Y13 [EN]: Chapter 203

Y13-203 2011-2012 Regular Season

“…”

The Dallas players were sleeping on the plane. After winning the game against the New Orleans Hornets at home on January 7th, they only had one day off before heading out on the road. They needed to rest up to avoid the fatigue of traveling to Washington on the 9th, Detroit on the 10th, and Boston on the 11th. The Dallas team was facing a back-to-back-to-back situation due to the White House visit, which added to their fatigue.

“Ugh!!!”

Arriving at Ronald Reagan Airport on the morning of January 9th, the players were tense, their bodies stiff.

“We’re really going, right?”

Even Chandler, who was usually the most energetic, seemed worried and tense. The other players were even more so.

“Tsk, tsk. This is why rookies are no good. You wouldn’t know unless you’ve been to the White House before.”

Terry, the only one among them who had visited the White House, seemed less nervous than the others and arrogantly advised them to relax.

“You know, right? You have to shake off your shoes before entering the White House? And when you meet the President, you have to take off your shoes like in Yoon’s Korea [referring to a traditional Korean custom of removing shoes before entering a home].”

“R, really?”

Chandler, surprisingly naive about such things, listened intently to Terry’s story, not wanting to miss a single detail. Terry, of course! He joked.

“Think about it. It’s where the President works, so it can’t be full of mud and dust, right?”

“W, well, that’s true.”

“Always clean! Neat! You have to remember that?”

Watching Chandler fall for Terry’s prank, the players tried to suppress their laughter and relax. The oldest player, Kidd, snapped his fingers and dragged Terry away.

“Okay~ that’s enough joking around!”

“Ah, ah! Wait, wait! It was just getting interesting!!”

“We need to get on the bus quickly, Mr. Terry. Let’s go.”

Chandler stared blankly at Terry as he walked away, then sighed, realizing he had been tricked.

“…Wow, we’re here.”

As the chartered bus stopped in front of the White House, the players, dressed in suits, along with Coach Rick Carlisle, owner Mark Cuban, and General Manager Donnie Nelson, got off and waited for the guide to appear. The players, seeing the White House up close for the first time, looked amazed and chatted among themselves. However, Terry, who had been acting arrogant in front of Chandler, was now the most nervous, fidgeting with his tie.

“What, I thought you said it was nothing special?”

Marion jokingly tried to ease Terry’s tension, but Terry seemed not to hear him, repeatedly adjusting his tie.

“It’s just that it was so long ago… Ha, haha. College days? Coming back after more than ten years since I was as young as the youngest player… I’m nervous…”

Terry chuckled awkwardly, adjusted his tie again, and swallowed hard. A secretary came out and politely greeted the Dallas Mavericks team, and Cuban accepted the greeting on behalf of the team.

“Please come this way.”

Following the guide, the team walked closer to the White House, and as it grew larger, the players began to realize it. They were really going to enter the White House and meet the President.

“There will be a security check by the US Secret Service.”

As it was a place where the President and other important figures came and went, security was tight. The White House looked like a beautiful building from the outside, with a peaceful atmosphere, but the process of entering the building and meeting the President was very strict.

Cuban was the first to be searched by the Secret Service agents. After that, everyone was checked one by one, and Youngjae was also checked.

“Whew, that was intense. Right?”

Even Brewer, who usually looked strong and tough, seemed exhausted and stuck out his tongue. Youngjae felt the same way and nodded.

“I guess it’s natural since we’re meeting the President… but it’s still strict.”

“The President I’ve seen in rumors and the media seems like a cheerful person, so I hope he is.”

When the security check of all the players was completed without any problems, the secretary led the team forward. Secret Service personnel followed around the team.

“This is the place. Please wait a moment.”

Arriving at the hall specially prepared for the Dallas Mavericks team, the secretary knocked on the door, and a man’s voice, weighty but cheerful, came from inside.

“Come in!”

Squeak-

As the door opened, President Obama, who had been waiting for the team in the hall, greeted them warmly in a white shirt and black suit.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Barack Obama. I hope everyone knows me?”

“Haha! Of course! But where have I seen you before…”

The players, who had been stiff with tension, were able to smile lightly at the wit of President Obama and Cuban as they exchanged jokes while shaking hands.

“Well, you must be tired from coming so far, so let’s sit down first.”

As President Obama sat down first, all the players, starting with Mark Cuban, sat down in their chairs one by one. As if they had been preparing for this, a white cloth was elegantly laid on the long table, and light drinks were prepared to quench their thirst.

“Ah, it was really an amazing series. Don’t you think?”

“That’s right. I think it was the best reversal that even I, as the owner, had to doubt.”

President Obama also had a lot of interest in various sports. That’s why last year’s finals left a very deep impression on President Obama, and he wanted to meet the team once.

“Indeed, I feel like you’re a team that fits well with the Mavericks, which means a hard-to-tame horse. Didn’t you knock down the noses of the so-called experts? Haha! That must have been very satisfying?”

The players listened to President Obama’s cheerful voice with pleasant expressions, and Cuban, instead of showing his usual eccentric image, responded to President Obama with wit, not at all intimidated, like a relaxed chairman from a drama.

“I feel sorry for the experts, but what can we do? If it’s wrong to try to guess a hard-to-tame horse, and if it’s wrong that the experts didn’t think our team’s level would be so high, I thought it was polite to pretend not to notice their embarrassment, so I didn’t do any special events.”

“Haha! You really have as much consideration as the state of Texas!”

Cuban was temporarily out of the story after that, and President Obama began to say a word to the players sitting nearby. Starting with Dirk Nowitzki, who naturally sat close to President Obama, President Obama, who had a conversation with Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, and Tyson Chandler, glanced at Youngjae, who was sitting next to him, and smiled.

