The atmosphere inside the United Center was in a state of total boiling, with several Bulls fans holding banners and mostly wearing jerseys with Michael Jordan's iconic number 23. Thinking about that, Aaron could not help but think of the basketball GOAT's iconic statue located at the arena's entrance, in which Michael was doing his iconic mid-air dunk movement with his legs spread wide. That movement had caused a furor and sensation back in the 90s when Michael Jordan was in his prime and the Bulls were the strongest team in the league, a team few opponents wanted to face.
Looking at his phone, Aaron could not help but see the photo he had taken with "The Spirit" statue behind him. Immediately after taking the photo, he did not hesitate to send it to his family and friends, who wasted no time sending reply messages back.
Aaron: 📸 next to the GOAT
Drew: Not fair, I should be there watching the game too
Hannah: ❤️❤️
Mom: I hope you enjoy your trip
After reading those messages, he decided to put his phone away in his pocket while he saw how the rest of his teammates did not stop taking photos next to the statue and other areas of the stadium to immediately post them on their social media networks.
"Hey teammate, give me your username to tag you in the post," Julius said suddenly, putting aside taking photos for a moment to turn toward Aaron, who simply concentrated on looking all around the stadium.
"I don't have social media," was the simple answer Aaron gave him, while he watched a silence settle around them as his teammates looked at him with faces of incredulity and as if he were a weirdo.
"What?" Aaron could not help but ask.
"Man, are you serious?" Julius could not help but ask again, wanting to know if it was some kind of joke on his teammate's part or something like that.
"Yeah, I never saw the point in sharing everything I do with others," was the simple answer Aaron gave his teammates, who upon hearing his reason slowly began to put their phones away in their pockets.
"You know, sometimes you seem like a hermit, man," Julius said, thinking about the attitudes and habits Aaron had since he met him. Apart from the team and training sessions, he didn't see him going to parties or going out every day with someone new; he simply concentrated on basketball and academics, and nothing more. He respected his training ethic, and begrudgingly he had to admit that having someone as disciplined as him as a roommate brought advantages and helped him stay focused on training and discipline.
"I'll just say that I like to keep my private life private," was the last thing Aaron said as he moved forward and entered straight into the arena's atmosphere. With the rise of social media and the dependence on the latter by the majority of people, Aaron wanted to stay as far away as possible from them, knowing the addiction problems they caused when used in excess. He did have a private account, yes, but that account was only known by people of trust like his family, Hannah, and Drew, adding up to only 5 followers, and Aaron had no intention whatsoever of making that account known or public.
As they kept advancing little by little, they were entering the part where the noise of the crowd was much greater than elsewhere, being received by the sight of the game hardwood where the players found themselves performing their warm-ups before the game.
"Look over there," Andrew said suddenly, pointing toward one side of the hardwood where players in white jerseys with red lines found themselves performing their practices before the game's start. Andrew's finger pointed specifically at a player who found himself practicing his shot from the perimeter next to a coach in total concentration.
"Swish" was the sound heard when the ball went cleanly through the net under the roars of the crowd of fans who clearly had been watching the performance of the player wearing the number "1" jersey.
"Derrick Rose," Julius said, seeing how it effectively was the one who became the youngest MVP in NBA history and one of the faces of the entire league, who found himself preparing for the game that was about to begin.
On the other hardwood side, there was also a player who was on his way to becoming a superstar, but right now he was just a rookie in Cleveland on a team that was on the verge of collapse. It was none other than Kyrie Irving, who was playing his third season in the NBA with a team that little by little was aligning itself to his disposition, converting him into the franchise player. Unfortunately, that will be cut short next season when LeBron decides to abandon the Superheat to return to Ohio with the sole objective of managing to give his home state the first championship ring in its history.
Clearing those thoughts from his head, Aaron concentrated on following his group, who already found their row of seats, which was located very close to the hardwood.
"Whew, man, what good seats," Aaron Harrison could not help but whistle upon seeing how their row of seats was almost at hardwood level and they could see how the players little by little finished their warm-up to return to the locker rooms and prepare for the start of the game.
The moment the players retired, the Luvabulls wasted no time in entering and starting their show before the start of the game under the shouts and whistles of the crowd.
"That's how you do it, girls," Aaron heard someone say a few rows behind them, who could not pull his gaze away from the routine performed by the Bulls team's cheerleaders.
Suddenly the lights of the place turned off, and a light illuminated directly from a hallway where the mythical team mascot appeared, causing even more frenzy among the Chicago fans who adored the mascot. It was none other than Benny the Bull, the iconic mascot, who little by little managed to position himself on the hardwood and begin to dance along with the rest of the cheerleaders, who had a routine already set up with Benny.
