The Golden Age of Basketball

October 1981.

The economic recession that had dragged on from the oil crisis showed no signs of ending, unemployment rates climbed higher, the stock market continued its downward trajectory, and inflation was still rising.

Youths scattered their money, energy, and time on drugs, sex, movies, and music; the advent of MTV fused these elements together organically.

The UK band Duran Duran's song "girls on film" landed on the American market through MTV, with bold costumes and sexually suggestive moves in its video quickly sparking a trend; it was heavily requested on high-definition TV screens at nightclubs and televisions with Playboy's pay-per-view channels.

To survive, Gan's Restaurant kept up with the trends, installing a color television in the dining hall to attract younger customers. Almost every day, punk bands performed here, causing the restaurant's revenue to climb steadily. However, the condition of the restaurant's restrooms continued to deteriorate.

Fortunately, Gan Guohui no longer had to clean the toilets, because he was a member of the Shui Zhong Team, and he needed to train and compete.

Sporting events always became a spiritual anesthetic that attracted attention and provided temporary escape from life's hardships during times of economic hardship.

Just like horse racing and baseball during the Great Depression.

However, at this time, MLB had just ended its strike in August, with both labor and management suffering heavy losses, and the resumption of play led to confusing rules and playoff structures, significantly reducing the fans' interest.

The NFL also looked grim; their labor agreement signed after the 1974 strike was set to expire next year in 1982, and the Players Union was getting restless, with negotiations with the bosses over the summer not going smoothly.

As for basketball, both the NBA season and NCAA were in their off-season, leaving no games for fans to enjoy.

After experiencing one of the lowest-rated and least-followed Finals in history, the NBA was stuck in a quagmire of debt and scandal.

On the NCAA side, the local San Francisco team, the legendary San Francisco Dons, were warned by the NCAA Association in 1980 for illegally recruiting players.

If there was another violation, they would face the punishment of being banned from the entire season.

However, it seemed that the University of San Francisco had not heeded the warning, as some violations were still happening behind closed doors, setting the stage for a ticking time bomb in the future.

At this juncture, the rise of the Beiqiao Shuizhong Team became an eye-catching highlight in San Francisco's sports world.

From the legendary rise of Guoyang from the streets to the victory over Li Hua High School at Kezar Stadium, and the string of victories that followed, Shui Zhong had become to San Franciscans what the racehorse "Seabiscuit" was during the Great Depression: their expectations and attention for it were growing by the day.

Especially in Chinatown, nearly everyone talked about the Shui Zhong Team in private.

As news of the upcoming qualifier between Shui Zhong and Fremont spread, the Bay Area's attention for the Shui Zhong Team peaked.

This game involved: 1, racism against Chinese people; 2, CIF eligibility for the Shui Zhong Team; and, most importantly, San Francisco vs. Oakland.

The two cities, separated by a bridge, had never stopped competing and striving against each other, especially in basketball, where Oakland had been dominating over San Francisco in recent years.

The Warriors' home court was in San Francisco, and they were called the San Francisco Warriors, but when the Oakland Coliseum opened in 1966, the Warriors began playing more often in Oakland.

By 1971, the Warriors officially relocated to Oakland and renamed to the "Golden State Warriors," no longer representing only San Francisco but all of California, and they won the championship in 1975.

Surely, San Francisco basketball fans must have had their grievances: even if it was just a bridge away and did not greatly impact their attendance at games, the city's name, San Francisco, disappeared from the NBA. (Many years later, the Warriors moved back to San Francisco and faced the wrath of Oakland fans.)

In the streets, Oakland was always known for its toughness. Many strong players from Oakland would come to play at San Francisco's courts, but few San Francisco players could conquer Oakland.

Economically speaking, San Francisco was richer, while Oakland was relatively behind; San Francisco had more white people; Oakland had many black ghettos; one was an international metropolis by the Pacific Ocean, and the other was a combination of urban and rural areas in the Bay Area.

All these contrasts gave the two cities a close connection while also creating deep divisions and grudges. At such a time, the influence of a basketball game representing both areas could be imagined.

The game was scheduled for the second Monday in October, Columbus Day, commemorating 390 years since Columbus discovered the New World.

The venue was Tiger Gymnasium at Fremont High School.

This was a large sports complex composed of a football field and a basketball gym, with the smaller basketball gym connected on one side of the football field.

Before modernization, this sports complex was known as "Prison" by the local players and students of the school, due to its run-down, huge, and gloomy characteristics.

The match would start at seven o'clock tonight, and tonight, the Prison was packed to the brim.

Not only did students from Fremont come to watch the game, but so did neighbors from surrounding streets, parents with children, and older siblings with their younger brothers and sisters—all cramped into the not-so-large basketball gym.

Many who couldn't get in lined up outside, waiting and watching; cars blocked the surrounding streets and intersections, causing traffic congestion.

Violent incidents had occurred outside the gym during previous games at Fremont High School due to the gathering of crowds, and because of the high-profile nature of this game, the Oakland police dispatched 9 patrol cars and 30 officers near the gym to maintain order, to prevent any unexpected incidents.