<a href="http://rockets.clutchfans.net/881/dont-vote-for-yao-for-all-star/">Don't Blame Me, I Didn’t Vote For Yao</a>
Jeff, what the hell is wrong with you? Seriously, I get what you're saying, but I don't agree. It seems there are 2 camps on the All-Star Game. One thinks it should have the best players. The other thinks it should have the players fans want to see. I'm in the latter and I think you are in the former. So, if the fans would like to see Yao in there -- and I would like to see it -- they'll vote for him. Now, I can't be bothered to vote, but if I did, I'd be voting for Yao.
Eh... To a degree I understand what you're saying, but at the same token no election ever really picks the most qualified individual. Whether it's a vote for president, senator, or all-star center people vote with their heart not their heads. We vote for what might be and not what will be. I agree, Yao is no where near all-star form, but I will still vote for him because my eyes are clouded by my bias. Heck, you put Kobe Bryant in a Rockets uniform and I'll spend every free moment I have contesting that he is better than Michael Jordan and how he has greatly improved the NBA since the day he started. I'm biased and illogical when it comes to the Rockets, hence why I am a "fan". I'll gladly admit I am biased.
I understand your reasons but I wish you could show some respect to our players. They are the ones trying very hard on what they are doing and every one of us should respect other hard working people.
I get what you are saying. But I think you are taking the allstar game way too seriously. It is just a popularity contest for the fans. They get to vote in whoever they want to see most. It is merely for entertainment purposes(even moreso than normal). People who get offended by "who is more deserving" are misinterpreting the purposes of the event. What they are thinking of is the All NBA 1st/2nd team. With that said, I am not going to vote for him just because(like someone already mentioned) there is no reason he should be playing in any exhibition game.
AGREED! Don't vote for Yao. I'm sure Yao himself feels the same way. He knows he doesn't deserve the honor and that there are other guys out there who should be All-Stars. Not him.
Why not? And Why this become a issue? It is our freedom to vote for him and it is your freedom to not vote, but you dont have to make your opinion sticky. This is nonsense to me.
Why not make it a sticky? Look I disagree with him too, but I think this thread actually invokes an insightful debate...
This was bound to offend a lot of people who won't watch an all-star game without Yao. Have you guys heard about the new NHL format? It's taking some criticism but I'm actually excited to see how it goes. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=543059 Interesting, eh? Although Yao would probably still get voted in that case.
I do respect them. In fact, I respect them enough to not want to HAND them something they don't deserve. It's the same reason I hate it when people are happy that another team's best player is going to be out for a game against us. Don't you want to prove yourself against the best? The All-Star game, like it or not, is a factor in things like the Hall of Fame. If your sport is to have ANY integrity whatsoever, it can't award honors to the most popular players or to players just because they USED to be good. Guys really need to deserve it. There are some exceptions, sure, but, mostly I'm about seeing the best players on the floor. This isn't little league where everybody plays and everybody gets a trophy. I would LOVE to see Yao make the team because he deserves it. But, let's for argument sake say he makes the team but he's gone downhill since the injury and now you have a guy averaging like 7 or 8 points and 5 rebounds and playing about 20 minutes per game as the starter. That's an embarrassment. Plus, how many times have we felt snubbed because one of our guys didn't make the list and some popular player that didn't deserve it went instead? Why should it be any different if the popular player is on our team?
It's the All-Star game, it's mostly fun/entertainment for the fans. It doesn't hold any real significance, like home court advantage. If people want to vote for Yao (whether he deserves it or not) they should go ahead and do so.
I didn't make it a sticky. Clutch did and he did it because this is a blog post on the ClutchFans site. All of those get put in sticky threads when they first come out.
You had me going there. I thought this thread would be more to the point of Yao not playing and having the potential to injure himself in a game that does not count toward our record. That is a bit more scary than him not "earning" his spot on the roster. Truth about it is, if there ever was a player more deserving of being an allstar,it should be Yao. We all know he has the heart, work ethic and humble resiliance that rivals any player on or off the court. A truely good human being. Restrictions on his game do not come from his mouth. They are from his doctors. If Yao had it his way he would play his heart out until his feet fell off. He would do it for his fans and his teammates. He did it in his last playoffs against the lakers. Only a true hardwood warrior would be helped off the court and limp to the locker room only to stop, suck up the immense pain of playing on a fractured foot and return to the game standing tall. Yao is already an allstar just because of his true grit and determination to overcome every obstacle that is put in his path. He does it time and again without any complaints. So yeah, ill vote for that any day.