What are Yao's commitments to China and its National Team?

explain this to me.

 

If Yao won't play for the national team, then I hope he has a career ending injury.

He won't be so selfish.

 

You really could care less about Yao huh?

 

Yao needs to defect and get it over with. Screw China! I'm about the ROCKETS baby.

 

Why can't they just let Yao stay over here until the Olympics and then have him play with the Chinese team at that time. It would be a win-win situation for both parties. By 2008, Yao will be in his prime and since he will be a much better player for the CNT than if he has to play year-round. There is a decent possibility than if Yao continues to play year round, his body will break down before the 2008 Olympics and EVERYONE LOSES.

 

because they're crazy!! who the hell runs the Chinese National Team? Someone needs to slap some sense into whoever runs it

I believe its more benificial if Yao stays in the U.S. and trains with the Rockets then him going to China to play with some scrubs

The Olympics are whats important here not some Asian Championship (which China could probably win w/o Yao)

If Yao stayed in the U.S. and trained with NBA players until the Olympics (which China is automatically guaranteed a spot in) it would help the National Team more in the long run

****in dicatators

 

Ok, you ever hear about taking candy from a baby? Let's say you did that and beat your chest and high-five your friends....think that's honorable? You think people respect that?

So if Yao comes back and beats up on all the Koreans and Japanese to win a title...ya think anyone cares? You think Koreans and Japanese care? Hell no man, ask them a basketball player they know, and they'll say "Michael Jordan".

Don't you get it man? Asian games champ = nothing. Just a big Yao picking on crappy players....It's laughable. It's like having Michael Jordon go back 5 year olds and start dunking on them!

You're only shot at national pride and respect is to have yao win an NBA....let me repeat this for you...

THE ONLY SHOT AT ANY KIND OF TRUE NATIONAL PRIDE IS TO HAVE YAO WIN A NBA championship.

Anything else and people will just look at you and say "Michael Jordon"....or maybe "Lebron James" Get it?

So stop talking about national pride and all that. No one cares man....except you....win the asian games, win the shaghai games, beat up on the team from Mongolia! Who cares, it's laughable....it's not even newsworthy. People here see it has China being so insecure that they have to take their best player and prance him around like a prized dog...it's kind of sad.

National Pride? It's national embarrassment. It's like China is turning Yao into a freak show and charging a dollar admission. If that's national pride, I'm glad I'm not Chinese. No offense guy, but I hate to tell you this, using Yao to boost nationalism is so cold-war. It's been done before....no one cares!

Yao winning an NBA championship would make the whole world stop and respect China. That's what the Chinese Government fails to understand...that true respect comes from great acomplishments, not mediocre ones.

 

So how does Yao having ankle surgery play into all of this? Can he have the surgery and tell the Chinese national team that he hasnt fully recovered?

 

PeeeMes,

You suck. I can't believe you actually said you hoped for Yao to have a career-ending injury (on a ROCKETS and not CNT board) if he doesn't play with a national team that will probably win the Asian games without him and already has an automatic berth to the 2008 Olympics (in Peking where the duck is good). You need to chill brosef. Yao is THE source for Chinese pride as far as basketball goes when its all said......and at this point (before the Olympics) Yao, chinese basketball, the hammer, the sickle, and all involved would be better off if Shanghai's favorite son was to dominate in the greatest venue for basketball in the world (NBA). Quit being a mo-mo.

all the best,
deng xu ping

 

PeeeMeS = PMS

 

I guess we need a new label...there's Rocket's fans, Homers (Houston-only fans), YOF (Yao only fans)....and now

V-COF (Vindicitive-China Only Fans)

 

Yao's commitments are to the Chinese national basketball team/basketball development program. He has no commitments that comes with his Chinese citizenship status. Well, technically, all Chinese citizens do have the legal obligation to serve in the military when they're of adult age. But in practice, military service is prestigious enough that there are more than enough Chinese volunteering to be drafted. (With 1.3 billion people, of whom about 60% are rural peasants, finding enough people to staff a 2.5 million man army isn't a challenge.)

As far as everything else says, I see an awful lot of selfishness about what *you* want. The fans on this site don't own Yao Ming, and he doesn't owe you guys a single thing. He'll make his own decisions about what it is he wants, and that's really the bottom line.

Let's be honest: very few of you give a damn about Yao's future development. If Yao came out and announced that he wouldn't return to the Houston Rockets after the expiration of his rookie contract, how many of you would still give a $hit about the way he spends his summers? Precious few. You're hoping for Rockets glory, but you better get used to the idea that not everyone shares the same priorities as you.

And here's a tip as to what Yao's priorities probably are:

- Yao cares greatly about living up to the commitments to the Chinese basketball program that he made when he (and his family) voluntarily placed him within the Chinese basketball training program as a child. He cares greatly about giving back to a system that he sees as having giving him this opportunity to make millions of dollars while playing a basketball game.

