I'm visiting in China. As I just woke up, I turned on the TV in my hotel room & flipped thru a few channels. To my surprise, the Rockets vs Hornets game was right in the 3rd quarter! The quarter itself was in no way glorious, but it was cast live on CCTV5, China's official state television's sports channel. The commentators were like Bill Worrel and Matt Bullard (no one as hilarious as Clyde), but with much heavier bias toward the Rockets, even though Yao Ming is out for the year. They moaned when DWest scored a basket, cheered when the Rox did. All in all, although there's no TV coverage in the States, the Rockets are still being watched by hundreds of millions of people in China. And Rox teamball IS being greatly appreciated outside the States.
China and the far East is where it is at. Lebron, DWade, or any of the other superstars should be really considering that when they pick their next team.
yeah, i think this was quite obvious when tmac was voted 2nd in western guards for the all-star game.
I think this shows that Chinese fans like the Rockets even though Yao is out. I knew that,but this gives me the impression that some of them really appreciate what our team is doing.
When I went to China, everyone's favorite player was either Kobe or Yao. Oh, and every single Indian loves Kobe.
I'm teaching at a Beijing university and speak Chinese pretty fluently. I always talk smack to my students about the Rockets and more of the guys seem to like the Lakers and Kobe. Lakers get almost weekly coverage here. Rockets get less. Although there are shows devoted to the Rockets, games probably show once a week or less, on average. Then of course there's LeBron. . . . The Nets get some play due to Yi Jianlian. Bucks get some air, maybe either because they're cheap or a residual deal from when Yi was on that team. I'm kind of wondering if Chinese TV gets cheaper deals for airing smaller-market teams. Anyway, Rockets are really popular, but aren't getting enough airtime right now. If I had to choose, I'd say Lakers rule Rockets in Beijing.
Yao introduced China to the Rockets, and when Yao is long gone, Chinese fans will still remain Rockets fans.
How do you know? You Chinese? Do they like our jerseys? I hope not so that we can finally push for a re-design.
I'm a chinese. it is not very often play rox march.because without yao or t-mac this season in china. it is always 5 games per week on tv from cctv the offical of people republic of china. we play a lot of lakers because it's often start at 11:30am in beijing time.but for me i don't like lakers at all.
Really? That's odd, because I get the opposite reaction. Sports Radio - I don't really listen to Chinese sports radio, but I did happen to be riding a cab right when they were doing the post game for the Lakers Rockets game earlier this year. The radio guy was speaking from the Rockets point of view, and lamenting the fact that they could not deliver down the stetch. Internet - On regular basketball/sports boards, almost every team-related topic deals with the Rockets. There maybe some "Kobe..." topics or "Lebron..." topics, but they're player-oriented, not team oriented. Game recaps are sound similar to Chronicle's recap than the AP recap. Very, very Rockets-biased reports. On the street - During last year's playoffs against the Lakers, even after Yao went out, everyone following the games through text messages discussed from the Rockets point of view. "Damn, we're down by 10". "Holy crap, they're actually beating the Lakers!" If someone says "up by 12", it automatically assumes the Rockets are up by twelve, similar to how one'd say it in Houston. I'm sorry, but there really is no indication that any NBA team comes even close to the Rockets popularity in China. There's simply zero competition, regardless of how much kids want to be like Kobe. I mean, kids in Houston in the 90s wanted Air Jordans more than Hakeem shoes. Doesn't mean they root for the Bulls.
WOW!!!! Really?! I guess it is hard to notice the 7 foot 6 Chinese guy on our team, i heard he is pretty good too.
