156: 084: Another public opinion crisis, the Wang dynasty collapse underway 156: 084: Another public opinion crisis, the Wang dynasty collapse underway The next day on the plane, Roger handed an envelope to Derrick McKey, whose eyes still showed bruises.
McKey opened it to find a stack of cash, totaling 5,000 US dollars.
He looked at Roger, dumbfounded, and Roger patted him on the shoulder, “I’ll cover your fine.”
“You don’t have to do that, Roger.
Teaching that bastard a lesson is part of my job,” McKey said.
You have to pay to do your job, too.
Thanks, buddy,” Roger replied.
At that moment, Harper leaned in, “Yeah, Roger, it’s just part of the job.
On the court, you don’t have to throw hands.
Of course, just don’t get itchy fingers and start hitting us in the locker room and on the practice court.”
The whole plane erupted into laughter.
There was no helping it; the incident where Roger beat up Pippen and almost blinded Jordan had made quite an impact.
Even now, reporters would often ask Jordan, “Michael, what’s the difference between a titanium eye and a normal one?”
After the joke, Harper said, “You were pretty bold in the interview yesterday.
Michael is probably at home right now, taking his anger out on Barkley’s big ass, since he can only pick on Charles.”
“What’s so bold about that?” Grant, who was eating his airplane meal, chimed in.
He’d focused on defense in yesterday’s game, so he only scored 8 points and got 8 rebounds, and if this had been with the Bulls, he wouldn’t be having this meal today, “Roger is just stating the facts.
The Bulls can’t win a single game against us this season!”
“Right, Michael Jordan is history.
We can all benefit from Roger’s era!” Michael Cage laughed.
O’Neal watched the scene silently with headphones on.
Since Roger arrived in Orlando, he was no longer the sole focus.
He was there for team community events, business events, billboards, radio, and TV broadcasts too.
The media loved him, his teammates loved him, management loved him, everyone revolved around him.
His jersey sales far exceeded his own, and his shoe sales were so far ahead he couldn’t even see the taillights.
He seemed to be the real big brother of the locker room, the darling of Orlando.
For a moment or two, he actually was quite envious of Roger.
But as soon as he remembered that this man could help him beat everyone up and compete for the championship, O’Neal immediately let go of the envy.
For the current Shaq, the value of victory trumped everything.
Yesterday, Roger had helped him take down the Admiral, a man he’d never beaten before, right?
He was one of their own.
Upon their arrival in Orlando, countless media reporters were already waiting at the airport.
A single statement about having no competitors in the East had once again pushed Roger into the limelight.
Looking at the East, there really weren’t many teams that posed a threat to the Magic, apart from the Bulls and the Knicks.
The Indiana Pacers were also a nuisance, but they took a huge hit when they lost McKey last summer.
Their strength had declined and they seemed unlikely to break out of the East at the moment.
So, when Roger made that comment, it was basically aimed at the Bulls and the Knicks, without giving them a second thought.
Right after getting off the plane, Roger was besieged by reporters from all sides.
“Roger, what’s the source of your confidence?”
Roger turned his body to let the camera capture his teammates, “They are the source of my confidence.”
“Pat Riley says that regular season records don’t mean everything, and he and the Knicks are prepared for the Playoffs against the Magic.
“I’ll shove defeat back into his dog mouth, and this time it won’t even take seven games,” Roger said.
“You’ve been leading Michael Jordan in this year’s All-Star voting, how do you feel about that?”
“It’s nothing,” Roger said with a smirk, “you know, there are people buying my shoes in Chicago now too.
So, I guess there are quite a few people voting for me there.”
“What do you make of the recent rumor that trading you was one of the conditions for Michael Jordan’s comeback?”
“Only Michael knows that,” Roger replied.
The emergence of that last question proved that Reebok’s, when compared to Nike’s, fragile influence on public opinion, had finally started to work.
All along, the blame for trading Roger had been placed on Krause’s shoulders.
Because of it, he had received more than one death threat.
The media mocked him as “Executive of the Year,” only on behalf of the Magic.
He loved basketball, he loved the competition, he loved victory, he loved the fans of Chicago, and he wanted to comfort his late father with a championship crown.
His return was cast in such a positive light, so pure, untainted by any hint of self-interest.
He received all the praise and still showed no respect for Krause, who had born all the consequences for this.
But as Roger’s performances improved, so did Reebok’s impact in the media.
Rumors about Jordan’s “conditional comeback” had spread around the world.
Although Jordan repeatedly denied it, more and more people started to believe that it was Jordan who had gotten rid of Roger for his own team status and personal grudges.
After all, there were indeed some unpleasant moments between Jordan and Roger, without whom people wouldn’t have known that titanium could be implanted in an eye.
The better Roger played, the more the external doubts about Jordan grew.
After Roger was traded, the most common thing Jordan said was, “I am the one who can bring a championship to the Bulls.”
If he really could do that, then the trade wouldn’t matter.
But as it stands, the Magic seemed closer to the championship.
After the Magic crushed the Spurs and Roger scored 40+ points for the second time that season, the voices questioning Jordan finally reached their peak.