GUANGZHOU, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A jersey retirement ceremony tells us why we love basketball so much.
Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Haoming and Zhao Ziyu.
With the song "Sea and Sky" played, on the evening of the 29th, Yi Jianlian, the "No. 9 rookie", watched his No. 9 jersey slowly rise in the Dongguan Basketball Center, turned around and left the basketball court, officially opening the "second half" of his life.
Behind a jersey retirement ceremony is a memory, a legend and a good story, as well as the love and emotion of a sport.
Subheading) A memory.
On the 29th, Yi Jianlian wore a huge ** wearing Guangdong Hongyuan No. 9 jersey hanging in the Dongguan Basketball Center, gently swaying in the evening breeze. This jersey retirement ceremony opened the floodgates of many people's memories.
Back 21 years ago, on December 29, 2002, in the Dongguan Gymnasium, the Guangdong team played against the Jilin team at home, Yi Jianlian appeared on the court of the Chinese Men's Basketball Professional League (CBA) for the first time. Is it a coincidence or destined, the opponent of the Guangdong team on the day of the jersey retirement ceremony is the opponent of Yi Jianlian's last game of his career - Zhejiang Guangsha.
This night, Yi Jianlian appeared on the basketball court in a suit**, telling about his 21 years of experience, his voice gradually choked, and the corners of his eyes flashed with tears.
A stadium is not enough to accommodate this full of memories, in the center of Dongguan, 10 kilometers away from the Dongguan Basketball Center, the landmark buildings are collectively lit up, "in the air" to Yi Jianlian to present a city's confession.
In the gorgeous lights, the anime version of the UAE wore the No. 9 jersey to dribble to the basket and dominate the court, and the sincere blessings behind him appeared in Dongguan one after another in landmark buildings - "No. 9 rookie, see you in the second half!"."Retirement is not the end, return is still a teenager", slogans lit up the night sky of the city.
At the end of 2002, I came to Dongguan for the first time, entered the big family of Hongyuan, personally felt the atmosphere of Dongguan basketball city, and experienced the development of Dongguan for more than 20 years. Yi Jianlian smiled with tears and confessed to the city affectionately.
One person, one city, the bits and pieces of Yi Jianlian and Dongguan will become a moving memory in the history of Chinese basketball.
Subheading) a legend.
The retirement of the jersey means that a number will be permanently sealed and will not be seen again when playing with this team, which is obviously a great tribute to a player's career.
There aren't many players in the top professional league who can enjoy this distinction, and almost every one of them is a legend. Yi Jianlian's No. 9 jersey is the fourth jersey retired in the history of Guangdong Hongyuan. Previously, Jichen's No. 15 jersey, Du Feng's No. 4 jersey and Zhu Fangyu's No. 8 jersey have all been retired one after another, and they are hung high on the roof of the Dongguan Basketball Center to be looked up to.
Looking at the current 20 teams in the entire CBA league, only 11 teams have held jersey retirement ceremonies for 20 players, except for the four players with the most in Guangdong, Shanghai and Tianjin have three jerseys each retired.
Before 2006, the CBA had very strict rules on jersey numbers, and all players could only choose a total of 15 numbers from 4 to 18. Therefore, it was not easy for Yao Ming to retire the No. 15 jersey of the Shanghai team in 2003. In 2006, the CBA lifted the number limit, and more and more stars retired their jerseys.
When it comes to jersey retirement, many people think of the NBA's jersey retirement ceremony. According to statistics, in the history of the NBA, more than 200 jerseys have been retired. In two or more teams, it is rare to retire jerseys, such as the No. 13 jersey of legendary star Chamberlain, which has been retired by the Warriors, 76ers and Lakers.
Sub-heading) is a good story.
Behind every jersey retirement ceremony, there is a sports story.
Michael Jordan's No. 23 jersey, the god of basketball, was retired by the Bulls and the Heat. After Jordan retired for the first time in 1993, the Bulls retired his No. 23 jersey so much that he was forced to wear the No. 45 jersey after his first comeback.
And Jordan never played for the Heat, so why did the Heat retire the No. 23 jersey?It was a game in 2003, when Jordan played for the Wizards away from home against the Heat, and before he could enter the locker room at halftime, Jordan was stopped by the Heat staff and said that Heat coach Pat Riley was going to surprise him.
When Jordan returned to the court, the lights dimmed and Riley recounted his time with Jordan, and when the stadium lights came on again, a special No. 23 jersey slowly rose. Jordan was completely stunned, holding the microphone and he was silent for a long time before saying, "This is probably the best gift I've ever received in my life, I'm grateful to Pat Riley, I'm even more grateful for Miami's generosity, my jersey can be retired from another team, it says a lot." ”
Stars don't have to be the only ones to enjoy the glory of retiring jerseys. The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers once retired a special jersey that did not have a number on it, but a microphone printed on it, and he belonged to the famous Lakers commentator Zike Hearn, who has commented on more than 3,000 games for the Lakers. In August 2002, Hearn passed away, and the jersey with the microphone logo was sealed along with the Lakers legend. In addition, the Lakers retired a jersey with a cross on it, which belonged to Lakers veteran team doctor Gary WettiThe Magic retired a "Super Sixth Man" jersey with the number 6 printed on it for the fans, thanking the fans who always supported them.
Behind a ceremony is a legend, a memory and a good story, they originate from sports and competition, but beyond the arena full of fighting and shouting, shining with the brilliance of human nature, through layers of fog to shine on the softest part of people's hearts, telling us why we love basketball and sports so much. (ENDS).