When the music reached its end, the applause was not long in coming from all the people present in the stadium while the DJ played the iconic song Sirius by The Alan Parsons Project.
Then, through the public address system, the presenter's words were heard: "Liiiadies and Gentlemen... Boys and Girls... The United Center is proud to present the starting lineup for your Chicago Bulls!" he said, while his voice was drowned out by the applause of the crowd.
With the light dimming and the synthesizer reaching its highest point: "From Chicago... at guard... six-foot-three... DERRICK ROOOOOSE!" As soon as that name came off the presenter's lips, the chaos inside the arena became even more frenetic.
"Let's go Derrick," said a group of people who wore the Chicago Bulls jersey with pride and each had a cup of beer in hand.
"Finish off Cleveland, boys," said another fan who also expected to see a victory from his team today.
The Bulls team had started the season with a mixed record of 3-3, which was not a good start to the season, but even so, they were doing better than the Cavaliers, who came in with a record of 3-5, which demonstrated how bad the team was despite having a first-level point guard like Kyrie Irving.
After Derrick, the rest of the Bulls team came out of the players' tunnel under the applause of the crowd, so that afterward the Cleveland team made its appearance.
Bulls
PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Jimmy Butler
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Carlos Boozer
C: Joakim Noah
Cavaliers
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Dion Waiters
SF: Alonzo Gee
PF: Tristan Thompson
C: Andrew Bynum
Those were the lineups shown on the screen in the middle of the stadium while the 5 mentioned players found themselves already in their respective halves of the court, with both centers entering the central circle ready for the opening tip-off.
Referee Jason Phillips found himself directing himself to the middle of the court in between Joakim and Tristan, who found themselves prepared for the opening jump with the gazes of both fixed on the ball the referee held.
"TWEET!" After the sound of the horn, the match gave start while both centers jumped seeking to make themselves with the ball.
Tristan Thompson managed to reach the ball with his hand, passing it immediately to Kyrie Irving, who began to bring up the ball while the Cavs team began to go up at full speed.
In front of Kyrie stood the Bulls' shooting guard Jimmy Butler, who had not yet converted into the superstar he would be in the future, the one who led the Heat to two NBA Finals based on strength and commitment. If there was a word that could best represent Jimmy Butler, it was tenacity; after all, he was not the player with the best shot nor with the best defense, but he put everything into each one of his matches as if it were the NBA Finals. That by itself made Aaron completely respect Jimmy, who sought by all means to take the ball away from Kyrie, who calmly dribbled the ball between his legs and with some fakes was able to rid himself of Jimmy, who did not hesitate to turn around and follow Kyrie.
"And here we are at the start of the Bulls vs Cavs match here at the United Arena," was the voice that hundreds of people could hear through their televisions as they tuned into the game.
"I'll say, this game is also the first time Derrick Rose faces Kyrie Irving; one is already a consecrated superstar while Kyrie comes from being Rookie of the Year and having a good season last year," his partner said through his own microphone, watching the game with attention.
"Clank" was the sound of the ball hitting the rim, causing Joakim Noah to make himself with the rebound before passing it to Derrick, who did not hesitate to turn around and direct himself toward the other half of the court while the Cavs team retreated rapidly.
With a quick crossover, Derrick rid himself of Dion Waiters, who barely could react to his movements with the ball, permitting Derrick to penetrate without any problem straight toward the hoop while Thompson positioned himself beneath the post, not wanting Derrick to penetrate beneath the rim.
Calmly, Derrick, seeing that penetrating toward the post would not be best, immediately took a step backward in a step-back, creating the necessary space to be able to jump and shoot the ball straight toward the hoop.
"And there you have it, Derrick Rose puts the scoreboard up for the Bulls with a 3-point shot," said the main commentator of the encounter while the crowd did not stop applauding in direction toward Derrick, who retreated while receiving pats on the back from his teammates.
"After his ACL tear and leaving the courts for more than a year, Derrick still keeps demonstrating to us the magic that took him to be the youngest MVP in all the NBA," said the other analyst through his microphone.
"Perhaps he is no longer the electrifying Derrick Rose who did spectacular dunks and slams, but even so, that does not take away that when he is healthy, he keeps being one of the best players in the league and the core of these Chicago Bulls," the commentator could not help but praise the Chicago boy, who had gone through great ups and downs in his career.
The voices that ovated Derrick did nothing more than make everyone see that, despite everything, Derrick was the soul and the spirit of the entire Bulls team.
In that environment, the match followed its course under the attentive gaze of the Kentucky team, just like the other 3 programs that found themselves watching the game with special attention.
Authors thought
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