Carrot’s touching basketball ended here. KGC, who won the regular league wire-to-wire championship, was hit in the second game, but did not collapse. Carrot coach Kim Seung-gi, who led the players until the end in a difficult situation, eventually stole tears until the end.
It was a tough season.
It started ambitiously by acquiring Goyang Orion Orions,안전놀이터 but the parent company was unable to escape from poor management and support, contrary to its strong aspirations. The federation subscription fee was unpaid, and the salaries of the players were delayed. The cost of tickets for home fans who visited the stadium because they could not pay the purchase price had to be used to pay back the money.
Still, Carrot moved on.
Even after confirming their advance to the playoffs early, they were almost driven into an unprecedented situation of being deprived of the right to advance to the playoffs because of the parent company, but the players persevered and overcame the crisis. Ace Jeon Seong-hyun, who was unable to attend the end of the regular season due to sudden hearing loss caused by extreme stress, showed fighting spirit to return during the playoffs with an incomplete body.
Miraculous victories continued. The team has always referred to ‘fans’ since sometime.
The cheers of the spectators who filled the home arena grew even louder. Fans did not hesitate to support them from behind the scenes. During the playoffs, he even sent eel rice bowls to the players.
Manager Kim Seung-gi said, “I felt like I was going to cry in front of the eel rice bowl. The players are in a very difficult situation. They didn’t even ask if they were eating well. It’s salty now, but I did it on purpose because I was afraid it would become more salty.”
Manager Kim also mentioned fans throughout the season. He said, “It’s not normal basketball. It’s cheating.” He emphasized several times that “the fans like it. That’s the biggest reward.”
The same goes for the playoffs. He looked back, saying, “Honestly, after the game, I was so tired that I wanted to rest quickly, but the fans cheered for me as the coach and waited for my autograph. I was so grateful that I tried to do everything one by one.”
Director Kim Seung-gi said, “I also remembered the days when professional basketball was popular in the past. When I was coach of KGC, Anyang fans were really enthusiastic. During this time, many fans enthusiastically cheered and supported me. They knew that I liked coffee, and the fans gave me coffee every day.”
After a tough struggle, they made it to the playoffs. Despite the lack of height and physical difficulties due to the lack of available personnel, the players threw their bodies and did their best to make the name of the Goyang Carrot Jumpers known even for one more second.
Coach Seunggi Kim praised all the players. He spared no encouragement, saying that he squeezed and squeezed more than he could. The parent company, which should be their background, was infinitely small and shabby to capture the tearful fighting spirit of the athletes, but instead, the fans reassured their place.
Director Kim repeatedly expressed his gratitude, saying, “If there were no fans, this place would not exist.” He expressed his gratitude to the fans, saying that he would like to have a video live chat (fan meeting) as long as he has the conditions and knows how.
Director Kim Seung-gi said, “I was crying again after winning the second match and doing a broadcast interview. It was hard to hold back my tears. It’s menopausal. Tears have increased.” , “If I win Game 4, I’ll do that,” he said.
That didn’t happen. Carrot suffered a crushing loss in the 4th game and won the flag of impressive basketball. Director Kim Seung-gi hid his tears again. But there were tears in his bloodshot eyes.
Director Kim Seung-gi couldn’t keep his promise (?) to cry over another miraculous victory. Can the desire to hold a video fan meeting in order to repay the fans come true?
It was only confirmed that the name Goyang Carrot Jumpers could not continue, and in a frustrating situation where nothing was decided after this, coach Kim Seung-gi finally bit his lip and swallowed tears at the shouts of enthusiastic fans. So did the players.
In the spring of 2023, many fans are praying for true spring news to be delivered to coach Kim Seung-gi and the Carrot team, who gave KBL a ‘game to remember with emotion’.