Deckard I was just using MJ as a example of draw power as Yao will draw much better than MJ did because of the large following he will command in the Chinese community ...just wait and see his endorsments ...Tiger will drool
It's cool, CoPilot... if your talking about shear numbers. China has over a billion potential Yao/NBA/Rocket fans. Stern has to be constantly wiping the drool off his face.
Thank you for stepping in and regulating there, I thought I was crazy or something and had made that commercial up in my head. That was like '85 or something even. I was a little kid, that's all I remember.
Yup, it was '86. The year I first watched a Rockets game. He was in it when they were in the finals. http://www.clutchcity.net/hak.cfm http://espn.go.com/sportsbusiness/s/2002/0723/1409049.html
GOOD POINT!!! Houston got lucky this time, IT REALLY MADE UP 4 the crappy year the ROCKETS had 2 get 2 great draft picks...makes me very happy! I just got really fed up of other teams makin' ALOT(S) of easy dunks and lay-ups......at times it looked like a warm-up drill! BUT NOT ANYMORE!!!! CUZ there's YAOZILLA in da middle , heheh! NOW, More teams will just mostly settle 4 outside shots.....TOO BAD ! ...And a BOKI that can shoot over their zone defense! yMING DYNASTY is under way!
It's great to have a media icon now on the team. We've never had one since I've been a fan. Well, other than Charles for a couple of years. But Yao is going to be bigger. But does this mean I'm not going to get to see Costas stomp his feet like a baby when he has to interview the World Champion Rockets again? That was one of my favorite parts of beating the Knicks. Costas pouting when we beat the knicks and the SI dude getting booed out of the dome when we beat the magic. gotta love it!
Fortunately NBC didn't get their contract extended. No more Costas makes me verrah happy! Now will have Bill Walton on NBC talking up Ming saying he's the most fundamentally sound center to come out since...well...him.
Post from Clutch: The "Unbeatable" McDonald's commercial was 1985, but it was local, NOT NATIONAL. Remember, I was talking about NATIONAL EXPOSURE. Not local to just Houston. The whole city could get giddy about Hakeem during the late 80's, but that's where it stayed: in HOUSTON. As far as outside the space city, there wasn't much coverage of Hakeem. In reality, it wasn't until AFTER Hakeems 2nd championship, did he get notoriety and commercials on a NATIONAL LEVEL. I know, because I was living in Florida and Maryland during that span and before that I NEVER saw any Houston sports stars in expose's or interviews (except Warren Moon in an 1994 Airline Commercial). Then, in 1995, people outside of Houston started seeing the Taco Bell and Snicker commercial w/Hakeem and Drexler. There was also a big deal about a Pay-per-View matchup between Hakeem and Shaq that was canceled. Remember that? Francis had a few Rebok commercials and since then...But guess what? They were sporting-good commercials. Only about sports. I mean, could you see Francis in a Visa commercial? Or in a car commercial? And yes, even a McDonalds commercial? Now, you might say, "What's the big deal about being in a commercial on a national level trying to sell NON-sporting goods?" Well, that means that you have national recognition and are a LEGITIMATE STAR! That means you are a cross-over star; someone that can attract fans that ARE NOT SPORTS fans. This being said. I feel that Yao will exceed the boundaries as we once knew it. Forget local and national coverage. How about WORLD COVERAGE! People, hold on to your hats!
Are jue talk'in tu me? - Tony Montana, "Scarface," 1983 I think you got me confused with someone else. Because I never once said that Hakeem cared only about money. In fact, Hakeem has been a humble person ever since he found his religion in the early 90's. So, no. To answer your question. I don't "remember."
All they ever want to talk about is.. MING BLING.. Everytime a guard drives by.. MING BLING.. He swats it, and stairs them in the eye.. Go Ming!!
I thought the McDonalds commercial was national but if anyone would know it would be Clutch so my bad.
Even myself, a Yao doubter, has to admit that I can fully understand the Rockets drafting him purely from a marketing standpoint. The guy has the biggest nation in the world on his back and can add many more fans if he puts up any kind of numbers. That kind of support leads to attention and more importantly, money. However, if we ever want to eclipse or get close to the marquee the Lakers are at right now, the team will need to win some rings.
Bill Walton's an idiot, but I'm happy Costas won't be there. Is it just me or does it annoy the crap out of everyone else that Walton just says "What an amazing shot. He needs to take more of them." when someone makes a basket and "TERRIBLE shot" everytime someone misses?
What makes me scratch my head is that when it's obvious Yao will be a HUGE draw they only schedule 5 or so nationally televised games for the Rockets. Big mistake IMO, doesn't make sense to me.
