I'm not understanding something here. Should I root for Bob Sura because i'm white or because I think he's a good player? It bothers me that all of the sudden all these people who never watched basketball before YAO are suddenly NBA basketball fans based on the ethnicity of a player. Did you see how many YAO fans were out there in the Golden State arena?
Whether you root for Sura or not is your choice, whether those Asian people root for Yao are their choices, why would you have a problem for it? Would you have problem, if black people vote for Rice? Noone was born with extensive knowledge in basketball, they all become fans of basketball games or certain teams or certain players for certain reasons. Noone is questioning how you started, why would you have problem how others are starting? If you are a Rockets fan, one of your star player is a fan favourite, especially among Asian people, why does it bother you? I don't get it.
You know, playing the race card in any shape or form is asking for flames. I'm not even gonna touch this one with a 10 foot pole...
I don't see anything wrong here. It's nice to be a hard-core basketball fan. At the same time, it is perfectly OK to follow the game because of one particular player as long as you don't put his success above team success. After all, it is a GAME.
it's only natural for people to root for one of there own. when the olympics are on you root for the USA regardless of whether their opponents might be better, right? people here might have paid attention to alpine skiing this year because bode miller won the world cup. no big deal, asian fans are just excited, good for them.
The Chinese are very nationalistic, almost to the point where the whole nation is one big family. Chinese people who have never watched the NBA before are now watching because one of their "family" members is a highly successful player. I know plenty of times in my life where I watched or attended events that I wasn't a hard-core fan of (Ex. College Tennis) because I had a friend or family member participating. I don't think it's a race thing, but just a nationality thing. They are very proud of Yao and want to support him. Nothing to be upset about IMHO.
You are about 50 years late on this. It's like asking black people 50 years ago if they should root for Jackie Robinson simply because he's black. To mods: this belongs in D&D. It's got no place here in the GARM
I don't see anything wrong with having pride in your country, area of origin, or nationality. To many people, Yao symbolizes more than just Chinese or Asian basketball, he symbolizes a new era of the world.
Anyways, it's also good for the Rockets organization as well. More revenue, more publicity, more air time and thus more overall success for the Rockets and the NBA. And I agree with the nationalistic viewpoint.
If Sura is the FIRST white NBA player, and you don't know nothing about basketball, would you still root for him?
when wang zhi zhi played, he was the first chinese to play in nba. but when yao came in he was the first chinese player in the nba that is actually good. lots of pride their cuz he is the first one.
I hate to say this hotballa...I don't think Yao's situation actually runs parallel to Jackie Robinsion's journey through the MLB. They might be distantly similar at best, but that's about it.
I don't want to start a flame war by no means, its just something I can't relate to because my favorite players are T-Mac, Iverson, & KG and i'm white. I guess from what you guys are saying, it isn't a race thing, its a nationality thing and I can understand that. I still believe in just liking players who you like, regardless of their race, nationality, or what team they play on. There is no bias in my life.
I'm not comparing experiences, I wouldn't insult Robinson like that. In terms of popularity amongst their own people (and gaining from other races) as well as breaking the color barrier for their race (Wang Zhi Zhi not counted, since he never plays), Yao and Jackie both are on the same level. In terms of what each other went through, like I said previously, I wouldn't insult Jackie Robinson by even going there
here's a thought: because you are white and come from a majority, you are allowed to practice individuality and like whatever you like. However, people from minority backgrounds and who are "colored" are taught by society to do only certain things that pertain to their racial classification because society teaches them that they have less individualism. that's tough that society forces this need onto certain people because it makes it tough for those fans of yao who are asian and don't like him just because of his race (because for most people if someone is asian and is a fan of yao, they assume its a racial thing, not unlike black golfers who like tiger woods). you shouldn't assume that it is just a race thing, nor a nationality thing (since most of those asians are americans) or just a fan thing, it's can be all or any three of them. To assume that all those fans like yao just for the same reason would be equivalent to assuming that you like black players because you want to be black which is probably not true but is true for some white fans.
Another Point of View Being Asian-American, let me share a story with you about how huge Yao Ming is to the Chinese/Asian community. My dad has been in the United States for 35+ years, originally from a small village in southern China. During the last 4 decades, hes learned maybe 60-80 words of English (my mom takes care of anything english-related), he only reads Chinese newspapers, watches only Chinese TV (via satellite), watches Chinese movies, hangs out with only Chinese and has always worked in a Chinese restaurant kitchen his whole life. He doesn't care too much about American news, nothing. The one time I spoke with him about anything American news-related was 9/11. Also, he never ever took to my sister and I playing basketball for high-school and our colleges. Yet, one day in late 2002 (during Yao's rookie year), out of the blue, he called me (he usually doesn't) and asked me about "Yhoming" and when he could catch him on TV, what channel and when... I mean, he was really excited. I always knew Yao was something big, but not until I got that phonecall, did I realize how big. This was further cemented in my mind when I went to visit my grandparents in Hong Kong (Nov 2002) and they were following the success of Yao... well, at that point it was the un-success of Yao. Then I began to understand the phenomenon a little more when I saw Yao's movie "Year Of The Yao" There was several times in the movie where they mentioned how China is always looking for heros, even though the culture created by Mao preached against celebrity. Yao Ming is a modern-day hero for China (even moreso when Wang Zhizhi decided to stay in the US and skip out on his national obligations) I understand why this may be confusing to you. Being an NBA fan, race and ethnicity shouldn't matter, but sometimes it does. Stuart
By your logic there shouldnt be any Hawks fans or Bobcats fans because there are other much better teams? There shouldnt be any moochie fans and boki fans as there are a lot of better players? I shouldnt even support my college teams because they might not be good teams? I think if u cant understand then maybe it's too difficult for u to understand. But please dont feel bothered otherwise u might feel miserable most of the time, as I can assume u might not understand a lot of things.
