Chapter 707 - 307: Fan Challenge: Li Younan’s Midcourt Three-pointer!

The next day was the official game day between the Lakers and Warriors, and Li Younan drove his cybertruck to the arena two hours early.

As we must say, being two of the teams still very popular in the current league, the tickets for the game were more expensive than for other games, and the pre-game atmosphere was more intense.

Outside the arena square, fans spontaneously organized shooting PKs, and some street performers mimicked players.

Li Younan wandered around the outside of the arena with great interest, inevitably thinking of the domestic CBA league.

We must say, he had also watched CBA games before, but in terms of atmosphere, it’s far less intense than the NBA, and the construction of arenas is vastly different; there are hardly any in the country that meet NBA standards, especially Staples Center, which is one of the best among NBA arenas.

Following online guides, Li Younan entered early for security checks, and when he entered the stadium, there was still more than an hour until the game started.

Li Younan’s ticket was close to the front row, and it was quite expensive, but he thought, since he would probably only watch one game, he should spend what is necessary, being that he’s already there.

After he found his seat, there were already quite a few spectators in the arena.

Approaching Christmas, many parts of the arena already carried a Christmas-themed atmosphere, like Disney-themed decorations, and there were special Christmas edition Kobe 24 jerseys for sale.

A very important reason for Li Younan coming early was to see the pre-game warm-up of the stars.

Shortly after he arrived at the arena, both teams were warming up on half-courts, and Li Younan fulfilled his wish of seeing NBA superstars like Curry and LeBron James.

This was naturally Li Younan’s first time watching NBA players play ball so closely on-site.

The head-to-shoulder ratio of African Americans is quite exaggerated, which is not visible on TV, but in reality, these players truly are like humanoid Gundams, massive and strong in physique.

Li Younan didn’t have a set home team in mind; for this game, his attitude was purely from a spectator’s perspective, and it didn’t really matter to him which side won.

However, yesterday when Curry left, he gave him a signed No. 30 jersey, so this time watching the game, he simply wore it.

And as the surrounding spectators came into the arena, Li Younan looked both ways and felt a bit conflicted, because the surrounding spectators were all wearing yellow Lakers home jerseys, while his blue Warriors jersey looked quite eye-catching.

Nevertheless, with the fans able to afford these ticket positions were basically rich folks, their quality was quite good, and they wouldn’t bully him just because of the team he supported... laugh.

As more and more spectators entered, soon the first row of the court saw several familiar faces, seemingly some Hollywood stars, but Li Younan couldn’t call out their names, just roughly recalling seeing them in some movies or American TV shows.

Soon the warm-up ended, the lights dimmed, the theme song sounded throughout, the arena host DJ passionately explained, cheerleaders entered to perform, and mascots wearing Santa hats threw Christmas gifts to fans, instantly magnifying the atmosphere to a climax.

Then the players entered, and the shouts were deafening.

The dome hung with 16 Lakers championship banners and retired jerseys, including Kobe’s No. 8 and 24, Magic’s No. 32, etc., as part of the experience.

It must be said, watching the game on-site and watching it on TV are completely different experiences; no wonder that Americans love watching games so much, even if they can’t afford to eat they have to save up to watch a game.

The kind of blood-pumping, adrenaline-bursting atmosphere is indeed not something that can be felt just by watching the game on TV.

The NBA is already like this, one can only imagine how much more intense American football is.

Soon the game began, and both sides exchanged blows.

From Li Younan’s angle, he could feel the impact when these NBA level players were running.

On TV, due to the angle, with different references, it always felt like the players’ speed was just about so, but when really watching on-site, as they rushed back and forth, the feeling of speed and power was truly exaggerated.

In one play, LeBron received a pass, cut inside, and jumped up to dunk, immediately causing the whole arena to tremble.

Li Younan couldn’t help but glance at the basket... That old guy really has some strength.

Following closely, in the next play, Curry received a pass one step outside the three-point line, immediately hitting a three-pointer, then made a sleep gesture to celebrate, with a booing sound from the scene.

Conversely, when the Lakers scored, the whole place waved purple-gold towels, and the shouting was almost to the point of overturning the roof.

When the Warriors earned free throws, the audience booed in unison, even booing the referee.

After watching the first half of the game passionately, it was finally halftime pause.

The Lakers’ cheerleaders entered to perform, these professional cheerleaders had exquisite figures, their dance moves filled with strength and rhythm, completely different from the cheerleaders seen during domestic games.

The cameras on the big screen captured the audience, randomly picking two people of opposite genders, and the captured spectators would kiss amid the cheers of the crowd, it was a very interesting segment.