The most anticipated day in Seattle basketball over the past fifteen years has ended in the most disappointing way. A college gymnasium that can only accommodate 3,000 people is difficult to accommodate a game full of NBA stars. Especially, when the players in the competition also have LeBron James.
On Sunday, August 21, Beijing time, the stars of Seattle shone. It was a historic day for The CrawsOver semi-professional league. LeBron James, Jason Tatum, Dejuntai Murray, Aaron Gordon, Chet Homegren, Paul Benquero, Isaiah Thomas, as well as Rockets rookie Tari Ethan and Bucks rookie Marjung Beauchamp played at the same time, but no one expected that the game would end hastily after only one and a half quarters because of the wet and slippery field, and the fans were defeated.
On August 20, Crawford Updater tweeted that James would be attending The CrawsOver Semi-Professional League. This is James' first career play in The CrawsOver and his first return to Seattle since January 17, 2007 (after which the Seattle Supersonics changed its name to the Thunder and moved to Oklahoma). James retweeted: "Let's cheer up Seattle, the last time we played here was 15 years ago, well, there's no need to wait now!" The king is back. #来自阿克伦的孩子"
It is understood that The CrawsOver Semi-Professional League was created by Jamal Crawford in 2011 and is held in Seattle each summer's offseason, and over time and the expansion of influence, the number of NBA players attracted by this tournament is increasing every year. Back in late July, at the end of July, atlanta Hawks' Trae Young, Dezhangtai Murray and John Collins combined to score 103 points in the CrowsOver game. The Hawks' new trio contributed several wonderful fits in that game, including Trae Young's mid-air relay to help Fly Murray win the applause. At the end of the game, Trae Young exploded with 37 points and 13 assists, Murray exploded with 39 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, and Collins also scored 27 points and 17 rebounds. In the long NBA "long grass period", a game that can attract multiple NBA stars will naturally make countless fans cheer.
Although Crawford, with his connections in the league and his presence in the city of Seattle, has been attracting players such as Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Kyrie Irving for years because of his connections in the league and the city of Seattle, the game has never been as popular as Saturday. What the reason is, everyone understands.
"It's really an NBA-level game." ESPN, the open-air stands, The Athletic and other influential media outlets around the world have sent reporters to the scene, and NBA officials even broadcast the game live for free on the NBA official APP.
It was a great opportunity to make a name for the league, but it didn't go well. Shortly after the start of the race, there was a problem with condensate on the field. According to ESPN celebrity Kevin Pelton, seattle's weather was unusually wet this summer, and the crowds combined with the hot weather led to repeated wet spots on the court.
During the game, The champion Ben Kairo suddenly slipped during the breakthrough, and the leader Holmglen also sprained his ankle due to the wet and slippery field when defending James. In another round, James advanced with the ball, and then hit the ground to pass the ball to the Bucks rookie Beauchamp, who slipped under his feet in the face of the empty basket and failed to score the ball.
James immediately expressed his displeasure and the game was subsequently suspended. Journalist Mike Sean, who was on the scene at the time, tweeted: "You can tell that LeBron already knew it wasn't safe to play on that court. I could see him whispering to Rich Paul on the sidelines at one point. Then, Beauchamp tried to complete a dunk, but couldn't jump up at all. Jamal Crawford called off the game after that ball, and LeBron looked at Rich Paul and said, 'That's what I just said.' ’”
Beauchamp said: "Every time they dried, the situation did not improve. With 5 minutes and 47 seconds left in the second quarter, the organizers decided to cancel the game in order to avoid any more player injuries.
Crawford explains: "There are a few things that need to be said, first of all I am genuinely sorry for the fans who didn't make it in. Secondly, in order to protect the players, I had to make the decision to stop playing, which was difficult but also very correct. Finally, thank you to all the stars for the love they have shown to Seattle. ”
The combination of superstars, super attention, and a large number of people, these factors that exceed the carrying capacity of the venue have laid hidden dangers for this game.
Crawford started the league without paying for the game, and his original intention was to let local children see their favorite stars for free.
"A lot of kids have only seen their favorite stars on TV or in games, and now they have the opportunity to see their favorite stars in person, and they can interact with them. For a kid who dreams of the NBA, seeing NBA players in person makes their dreams even more real. So for me, all I can do is bring the big stars over and let everybody watch their games for free, and I hope that will push the next generation to continue their dreams. Crawford said in an interview.
With the free number of visitors capped at no more than 3,000, fans began queuing up the night before and camping all night to ensure a spot after the game started. At least 1,500 people remained outside when the stadium was full. Many fans said that there was chaos in the order of the scene.
A fan named Unique Cherry said he had been on the sidelines on Saturday night. At three o'clock in the morning, he was ranked 198th. But by eight o'clock in the morning, his ranking had reached 400. "People would cut in line, take up seats for their friends, and squeeze some people who came to the queue early to the back."
When James entered the gym at the scheduled time, the crowd erupted in loud cheers. Circle after lap of people surrounded James, and the game was forced to be postponed for a while. According to Seattle Times reporter Matt Calkins, Crawford held a microphone and pleaded with fans to restore order, telling thousands of spectators in the stands to behave more gracefully. Subsequently, the Seattle Police Department picked up the microphone to warn that many of them had squeezed to the bottom line of the stadium and elsewhere, and that the entire game could be canceled if such a situation happened again.
It can be seen that the organizers of the event are clearly not doing enough preparations. However, the Seattle Times reported that it was easy to blame event organizers for not being unprepared, but the key problem was that The Crawsover has always been an informal event, and was originally created to make basketball fun for more fans.
In addition, James appears to have decided to play here a day or two before flying to Seattle, leaving the organisers with little time to prepare on a large scale. After James arrived at the stadium, almost everyone flocked to the stadium, but some fans who set up their tents early to camp outside the stadium did not enter the stadium. There was another reason why some of the adult fans at the scene were unable to enter, and Crawford, the founder of the event, explained that he hoped that more children would be able to enter and watch their heroes play up close.
The venue was slippery not only because of the humid weather, but also because the security staff of the stadium were worried about the influx of fans outside the stadium, so they closed the doors and windows so they could not maintain the normal circulation of air in the stadium.
While the fans didn't see a full game, the stars also contributed a lot of great moments in a limited amount of time. Tatum hit consecutive three-pointers and presented his signature flying kiss to the audience.
During the game, James and Tatum teamed up to contribute the most gorgeous offense of the day: left-handed air connection!
However, for such a game with full expectations and a sloppy ending, these highlights are still too few.
A security guard named Dedriq Trinide was apparently frustrated by the events of the day. He's a huge Fan of James, and now that the game has ended in a slightly disappointing way, he fears that no other star may want to play in Seattle in the future.
"This experience is only once in a lifetime." Marjung Beauchamp said after the game, "You may never see each other again. It's cool to be in Seattle and play around all these great players. "For countless Seattle people, after all this happened, watching James come to Seattle to play on the spot, it may really be this time.