I am voting for Yi every day hoping he does start so maybe the NBA finally stops this stupid fan vote thing. Last I checked being an All-star is a honor and only deserving players who have played well over the first half of the season should be there. out of the 10 players that are voted in by fans probably 7-9 of them deserve to be there based on their play the rest are just hold overs from past years (iverson, carter, tmac) or in this case with Yi have a large fan base.
China's estimated pop in 2007 was 1,321,851,888 in comparison to 40,301,927 for Argentina. Basketball is also quickly becoming the most popular sport in China if it isn't already. There's probably a pretty strong following for Gino and Scola and other international stars from different countries as well but but they don't have the population/fan base. Soccer has always been Argentinas number 1 sport like most other countries.
You can't disregard international votes just because they vote for players that represent their countries. What they need to do is completely change the all-star voting system. Make it so fans are only responsible for like 50% of the votes and the rest filled out by NBA (coaches, players, refs, etc...)
Part of the excitment of All-Star weekend is because it's for the fans. Deserving players do get in because the coaches choose the reserves. I don't think Yi "deserves" to be there per se and I sure as hell didn't vote for him but it doesn't bother me. However, not all deserving players get in because snubs happen every year and good players are left out even before Yi came in to the league. You act as if the fans are choosing players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame or the All NBA Team. It's a meaningless weekend for fun. I learned to not take the All Star game too seriously when Anthony Mason, Dale Davis and Jamaal Freakin Magloire got selections.
from: http://twitter.com/THE_REAL_SHAQ "Is yao ming really a half a million all star votes better than me, my twitterish brothers and sisters"
It will be embarrassing for Rockets fans if T-Mac is starting at the All-Star game. The media will not only ridicule the him, the city, and the team, but also our large fan base oversees.
Another factor may be that a larger percent of the Chinese population has access to the internet, and thus voting.
That theory is flawed, at least for the "real" fans. Why should I be excited about the game if the players got in by the whims of some ignorant fans I don't care about? I fact, I haven't been excited about the ASG for years now. I have a feeling that a lot of the players don't care much more than I do. The ASG just reflects what is wrong with the NBA: marketing over substance. The irony is that when you take away the substance of your product, there isn't much you can market anymore.
Forwards: Tim Duncan (SA) 1,132,095; Amare Stoudemire (Pho) 743,639; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 725,411; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 673,720; Ron Artest (Hou) 662,510; Pau Gasol (LAL) 495,835; Bruce Bowen (SA) 375,079; Shane Battier (Hou) 374,413; Luis Scola (Hou) 228,598; Josh Howard (Dal) 228,157; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 170,056. wtf i know bruse bowen isnt popular in China so HOW san antonio's population is like 45 ppl must have a large family lol but yeah this voting is non sense TMAC should be voted to go to bed before making the allstar team
The NBA is a global game with international players and fans alike. I think you're the one that's being ignorant reffering to yourself as a "real" fan and not others. There's plenty of substance in the the regular season/playoffs/finals etc. Is it that hard to break away from the regular stuff for a weekend? The NBA is a business and a marketing machine. A great one if I may add.
Sad that Biedrins can't get a tiny bit of love. 14/12/55% FG on a team that *never* has time to throw the ball inside. Same BS and many more steals than Shaq.
Exactly, I would rather none of the Rockets play, especially McGrady & Artest. They could use that time off. I would also prefer Yao not playing much either, he's not hurt right now, but with his recent track record (even if you say some were flukes) I would rather him play only 10 minutes or so and not run up and down in what is normally a fast pace game. The interesting thing that we SHOULD be talking about is how the Sophmores will dominate the Rookies since Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, and Luis Scola should all be playing in that game!!!! Can you have a 3-way tie for game MVP....I wonder...
mcgrady starting the all star game will be just as embarrassing as yi starting. but before stern changes things, it will be always a possibility.
Great point about Soccer in Argentina and really in some of the other countries. If I recall, even Olajuwon played soccer growing up and didn't pick up basketball until much later in life. What are the other more popular/almost as popular sports in China?
No more fan voting. This is so stupid. All China's fault. Either cut down on the players you can vote in and only put in the ones who really deserve to play, or just let the coaches decide. If this continues, being an all-star means nothing.
