Chapter 80: Unfavorable Circumstances.
The All-Star voting had begun, and each team ramped up their promotional efforts.
However, Han Sen's promotional slogan sparked heated discussion among fans.
One factor was that Han had Khalil report the matter on ESPN.
What he didn't expect, though, was that TNT's latest episode of NBA Entertainment also used his slogan as material.
This news quickly spread beyond the usual circles— now even music fans were joining the discussion.
After all, Swifty was regarded as a goddess by many music fans, and Han Sen was seen as shameless.
"Look at yourself in the mirror," "Who do you think you are," "No shame at all."...
History repeats itself— previously, Kobe fans used these phrases to mock LeBron James, and now music fans directed them at Han Sen.
Naturally, he was overjoyed.
Taylor Swift's fan base had grown considerably, and even if only a small portion of them hated on him, the amount of 'haters' he gained was comparable to LeBron's.
So naturally, during the Cavaliers' public training session, reporters couldn't resist asking him about it.
"If you get selected for the All-Star game, would you really go on a date with Swift?"
"Of course," he answered confidently— after all, he knew he wouldn't get selected.
In the NBA All-Star, 12 players from each conference (Eastern & Western) are chosen per team— 7 reserves picked by the league's coaches, and 5 starters selected by the fans.
There's no chance of being picked as a reserve; he was only averaging around ten points per game. Even if you handed the decision to Malone, he wouldn't pick Han Sen— it would just be setting him up for failure.
As for the starters, that was even more unrealistic. Though he had the support of the Far East market, the Eastern Conference had too many star guards right now— Iverson, Wade, and Pierce were all in their prime, and then you had popular choices like Rose, Joe Johnson, Rondo, and Carter.
Plus, last year Yi Jianlian almost beat Garnett to be voted as a starter for the Eastern All-Stars, so the league was definitely going to tweak the voting rules.
So, it was a 99% impossible scenario.
"But that's Taylor Swift!" the reporter exclaimed.
"What do you think of my looks?" Han Sen asked with a smile.
The reporter sized him up carefully before concluding, "Well, your name fits you."
His name in English, "Handsome", had become a joke, even mentioned by commentators during the summer league.
"Do you like Taylor?" Han Sen continued.
The reporter blushed slightly— who doesn't like her these days?
"So, I'm handsome, and single— why can't I like Taylor?"
His response left the reporter speechless. It seemed like something was off, but they couldn't quite pinpoint what.
Han shrugged and smiled, reminding the reporter, "Don't forget to vote for me."
This interview, once published, only added fuel to the fire.
More fans and music enthusiasts joined the ranks of his haters.
Soon enough, someone pointed out the flaw in his logic— sure, anyone could like Swift, but Han Sen had previously talked about going on a date!
The number of his haters skyrocketed.
At the same time, Han Sen received an invitation to the league's three-point contest.
He wasn't particularly interested in participating, but when he heard that Curry and Pierce would be there, he immediately changed his mind.
One was his 'arch-rival' from his NCAA days (self-proclaimed), and the other was his number one hater— how could he miss this opportunity?
A week later, the results of the first round of All-Star voting were released.
Hansen ranked seventh among Eastern Conference guards.
While it was surprising that he had more votes than Joe Johnson, given his East Coast background, it made sense.
He was content with the result.
Being too low would make him seem insignificant, but being too high— come on, you don't really want him to go on a date with Swift, do you? Even if he shamelessly went and got rejected, that level of awkwardness would make you want to crawl into a hole.
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Han's performance on the court improved that week.
Firstly, after following the team doctor's advice, his groin issues noticeably improved.
Secondly, after receiving guidance from Wade and targeted training, he occasionally managed to score with a floater.
Everything seemed to be heading in the direction he hoped.
Until a week later, when the results of the second round of voting were released, and he sensed something was off.
His votes had skyrocketed, jumping from seventh to third, right behind Iverson and Wade.
Wait, what was going on?
He was confused by the result.
After the first round of voting, he had done some research. According to online fans, to control the votes from the Far Eastern market, the league had raised the vote weighting to 1:7, and some even claimed that votes from the Far East weren't counted at all- only votes from the US mattered.
Amid all the rumors, one thing was clear: there were certainly measures in place because Yi Jianlian barely got any votes this year.
And let's not forget, Yi's stats this season with the Nets were much better than last year with the Wizards.
There's no way Americans would vote him into the All-Star game just to see him embarrass himself, right?
Han Sen knew Americans could be bored, but not to that extent.
Of course, he wasn't the most worried about the results— Pierce, Rondo, Carter, and their fans were.
Especially Pierce, who took to social media to criticize the voting system, calling it a disgrace.
This scene was reminiscent of last year when Garnett was nearly overtaken by Yi Jianlian, and fans criticized the voting system.
Boston fans were once again up in arms, and Han picked up even more haters without even trying.
His earlier "remote farming" plan was turning out to be a stroke of genius.
But the real climax came a week later when the results of the third round of voting were released— Han Sen had surpassed Iverson and moved into second place among Eastern guards!
At this point, even he was bewildered.
What on earth was happening?
He knew surpassing Iverson couldn't have been influenced by American fans. While Iverson's popularity had declined, he couldn't compare to him in the US.
The only plausible explanation had to be something from back home.
After scouring chinese forums, Han finally figured it out.
Turns out, he had underestimated the situation.
First off, it was the haters. These haters had started a massive campaign on forums, urging others to use VPNs to vote for him.
Apparently, through repeated attempts, they discovered that the vote weighting in China was 1:10, but using a VPN made it 1:1.
They even provided VPN tutorials and offered help to those who didn't know how to use them.
It seemed to prove the old saying true: "When hate reaches its peak, it turns into love."
However, their real goal was to watch him make a fool of himself.
Han Sen's performance had improved over the past two weeks, bringing his season average to over 12 points, but being selected as an All-Star with just over 12 points would be utterly embarrassing.
Not to mention the added embarrassment of having to go on a date with Swift— someone he couldn't possibly land. Double the embarrassment.
Then there were his actual fans.
Because he'd been so focused on cultivating haters, he had paid almost no attention to his own supporters.
Especially since he hadn't played in the Asia Championships and had criticized domestic shoe companies, theoretically, he shouldn't have many fans left.
But he'd overlooked one key point— Yao Ming was out for the season due to injury.
With Yao unable to play and Yi Jianlian putting up better numbers but the Nets still ranking near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Han Sen's solid standing with the Cavaliers naturally drew more attention.
Most fans didn't care about off-court matters.
It's like actors— if you perform well and stay within the law, fans don't mind if you have personal issues.
Moreover, Han Sen didn't have any serious personal issues— he just had a big mouth.
So as long as he played well, he'd have fans.
And it turned out, he had quite a few. Whether facing the 1:10 vote weighting or using VPNs, their combined votes were significant.
Though he now understood the reasoning behind it all, he still wasn't worried. He knew the league wouldn't let him start.
No matter how many votes he received, what did it matter?
To the league, it was just a bunch of data in the backend, and altering data— something even a basic programmer could do— wasn't difficult.
Besides, by surpassing Iverson, the passionate 'Lifelong Iverson Fans' would start pulling in more votes for their favorite.
So, in all likelihood, he would end up in third place, just like Yi Jianlian last year— close, but no cigar.
For Hansen, that would be the best possible outcome.
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