“I think Asians are really rare among NBA players. How is it, are there any difficulties?”

Youngjae didn’t know how to answer President Obama’s question, which was somehow precarious and had a bone in it, and made a difficult expression. President Obama smiled and reassured Youngjae.

“You can speak comfortably. It’s not like there’s a problem if you say something wrong here. I’m just… curious.”

President Obama also knew how difficult such ‘discrimination’ was due to the discrimination he had experienced as a black man. Of course, discrimination has disappeared a lot in this era, but it has weakened compared to the past, but racial discrimination still exists without knowing it.

“I haven’t experienced such discrimination or unfairness. I haven’t felt that way since joining San Diego State University in the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] and the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. Of course, such things can happen in unseen places, but I think there’s nothing to worry about now because I’m a member of the team.”

…

“Hahaha!! I wonder if this is a young friend! I heard it well! I heard it well! After all, isn’t the reason why the Dallas Mavericks succeeded because even young players like this have a great mental state?”

President Obama laughed, telling one of his episodes.

“Even in a globalized world, such stereotypes and discrimination are bound to exist. I was also trying to drink coffee at a cafe when a white man said to me. ‘Hey, can you give me a latte here?’ I think that man thought of blacks as cafe clerks or below him. It’s already an old story, but I felt it at that time. America is still globalized, but it’s far away. So I want young people like Yoon to look at the world positively and live like Yoon. Surely it will be. Haha! I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that.”

“Surely, Mr. President will do it wonderfully.”

After finishing the story with Cuban’s answer, the team stood around President Obama and started taking pictures.

“Come on, let’s get closer? I’m going to get a lot of energy from the energy of the miracle winning team and try to get some strength!”

President Obama spoke to Coach Rick Carlisle and Mark Cuban, who were closest to him, and the two took half a step closer to President Obama with a hum-.

Then the players also got close and took their seats, and soon the camera started taking pictures with a bang!

“Don’t be nervous. We’re just taking pictures.”

As President Obama spoke first, the players gradually began to smile and not recognize that they were taking pictures, and the team began a small event prepared by the team.

While talking about their own specialties, Nowitzki’s trumpet became a hot topic, and Cuban smiled and handed Nowitzki the trumpet he had prepared in advance. Nowitzki seemed to pull it out, but soon began to play the trumpet skillfully.

“Oh, this music is…”

Nowitzki, who was skillfully playing QUEEN’s We are the champion, was so excited that he started singing the second verse himself. I thought it would be awkward to sing without accompaniment, so Youngjae glanced at it and hurriedly found and played the accompaniment from the second verse of We are the champion on his iPhone.

We are the champions my friends

We’ll keep on fighting till the end

We are the champions. We are the champions

No time for losers ’cause we are the champions of the world

When Nowitzki’s song was over, President Obama clapped and laughed heartily.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a painful song in my life! Haha! Thank you for listening!”

“I heard that Mr. President likes the number 23.”

“Ah! That’s right. It’s Michael Jordan’s number, who was also my idol.”

President Obama was a long-time fan of the Chicago Bulls. Obama, who was from Chicago and based in Chicago, liked all the sports teams in Chicago. Among them, Michael Jordan was a great fan.

Nowitzki took out the prepared uniform and handed it to President Obama.

The number 23, which was engraved on the clean Dallas home uniform based on blue, and the uniform engraved with OBAMA, was accepted by President Obama with a smile.

The number 23 was Jordan’s number, but it was also the number that President Obama wore when he was a basketball player in high school.

“Oh my! I’m so happy! But… what should I do?”

President Obama smiled slightly, accepted the uniform, and said.

“I received the uniform, but I have a feeling that the team that will be here next year will be the Chicago Bulls? Haha! Still, I really like the uniform! I’ll use it well.”

“Well, shouldn’t we get the uniform back?”

The team and President Obama could laugh at Nowitzki’s joke, and the atmosphere was further heightened.

============================ Author’s words ============================

★Thank you for your advance reading, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

＠It’s a pleasant 3-day holiday. Have a great holiday everyone~. There are no holidays until Christmas ㅠ.ㅠ

misscherry, Lee Dong-seok, Goddess Yuri Praise, Disappearing Soul, Financia, Omari On/// Thank you for your comments~~ Have a great 3-day holiday^^.

H0H/// Haha.. I think it’s just going fast rather than writing it usefully. Especially when I think about how much I have to do. The trap is that I can’t do everything I have to do ㅠ.ㅠ

Dreaming That Day/// I wanted to say that line once lol

Ultra 10/// Nash debuted in Phoenix, and Dallas’s Don Nelson requested him to bring him and raised him to an All-Star level. However, Cuban was reluctant to give Nash, who was in his 30s and had weak defense, a huge long-term contract, so he became a FA and went to Phoenix and became MVP. Dallas’s 6 years can be seen as Nash’s development period. Dallas also offered Nash a coaching position this season. Nowitzki also gave an interview about Nash’s retirement. It’s a pity that I couldn’t play with him in Dallas at the end.

goimosp/// Nash will probably come out sometimes.

Yabes/// Most Improved Player… With the records so far, he is enough to participate in the race.

rtg98/// Canadian players are the least discriminated against and treated well among non-American players. Because the relationship with the United States is so good and the cultural sphere is similar. Europeans like Nowitzki are not racially discriminated against, but the United States also has its own national priority, so media attention falls, and there are few cases where they are favorable in referee calls. Superstar calls, Kobe, Harden, Paul, and LeBron are often generous in referee calls. Fouls or traveling. And American players are also very close to each other.