After finding out where Kobe had "planned" to bring him for a celebration, Su Feng finally figured out why his eyelids had twitched at the same time.
September 18th, Sunday, sunny.
After getting off the plane at Orlando Airport, Kobe took out the poster that Su Feng had given him on his birthday.
Hmm…
It was a poster of Anfernee Hardaway.
Su Feng saw the excitement on Kobe's face and did not want to ruin his good mood.
After all… Kobe had paid for the plane tickets.
Cough.
Of course, Su Feng was not a person who only cared about money. However, as he knew Kobe's life very well, he knew that Kobe… was probably going to have a hard time for a while.
"Let's go and grab some food. He is having a media interview in the morning and will only open to fans in the afternoon," said Kobe as he looked at Su Feng.
Su Feng did an OK sign to Kobe.
Orlando was situated in the central area of the state of Florida. It was a famous tourist attraction in the United States. Based on Kobe's familiarity with Orlando, Su Feng could tell that it was not his first time there.
Soon, led by Kobe, both of them arrived at a restaurant named Bubba.Gump.Shrimp.Co. Although Su Feng had not visited Orlando before, he was familiar with this restaurant.
It was because this restaurant was the restaurant specializing in prawns as mentioned in Forrest Gump.
The decoration style of the restaurant was very unique. It was full of roads and gave off an oldie vibe. Almost every detail was related to the movie Forrest Gump.
Moreover, on each table, there was a sign that looked like a license plate. If one wanted the waiter to come over, one would flip the sign to "STOP.FORREST.STOP". If not, one would flip it to "RUN.FORREST.RUN". These two phrases also originated from Forrest Gump.
Kobe and Su Feng ordered a portion of fried lobster and pasta each. Kobe had grown up eating pasta, and Su Feng knew that pasta was his favorite food.
Kobe was very picky about his food.
After all, his name came from steak. One could tell how much the Bryants loved to eat.
"Sigh, last time I came here, it was pretty good. Why do I feel like their food got worse?" Kobe suddenly said as he ate.
"Oh right, Su, I am suddenly craving your sandwiches," said Kobe.
Su Feng did not reply.
Brother, how am I going to make a sandwich for you…
Thankfully, Kobe merely mentioned it. After finishing their meal, they were headed to their destination—Amway Arena.
However, seeing the excited Kobe, Su Feng wondered how terrible he would feel later.
After all, the higher one's expectations, the higher one's disappointment.
The trip to Orlando would definitely be one that would cause Kobe to be heartbroken.
….
Amway Arena was situated at the center of Orlando. It was the main venue of the Orlando Magic. Today was the fanmeet of the new season.
Although Su Feng had toured the world using technology in his past life, this was the first time he had personally come into an NBA basketball court.
"Anfernee! Anfernee! Anfernee!"
The situation at the fanmeet was quite insane.
Su Feng could not even count how many female fans had shoved their way through him with a basketball.
The 1990s was not like the future, where people had a wide variety of entertainment options. Moreover, 1994 was the year of the rise of the Orlando Magic. Therefore, the passion of people in Orlando for basketball was evident.
"Su, our position is there." Thankfully, Kobe managed to bring Su Feng out of the crowd very quickly.
Thanks to Kobe's father, Joe Bryant, Su Feng and Kobe had managed to get tickets that were near the front row.
Both of them sat behind the substitute bench.
"Su, hurry, hurry, hurry, Anfernee is here!"
Kobe spotted his idol, Anfernee Hardaway, immediately.
Hardaway was sitting emotionlessly on the substitute bench in front of Su Feng and Kobe and began to bend over to change his shoes.
Kobe, who felt as though he was struck by the luck god, took out the poster given by Su Feng and said cautiously, "Anfernee, can you sign this for me and take a photo together?"
Kobe was like an ordinary fanboy.
Su Feng could even tell that he was begging from his tone…
Su Feng could not bear to see what was about to happen next.
That was because Anfernee Hardaway did not even take a glance at Kobe. He stood up slowly with the shoes he had just changed out of.
Then…
The proud Hardaway walked directly back to the changing room.
No matter how much his fans shouted behind him, he did not turn around.
"Anfernee…" Kobe was on the verge of breaking down.
Su Feng knew that this would be a huge blow to Kobe.
It was so bad that Kobe mentioned this incident during an interview with a fatty after his retirement.
Su Feng patted Kobe's shoulder. However, Kobe had already sunk into depression.
….
