"I'll be waiting for them in Philadelphia. I'll show them what real hell looks like!"
After delivering those forceful, wildly arrogant words, Iverson did not even wait for the press officer to declare the conference over.
He shoved back his chair and walked straight out of the press room without looking back, leaving the American media with nothing but his defiant silhouette and a room full of shock.
The interview quickly spread across the United States through TNT and ESPN broadcasts.
In this era when the internet had only just begun to take off, major sports forums, Yahoo communities, and AOL chat rooms were instantly set ablaze by Iverson's remarks.
Surprisingly, although the overwhelming majority of rational tactical analysts and media figures knew that the Philadelphia 76ers had virtually no hope of turning things around, Iverson's words sparked a frenzy of adoration across the internet.
America's working class and younger generation simply loved that side of him.
"That's The Answer! That's why I only buy his sneakers!"
A young Black man from the Chicago projects pounded furiously at his keyboard on a forum.
"I'd rather watch Allen die standing than see someone else live on their knees! That's a real man! That's a true Philadelphia warrior!"
"That's so cool! 'Being down 0-2 means ending 4-0' should be printed on a T-shirt. I'm going to wear one and march down the street!"
"The American spirit! That's the true spirit of the streets! Never submit, fight to the very end! Even if the opponent is an insurmountable mountain, you still take a chisel and smash it apart!"
America's reverence for lone heroes and its instinctive admiration for unyielding fighters who challenged authority were embodied perfectly by Iverson at that moment.
The "The Answer" sneakers on his feet, newly created by Li Fei