This time, at the Great Western Forum, Zhang Hao was unexpectedly invited for an interview!
The treatment was clearly different from the selection match!
However, the interview was a group interview, with six players participating in the Dunk Contest being interviewed together, asked some neutral questions, and the responses varied based on each individual's personality. For instance, Ricky Davis and Desmond Mason were straightforward, while Carter showed some finesse, despite looking down on the other four competitors except Zhang Hao, he spoke judiciously.
As for Zhang Hao, he was very direct: "I want to be first."
This surprised the reporters from several media outlets. In the media industry, everyone needs to be approached. Due to China's growing strength, the United States began its first trade suppression and economic sanctions against China after the Cold War... They have contact with Chinese students, Chinese actors, Chinese athletes, and they have a fixed impression of Chinese people—modest.
The other players, with less experience, didn't find Zhang Hao's response odd. Zhang Hao's dunk during the selection match qualified him to compete for the championship, but indeed, the media found it surprising.
This Chinese player seems a bit different from other Chinese athletes!
After Zhang Hao received the feedback he wanted from the reporters, he nodded quietly to himself, this is what he was aiming for.
He needed to establish his persona. After the 90s, there's been a surge of students going abroad from China, he needed to showcase something different from other domestic athletes. Perhaps this interview might not have much impact, as he was just a small role in a group interview, but establishing his persona was for better preparation for the future.
However, Zhang Hao wasn't asked many questions during this interview, he was still largely overlooked, as this event was primarily an American domestic promotional activity, obviously focusing more on American high school students.
After the group interview, each player participating in the contest was individually called by McDonald's to record a short self-introduction video, lasting about half a minute, with a sentence of self-introduction, followed by some poses for photos, or a dunk action. Since Zhang Hao's dunk during the selection was impressive, the subsequent poses or dunk actions were omitted, directly showcasing that dunk.
The main task was to film a sentence of self-introduction, which could follow the provided template or be self-composed, as long as McDonald's found it acceptable.
Zhang Hao initially planned to follow the template, but McDonald's asked Zhang Hao to say a Chinese introduction, with subtitles provided later. This surprised him, and suddenly, Zhang Hao had a moment of inspiration and stated his own idea.
McDonald's, during the phase of rapidly deteriorating Sino-U.S. relations post-Cold War, remained very cautious and specially found a staff who spoke Chinese to ensure Zhang Hao's statement was problem-free, thus ending this simple recording session.
...
At 7 PM, Zhang Hao along with the other 11 players scheduled to play tonight, as well as the six players and their partners participating in the Dunk Contest, entered the court of the Great Western Forum.
Looking at over 17,000 spectators on-site, aside from the school team members on the sidelines, some school leaders, and some celebrities… all the audience behind the front rows were wearing T-shirts provided by McDonald's, which was one of the conditions for watching the game for free.
So many spectators weren't charged, but instead handed T-shirts… Zhang Hao felt the wealth and generosity of McDonald's.
With so many spectators… Zhang Hao felt a rush of excitement rising within him.
To realize, competing under the gaze of so many spectators felt so passionately exhilarating!
Noticing the cameramen at several passages of the court, Zhang Hao just realized that the nationwide broadcast had begun!
Zhang Hao tried hard to calm himself down, now more than ever, he needed to stay composed and perform the prepared dunk well. He was but a person who could live a little over a year, and the core goal tonight should be scoring a perfect dunk.
First, there was a live atmosphere-building performance, where McDonald's invited two comedians to warm up the crowd. By 7:40 PM, the American Cable TV Station connected the live broadcast signal, with the host on court starting the advertisement, promoting McDonald's…
The Three-Point Contest began first, this… Zhang Hao thought Carter would likely win easily; the level of the competing players was at best, fair, and Pierce was not inferior to them.
Back then, three-pointers weren't so valued, especially during this playoff period in the NBA, currently at the peak of the iron-blood era led by Pat Riley, where three-pointers weren't viable in the NBA playoffs, naturally reducing focus. Not to mention high school players, even college players didn't have much dedicated three-point shooting practice.
After half an hour, with the on-site audience nearly nodding off from watching misses and growing impatient, the Three-Point Contest champion emerged; a 19-year-old senior from Seattle Washington Federal High School, Michael Dixon, won.
After the brief awarding ceremony for the Three-Point Contest, the atmosphere changed noticeably!
...
Previously, during the introduction of the Three-Point Contest players, names were simply read, and each was given a camera shot. But during the Dunk Contest, unlike the earlier introductions, they waited until the judges' seats were arranged, then picked balls with players' names from a lottery box, determining the order of appearance according to the drawn sequence.
Such apparent differential treatment indeed perked the audience up.