Just as Su Feng was comforting Kobe, a fatty who had just walked out of the changing room and was joking with his teammates unintentionally spotted Su Feng and Kobe.
Oh, no, this fatty was not considered a fatty yet.
He smiled and walked towards Su Feng and Kobe.
Each step he took was filled with energy. It felt as though he was about to crush the entire basketball court.
Soon, Su Feng realized that this fatty…
Although he knew what would unfold next, Su Feng's mouth still formed an O shape when he saw this scene.
That was because that was him 26 years ago, who exuded a powerful and energetic aura.
That was because that was him 26 years ago, and he shook the arena.
That was because that was him 26 years ago, and he liked to joke around and had a great sense of humor.
According to his words when he retired, even though there would not be a legendary person in the future, his legend would remain.
Although Kobe had fought with Su Feng in his past life, both verbally and physically…
When Kobe retired, Kobe said that this fatty was his best partner.
LeBron James had said that he was the most dominant player in the NBA.
Although he was the basketball god who would make a comeback in the near future, he would be beaten by him first.
Shaq Diesel, Big Shaqtus, and Big Shamrock were all his nicknames. However, Su Feng liked to call him Shaquille.
Because of him, the NBA had to improve the quality of the basketball nets. Because of him, people invented the insane "kill shark strategy…"
It was the man who ruled over the end of the century and the start of the next century, after the four major centers grew old.
He was Shaquille O'Neal.
The most powerful center, the beast of the world. All of the NBA centers of the start of the 21st century lost to him.
As a fan of Kobe, Su Feng was also a fan of Shaquille, the fatty.
No fan of Kobe could forget Shaquille.
No fan could forget the legendary pair OK.
"Hey, young men, cheer up, today is a fanmeet!" O'Neal suddenly bent down after walking to Su Feng and Kobe.
O'Neal pretended to be unhappy and said to Kobe, "Yo, isn't this Anfernee's poster? Are you his fan?"
Kobe nodded. Of course, Kobe knew O'Neal because… this fatty, oh no, the fatty who had yet to become a fatty had already become renowned in the United States.
"Shaquille is angry! So all of you have to take a photo with Shaquille so that Shaquille will forgive you!"
O'Neal hugged Su Feng and Kobe as though he was comforting kids. He held them like two young boys and asked the reporter to take a group photo.
This… was probably the so-called "when God closes a door, he will open another window of opportunity for you0."
"Alright, tsk, do you have a marker? To celebrate this day, I, the mighty Shaquille, want to sign for you," O'Neal said as he looked at Su Feng and Kobe.
Kobe unconsciously passed the marker to O'Neal. Then O'Neal signed in the book that was meant to be signed by Hardaway.
"You?" O'Neal asked Su Feng, who did not have a book.
Su Feng, who was still in a state of shock, pointed at his back. O'Neal did not hesitate to turn Su Feng around before signing the back of his shirt.
"Hey, boys, see you guys if fate permits!" After signing for Kobe and Su Feng and passing the instant print photographs to them, O'Neal left for the court.
One had to admit that… O'Neal was really meticulous.
A few simple sentences had helped Kobe forget everything bad that had just happened.
Su Feng believed that even if one did not know O'Neal or did not like him, in this situation, one would definitely become fond of him.
His EQ…
No wonder he had become the most sociable person in the NBA.
Cough cough.
"He is Shaquille? He is like a mountain!" exclaimed Kobe.
"How is he a mountain… I feel that he is a planet!" Su Feng exclaimed too.
"It would be interesting if we had a teammate like him. I really want to be his teammate," Kobe suddenly vowed.
Su Feng did not reply.
Aiyo, brother, you will probably find it interesting, but O'Neal will probably go crazy.
This was really fate.
In Su Feng's past life, Kobe's experience, in some sense, reflected the completely different life path of Hardaway and O'Neal…
Also, Su Feng knew that this past incident was not necessarily a bad thing for Kobe. Because of this experience, Kobe would always fulfill his fans' requests.
Kobe felt all sorts of emotions as he looked at the crumpled Hardaway poster in his hand and O'Neal's signature.
Su Feng was thinking… Would he ever wash the shirt that O'Neal had signed?
"Come, let's go back. Su, we will definitely get into the NBA in the future. One day, we will meet them again on the court," said Kobe as he looked at Su Feng.
Su Feng nodded and thought, "If history remains the same, you will not only meet them… the future fatty will be tortured by you."
"Sigh, I really want to be O'Neal's teammate!" Su Feng vowed as he looked at O'Neal's muscular thighs.
….