Early the next morning, Gan Guoyang showed Gan Guohui the sneakers given to him by Gan Youwei last night. Fat Hui's eyes lit up and he said, "Hey, Avia, great basketball shoes! Did your dad really buy them?"
"Yes. Aiva? What brand is this? Is it famous?"
In the 1980s, Nike was still in its infancy, and Adidas' main field was football.
The mainstream and strong brand of basketball shoes in the United States is Converse, and each place has its own independent brand.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the booming development of professional sports, various sports equipment companies sprung up across the United States.
Avia is a footwear and sportswear brand founded in Oregon in 1979. It has developed rapidly and is famous for its aerobics shoes, walking shoes and basketball shoes. It has a considerable influence among young people and emerging groups. Especially on the west coast.
"This is the high-top 860 that Avia released last year. It has Fast on the tongue and a leather upper. It looks much more textured than canvas shoes. These shoes are really nice, really nice."
"A very popular style recently, much more handsome than Converse."
Gan Guohui played with this new pair of shoes and couldn't put them down.
Gan Guoyang silently took the shoes away from Gan Guohui's hands and put them on his feet. Gan Guohui felt very distressed when he saw them: "Oh, they are new shoes, you just wear them~you are guilty."
"What are you talking about? What do you do with shoes if you don't wear them?"
"Of course it is a collection. This pair of Avia860 will definitely become a classic style."
Gan Guoyang knows that many people have the habit of collecting shoes. Sneakers are not meant to be worn, but are collected as handicrafts.
"How much do these shoes cost?"
"It costs at least 100 US dollars. Prices have risen sharply now, and it may be more expensive. Even if this popular style sells for 200 US dollars, there are still people grabbing it."
After saying this, Gan Guoyang felt even more strange. Where did Gan Youwei buy these shoes, and who recommended them?
Gan Youwei definitely knows nothing about basketball shoes, and his English is even worse. He can only understand basic greetings and can't speak a word.
After all, people who are almost 40 years old have not been exposed to English since childhood and have not received English education. In addition, being a cook does not require direct communication with foreigners, so naturally there is no need for language.
In this era without online shopping, Gan Guoyang felt very unhappy when he thought of all the ways Gan Youwei had gone through to buy this pair of sneakers at a high price for himself.
He asked Gan Youwei, but Gan Youwei just smiled and said nothing, telling his son not to ask more questions and just go play ball.
After being busy in the store for a while in the morning, Gan Guoyang took out the business card given to him by Chen Xing and called coach Bobby Behrman.
The beeping sounded for a while before anyone answered.
"Hello, this is the Excel in basketball summer camp. I am the team coach Bobby Behrman. What do you need?"
The voice on the phone sounded tired and lazy, with a hint of impatience.
There will definitely be a lot of people calling for consultation at a training camp like this, and it is very time-consuming to keep answering calls with the same content.
"I want to sign up for Excel Summer Camp. How should I pay and where can I sign up?"
"The quota for July has been filled, and you can only wait until the August batch. Leave your name and phone number, and on August 3, you can go to the Sports Center, 2675 Mitchell Road, Walnut Creek, directly Pay the registration fee and start your summer camp.”
In a half-dead voice, Bellman informed Gan Guoyang in detail about the registration time and address.
After writing it down, Gan Guoyang gave his and Gan Guohui's names and phone numbers.
"Sunny-Gump? What's this name... By the way, are you signing up for the children's class or the juvenile class?"
"Youth class, I am 16 years old this year."
"16 years old? Well, man, I have always been a straight person. If you still participate in a basic skills training camp like ours at the age of 16, it may be difficult to make any achievements in the field of basketball. The main players in our youth class here are from 10 years old to 13 years old. Of course, if you just want to experience it, that’s totally fine. Sorry, please forgive my directness.”
Behrman's words were very rude, and it was obvious that he was not a qualified salesperson.
Some parents or children might have hung up the phone, canceled their registration, or even filed a complaint.
"Oh, please, Mr. Bellman, how old are you this year?"
"Me? I'm 37 years old."
