
What media and reader wouldn’t love a story like this?
On the way to Staples Center with the father and son, Ada asked Racheli: "Director, have you told Mr. Smart about this?"
Racheli shook his head and said: "No, I want to talk to him, but he doesn't give me a chance. He's always been out of the office recently. The time for them to come has just been finalized, and at this time in the morning... I guess Matt hasn’t gotten up yet. By the way, Ada, I want to thank you for the letter you gave me last time and gave me the opportunity to do this. Otherwise, the recent public opinion situation would be really bad. "
This letter from Siakam was the one Ada gave to Racheli in the office last time.
Racheli left the matter of finding a partner in the restaurant to Ada, while he dealt with the letter.
At first he didn't take it seriously, but at a work meeting Min Congda asked him to "open up the situation", and he really opened up the situation.
It opened very loudly all of a sudden.
Ada heard that "the public opinion situation is very bad" and asked what was going on.
Racheli sighed and said: "Recently, there have been rumors on the Internet that Mr. Smart took control of the Clippers and kidnapped owner Sterling. The struggle at the top is very fierce! I have to refute rumors every day and deal with these groundless slanders. Rumors! Damn it, I don’t know who is spreading these things. If I find him, I will definitely take him to court!”
Ada said: "I have seen these recently. No wonder there are always rumors from fans asking if there is something wrong within the team. But Mr. Smart doesn't seem to know yet."
Racheli said: "We can't let him know! Or let him know it later. I think after this fan event is over and the team can win some praise, I will tell him the situation of public opinion. He should be more accepting." .”
Ada nodded in agreement. As a staff member of the public opinion department, she had the responsibility to protect the mental safety of their general manager.
(End of chapter)
