The 2022 NBA All-Star has come to an end.
I've been an All-Star many times before, and this time it's different, it's in Cleveland. Since I came to the United States to study, I have been in Cleveland for more than a decade. That said, that's half of my home stadium. On a live show last year, I told Covan that if he came to The All-Star, I would invite him to eat Cleveland specialties, pancake rolls with scallions. Due to the epidemic, this time the domestic colleagues have not come over, I saved a stall of trouble, pancakes can be filled with Mexican cakes, Shandong scallions are not easy to find, the kind of onions sold in american supermarkets, how to call it onions, no one high onions, there is no soul.
Speaking of Shandong green onions, I am reminded of a person I met.
All-Stars are more likely to meet such interesting people than other events. On Friday, when Shen Yang and I broadcast live before the game, the fan who sat in front of us later learned that it was Twitter's CFO.
Every time the all-star, the process and project arrangement are basically the same, and this year due to the epidemic, many places have made adjustments.
When collecting the certificate, in addition to the reinforcing injection, there must be a negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours. According to the past practice, as long as there is a media ID, you can basically attend all media events. This time is not, the daily activities, in addition to the media ID, but also to find the NBA official to get an additional bracelet, you can go down to the field, or go to the designated interview area. Compared with previous years, this time the media is much less, but most of the old faces can be encountered. Tom is an Associated Press reporter based in Cleveland, and it's the first time I've run into him in a stadium since the pandemic. Tania, who used to be in charge of covering the Lakers, was unexpectedly met in Cleveland, and she now works for The New York Times. Vinhorst left on Sunday morning, saying the All-Star was the least energetic in the game.
According to Wenhorst's meaning, the main game is not strong, the first two days should be interesting, and those who have watched the game know that the main theme of the first two days is "awkward".
The skill challenge of the alphabet brothers is quite embarrassing, but it is not a level with the embarrassment of the dunk contest. Many years ago, I remember discussing with friends, is there any NBA that will not dunk, like Boggs, is it a grade with us, can not buckle? Now that the question has been answered, Jaylen Green and a few others will basically not dunk.
On the contrary, it is a regular game, which is quite interesting. James Kill, Curry MVP, is simply a well-written script. James' cheers on the floor were much smaller than I thought. In the years in which James led the Cavaliers to the Finals, each time James appeared in at least 50 percent more decibel than on Sunday. I also thought that since James had hinted that it was possible to return to Cleveland, the fans should be more positive. During the live broadcast on Sunday, Dave thought the odds of James returning to Cleveland were close to zero, and if he scored from 0 to 10, he felt the odds were 1.
The biggest highlight of this All-Star should be the 75th anniversary celebration of the main game midfield.
The last NBA 50th anniversary was also in Cleveland, I was not there, I don't know how the celebration was done that year, but this celebration, held before the end of the epidemic, has a special significance. In many places, the NBA likes to use "Family" to describe the group of players, and such a celebration is a perfect interpretation of the concept of family. The NBA's predecessor stars also played to support their families, but their efforts set up a higher stage for future generations. Jordan rarely attended such events, and the last all-star before the epidemic was in Chicago, and Jordan did not attend. It was the second time I saw Jordan in All-Star in so many years, the first time at Charlotte, which was his home stadium, and had to attend. Seeing West, Jordan, Olajuwon, O'Neal, James, Alphabet Brother, Morant, Booker and others standing on the field at the same time, there is a great sense of time travel. At the next 100th anniversary celebration, there will be many new faces and many who will not be able to attend.
Time will wash everything away, Garnett is said to be reluctant to shake Aaron's hand, I can't see it on the scene, in another 25 years, will they still care about the feuds of decades ago? Durant and Harden are still a little emotional now, and in another 25 years, how many people will remember what happened this season besides themselves.
In the past, I participated in the All-Star, from my personal feelings, no matter the number of media from the beginning, the activities arranged by the league, etc., the All-Star and the Finals were similar. I thought that the economic contribution of these two activities to the host city should be similar. Cleveland has hosted the Finals many times in the past few years, and it shouldn't be difficult to host an All-Star. Two weeks ago I interviewed David Gilbert, the coordinator of the preparations in Cleveland, and he said that it took about two and a half years to prepare, and that the event could bring Cleveland $100 million in revenue, which I was quite surprised because the Revenue of each game in the Finals was between $12 million and $14 million, and the revenue of an All-Star game for Cleveland was more than two years in the Finals.
Talking to a circle of friends this weekend, I feel that the All-Star is indeed much bigger than the Finals. Every team, especially a team with players, they have a team to come, and the player's family and friends will also come. In addition, major brokerage companies, sponsors, there will be teams to hold activities. I usually pay a lot of attention to sports technology, like Facebook's sports director, etc., this kind of practitioner is usually only encountered on All-Star Weekend. Because the number of people is too large, it has exceeded the capacity of downtown hotels, so the NBA has classified the arrangements for hotels. Basically according to the importance, the distance between the hotel and the stadium is arranged. The most core players, living in Leeds Carlton near the stadium, and the second important, staying in other hotels in the city center, such as Marriott, Westin, etc., really can't be arranged, they are arranged to a place about 20 minutes from the city center. Durant's agent lived close to the arena, while the people on Rich Paul's team lived 20 minutes away, which surprised me.
Next year's All-Star is in Salt Lake City, and hopefully at that time, everything will return to normal, I can meet friends from home, and I won't have to prepare pancake rolls and scallions.
Arena
The large poster of James in the past was replaced by an All-Star poster
This light show was criticized by fans for being shabby
The Knight's newly renovated arena cost $100 million
Ben's house Ballmer, passers-by A dressed
The president spared no effort to publicize the use of tournaments during the season
Pre-match TNT livestream
The game is in progress
75 celebrations
The song ends with the dispersal