A Counter-Analogy for Yao Ming

Watching Yao lead China's greatest athletes around the "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium last night just gave me this deep sense of pride--as much as seeing the U.S.--as a man of Chinese descent, as a Rockets fan and as someone who can appreciate damn good pageantry.

And it suddenly reminded me of a post I read earlier today on ESPN's True Hoop titled, "Yao Ming is No Kobe Bryant." It was submitted by a reader, Mac Lotze, an American living in Shanghai. I had decided earlier to let it slide until just then. Here's the general idea of Lotze's post:

Style and scoring ability.

This is why Kobe Bryant is the greatest sports icon in China; not Yao Ming, not Yi Jianlian, not even groundbreaking hurdle-champion Liu Xiang.

This was the prevailing sentiment amongst those polled in the sold-out Qizhong Arena in Shanghai that was painted with 24s and 8s.

I came to Shanghai with the erroneous perception that basketball has become popular in China because of Yao Ming, but it appears that he is a small piece of the puzzle. The main reasons I see that Yao Ming is not as much of a national hero as he used to be and that common sense would dictate are:

• He has yet to win a playoff series.
• His size makes him very hard to relate to for 99% of the population. Chinese fans want to idolize a player that they can imitate or relate to from a size standpoint. This is one of the main reasons hurdler Liu Xiang is much hotter and more popular than Yao Ming these days. The Chinese respect and admire people that were not given as many god-given talents, but work their tails off to become great. They can relate to that, even dream about that. That's tougher in the case of Yao Ming.
• Yao Ming is boring compared to a lot of players. I have played quite a few pickup games in China and from the 5'4 point guards to the 7-footers are all they are all showcasing their And One skills. (Yes, there are quite a few tall Chinese players all around Shanghai. With the economic prosperity that China is enjoying currently, they are privy to the type of diet that was impossible before. Not to mention the one child policy allows parents to feed their children with food that was previously divided between many kids.) They are all about the flash, excitement, dribbling through the legs, behind the back passes. Yao Ming, while being one of the best centers in the NBA, just doesn't have that. That's why even if Houston were to win a title (and I think they can now with Artest) I suspect that in the U.S. and China alike you will find it boosting T-Mac's popularity more than Yao's.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Chinese crowd will be divided on Sunday, the question is simply by how much. It is clear that if China had a better chance (maybe if Yao Ming was 100%) that the vast majority would be cheering unequivocally for China.

While none of this is wholly untrue--except for the part about Kobe surpassing Yao and Liu Xiang as the greatest sports icon in China which is utterly ridiculous--seeing Yao in the opening ceremony and the huge reception he and his fellow Chinese athletes received, it seems to me that Lotze (and Abbott, if he happens to agree) is missing the point. The assessment fairly superficial. For China, Kobe is just a fad. Another day, another hero, they'll come and go. Yao is a national icon. He'll be on money someday, bet. He's the most famous Chinese athlete in the world.

Basketball is popular in China because of Yao Ming. Kobe is popular because of Yao Ming. Iverson, T-Mac, Lebron, all because of Yao Ming. He opened the door. Without Yao's entry into the NBA, and with such fanfare, how many more years do you think it would have taken for Nike to come knocking? Or China to answer?

To use an analogy as Lotze aptly did, Yao is to China what dad is to you and me. There are other dads who might seem nicer, smarter or funnier. Kobe is cool dad. He drives the fancy cars, gets the hot girlfriends and buys us all kinds of stuff when we all go to Six Flags. Every kid looks at cool dad and wants to be son for a day. But we don't have to live with him.

We don't know the realness of cool dad and we don't want to know. Yao is just dad and he's a good dad. He's not flashy, he's not hip, but he's been there for you. Damn it, he's loyal and never taken you for granted. That's what Yao is to the Chinese, dad. There might be hundreds of other athletes that get their jerseys bought in China in the near future but Yao is still home. You don't need to buy dad's jersey, you don't even need to say you love him. He knows. It's understood.

Originally posted at Yao Central on August 9 01:02 AM.

The Master of all Ceremonies

This might be the only time I ever quote Bob Costas, "as far as Olympic opening ceremonies go, you can retire the trophy." I've never watched the Olympics opening ceremony from beginning to end. I'm 30 so I've had only 6 real chances but that streak ended last night. That was one of the most mesmerizing, elaborate and masterfully executed events I've ever seen. And I used to be a big Air Show fan.

Big ups to Zhang Yimou (the internationally acclaimed Chinese director of the movie Hero and many other canonized Chinese films) that was brought in to "direct" the ceremony. His name may not immediately resonate to most non-Chinese viewers but having experienced Yimou's previous forays into live performances I knew to expect something remarkable. It was damn near magical.

When they finally cut to Yao standing just outside the tunnel, holding the Chinese flag, towering above everyone around him and everyone in the stadium, I have to admit, I got choked up. I'm of Chinese descent but I'm no Chinese patriot, I actually identify as Taiwanese American, but the power and dignity of the image shook right through me. And the story of the young boy walking beside Yao who survived the Sichuan earthquake by digging himself out of rubble and then going back to rescue two more of his fellow students; it was almost too much to take. Even Yao admitted to nearly crying in the midst of it all.

Originally posted at Yao Central on August 8 11:09 PM.

How to Watch Yao in Beijing

It's been no small quandary trying figuring out just how I'm going to watch Team China's basketball games during the Beijing Olympics. Given the Chinese Nats' draw in Group B--one that includes perhaps the world's top 3 teams in Greece, Spain and our very own U.S. of A. and rounded out with Germany and Angola--those like me who want to see Yao play on the Olympic stage should probably maximize our viewing. And hope for a miracle. That means catching ALL the preliminary round games. How do we do this?

There are some options but as of now, they are somewhat limited. According to a press release on CCTV's website, "the International Olympic Committee's strict restrictions on the telecast of Olympic events, China Central Television's telecast rights are only allowed on the Chinese Mainland." That means that even if you have any of CCTV's international stations (CCTV-4, CCTV-9, CCTV-F, CCTV-E) on your cable box or via Internet; they will not broadcast any Olympic events.

CCTV-5, however, announced as CCTV's official Olympic channel in 2007 will be broadcasting in Mandarin, if you can get access. Streaming video options are available online at a variety of hosting sites (a Google search of "CCTV-5" will give you plenty of options), including Freetube (which worked for me). I'm not sure on the legality of these sites so be forewarned and results will vary based on internet connection.

Then there's NBC, bravely going where no network has gone before, slating 3600 hours of Olympic coverage, "the most ambitious single media project in history," according to their website. A giant leap considering their TripleCast pay-per-view debacle back in '92. Part of this 3600 hours, however, is a brilliant idea, a 24-hr Olympic basketball channel that will televise every basketball match-up at the Games. You can view the schedule on NBCOlympics.com.

Only one hitch, as of now, only Cox and Comcast cable providers have agreed to terms. According to MultiChannel News, "representatives from Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and the NCTC could not be reached for comment" as of July 3rd. Which means Cablevision subscribers like me will have to stay tuned.

If anyone has any other leads, by all means spill your beans.

Originally posted at Yao Central on August 1 09:36 AM.