"At the age of 37, if you are still working as an assistant coach at a youth basic skills training camp and also part-time working by phone, it may... not be possible, but definitely, it will be difficult to make any achievements in the field of basketball. Of course, if you just want to make a living, It’s no problem at all to eat. Sorry, please forgive me for being so direct.”
Gan Guoyang followed Behrman's words and fought back mercilessly.
"Hey! I'm not like you said..."
Behrman also wanted to explain that Gan Guoyang had already hung up the phone.
Gan Guohui watched dumbfounded and said: "The coaches in this training camp seem to be very unqualified... But cousin... how about we change to another summer camp? There are many basketball training camps."
Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "No, let's just join this training camp. I think it's pretty good."
At this time, the harsh ringtone of the phone rang again. Gan Guohui looked at Gan Guoyang and said, "It's not the coach who just called, is it? Don't answer it."
Gan Guoyang said: "What are you afraid of? If he dares to scold me, I'll just scold him back. Besides, this is an ordering call, so don't miss the guest's order."
With that said, Gan Guoyang picked up the receiver, but it was Chen Xing calling.
"Guoyang! Are you free this afternoon?"
"What's up?"
"Someone is here to pick a fight and specifies that they want to play against us."
"But we have saved enough money."
"This is not a matter of money. We have become famous on the street, and people come to us and want to compete with us."
"Okay, I'm free this afternoon. Where?"
"25 California Avenue, Rochambeau Stadium!"
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Rochambeau Stadium is named after French Marshal Sir Rochambeau. He once led the French army to support the American Revolutionary War and defeated the British army in York County, Virginia. He is therefore considered one of the founding fathers of the United States.
True to its serious name, this course is a three-on-three street venue where veterans often gather.
There are not only talented young players here, but also many adults, many of whom are former college basketball team members, street players, retired professional athletes, or senior basketball enthusiasts.
In short, this place represents the high level of the streets of San Francisco. If you want to play paid games here, it costs less than $100 per game.
When the trio arrived at the stadium, they found a lot of people gathered here, some playing on the court, and some watching from the sidelines.
That's what the master court is like, there is an audience, and your performance on the court will get feedback from the audience.
If you play well, some people cheer and praise you, but if you play badly, you will inevitably be ridiculed and belittled behind your back.
The pressure of the game is therefore much greater.
The arrival of Gan Guoyang and others caused a small commotion in the stadium. People's eyes were shot like arrows, and the legs of those with poor psychological quality became weak.
A white player wearing a blue vest and white shorts came over to greet Chen Xing and waved to Gan Guoyang.
"Hey, hello, are you Forrest? I'm Steve LaVine, nice to meet you."
LaVine is similar in age to Gan Guoyang. He has a square, wide chin and slightly drooped eye corners, making him look more mature.
"I invite you to play a match. You have been very popular in San Francisco Stadium recently, and I want to have a discussion." LaVine said directly.
Recently, the trio of Gan Guoyang have won consecutive battles on the streets of San Francisco, which has attracted a lot of attention and discussion.
The Chinese identity of the three people undoubtedly added a lot of buzz to their victory, and finally attracted the attention of the experts.
Gan Guoyang just nodded without saying much, and the two teams went to the court to warm up.
There are more and more people watching on the sidelines of the stadium. This is a focus battle.
Before the game started, the three gathered on the sidelines to discuss strategy.
"What's the background of the opponent? Do you want to take over the master Saiduo and make money? I won't pay you if you lose this game!"
"You fart, there is no money in this game. It was Jason who asked me. That Steve LaVine is Garp's son."
Chen Xing glanced at a little old man wearing a gray sweatshirt on the sidelines. He had a thin face, a hooked nose, and gray hair.
"Who is Cap?"
"Historian of San Francisco street basketball and one of the top ten high school basketball players of his generation in San Francisco."
"Era? What era?"
"The 1940s."
"..."
"Ignore his dad, let me tell you about the opponent and our strategy!"
"Cancer, our opponent today is the Cancer team. You two should know that they have such a name. Their style of play is like a tumor and will torture you to the point of death."