- For those who're complaining the Chinese basketball program doesn't deserve such loyalty, and that Yao could've done it some other way... here's an idea. Buy a plane ticket, fly to Shanghai. Recruit some tall 10 year old, invite him over to your house in Houston, feed/clothe the kid for 8 years, pay his tuition to various basketball programs for the same amount of time. And if his basketball prowess doesn't measure up, promise to pay him a healthy pension for the rest of his life.

And for those of you that succeed, I say, more power to you. If your foster-Yao doesn't want to play for the Chinese national basketball program, then I'd say his priorities are perfectly understandable.

- And as far as the "national pride" aspect of basketball goes... folks, can you take a step back? You guys are brimming with pride for a NBA *FRANCHISE BUSINESS* which has absolutely nothing to do with the city of Houston (or your personal lives), except a commitment towards taking the money of Houston-area fans. You guys are cheering for players who wouldn't given you the time of day, far less make a shot for you, if he wasn't being paid millions of dollars to do so. You guys are cheering for players that, if the paychecks arne't quite large enough, will gladly trade colors for an opposing team.

How can that possibly be more noble than working, without any financial compensation, for your *country*? For the country and society that defines every atom of your being? For the country that your ancestors have established through their own sacrifices? Those of you who honestly believe Koreans and Japanese don't care about "national pride" know *nothing* about east Asia in general.

How can you ridicule something that's so inherently noble, while upholding something that's so ridiculously commercial? Houston Rockets pride, or national pride? C'mon folks, which one *should* matter more to you?

 

I agree with almost everything heech said, but this is a WRONG forum for it.

This is a Rockets BBS, so everything related to the Rockets is the #1 priority.

 

Heech wrote a great post.

But even if Yao has no duty to anything, it's still a common practice for the national team to call your best players in any ***international***
sport.

If anyone knows who Beckham is. He will be seriously toasted if he refuses to represent England. And England has many other stars to boot. The bigger the star you are, the harder to refuse.

So all this "why CBA is making a statement" or what not is pretty stupid. It's just what national teams do in an off-season, throughout the world, not just in china.

 

Heech sure would make a great speaker.
Well, simply put what's the big picture here. China winning Asian Tourney this summer, a refreshed and improved Yao or Houston winning. Which one is important. I dont mind Yao playing in Malaysia for a couple of weeks over the sumer. But to train with CNT, wasting time there. Let's not confuse reposibilty to one's country with some totalrian's order. It's really easy to be blindfolded by patriotism. Yao's staying China over the summer is no more patriotic than his staying there for a couple of weeks, finishing the Tourny and coming back to improve his game. Autority is not always right, and dumb loyalty is foolish.

 

I am sure Brits would be fine with Beckham not training with England for entire summer to prepare for the common wealth games.

 

Great post heech. I've been to about 15 different countries in Asia, including mainland China 5 times. The hospitality and national pride of most Asian people is almost embarrasing for me. When you go to an Asian country, they fall over themselves and go far beyond what is necessary to make sure you have an enjoyable time. We in America could learn something from that (but in another forum, I know).

Like most Chinese, Yao is very proud of who he is and where he is from. This is very hard for most here to understand, apparently. Believe it or not, Houston is not home to Yao, China is and always will be. I have never met Yao but it's probably safe to say after he plays his last game in the NBA, he and his family will head straight back to Shanghai (with fond memories of Houston). Upon his return, he will probably spend the rest of life helping to improve the level of competition and talent of Chinese basketball. I assume most people here know China has a long long long love affair with basketball.

Of course he wants a long rest after an exhausting 89 game NBA season, but if duty calls he will answer.

 

common wealth LOL.

You must mean the Euro Cup. Which they played and prepared for three years including games DURING the season.

I agree NBA is more important. In fact I think a NBA title is more important than an Olympic gold, even for Yao. But the point is, you shouldn't blame the CBA that much. It's just a common practice.

 

I can't remember if Beckham went, but Man U. dragged all their tired stars to play exihibition games in the USA.

And Brazil dragged all the starts to play football with China DURING the season. In the name of preparing world cup and such.

It happens all the time.

 

Thanks for the laugh! If Yao cared only for the CNT and the system....if the noblest thing was to play for the CNT and whatever....

YAO WOULDN"T BE IN THE NBA TODAY!!!!! Earning millions of dollars.

Guy, he's playing the system....he got here by agreesing to certain terms...he had no choice fool....his family is there, if he defected, he could NEVER GO HOME! He would be shamed and villified. He DOES NOT HAVE A CHOICE.

It's so funny that you try to turn that into nobility. You really have some insane ideas to think a person would choose honoring the "system" over making millions and acheiving the highest levels of human success on can imagine.

Wow....that's the most naieve thing....Yao has said outright he wants to spend his summer her training. Do you think he's lying? So either he's a noble liar by your definition.

Get real folks...yes, let's be honest...National Pride is something that exists only in nationalists....governments and powerful people don't care about that stuff.it's only a tool of control and manipulation. You'd think a communist would understand that!