Im not sure how much this has been discussed. I know it has some. But Yao Ming's name is on the All Star ballot. And Chinese people will get to vote. So as far as I can see is he will get to vote. So hence he will get into the game. I cant belive know one has realized yet what kind of contravercy this will bring. If he does get in everyone will rip him apart publicly for not deserving to get in. Oh well cheers to Yao.
I think we realize it, but just don't want to admit it. This will be a huge controvery, no doubt. The thought of PTI, Worst Damn Sports Show, Sportscenter (you know they will have some huge documentary about the "globalization of basketball" and what not), makes us cringe at the negative criticism he will receive. Not to mention, Shak will not be a humble backup. But hey, within 3 years, he will have earned his all-star status. Imagine the total votes he will receive in the 2004-2005 season.
The internet ballot is horrible. First off, why is the eastern conference on the left, and the western conference on the right? And why is EG not on the ballot? Oh well, he wouldn't of beat out Duncan anyway.
It certainly seem like the NBA is encouraging all of China to vote by making the ballots available online in Chinese. It's a business.
Yeah...so the millions of votes in China will 'taint' the all star voting in Yao's favor... ...but what does all-star really mean? To be honest, I mean yeah fans vote for who they think is the best player, but isn't it really just a popularity contest? And Yao M. will be the most popular person, so maybe he'll get smacked around in the game, but he's still popular, IMHO...
I think most people around here are overestimating the Chinese influence on the all star balloting. People seem to think that there are 1.5 billion people over there glued to the TV sets, watching Yao Ming's every move. Let's face it, they have a LOT more to worry about over there than what some tall guy does on the basketball court. Besides, basketball isn't as popular in China as most people seem to think. Basketball over there is probably the equivalent of soccer over here. There are some hardcore fans that watch basketball, but overall it pales in comparison to the popularity of soccer. Don't worry, Shaq will be starting the all star game...
No, I haven't read anyone who assumes everyone over there is glued to the TV concerned about Yao Ming. From what I've read, basketball is a rapidly growing sport though. Also, even if you make it the percentage equivalent of soccer here, there is going to be a significantly larger number of fans simply because there's more people. Last year, Shaq had 1.2 million votes. Yao's probably going to get about 300,000 votes from the US alone. For him to get 900,000 votes that he needs from China, only 0.0006 percent of the Chinese population needs to vote for him ONE time. I'd say it's fair to assume that there is at least that big of a percentage of hardcore basketball fans, and it's incredibly likely that they would vote for him more than one time in a two month span. If they read this board, they might be voting 25+ times per day.
I'll note the system allows you one vote a day per computer. My guess is, it drops a time stamped cookie on your machine once you vote. I doubt they log IP addresses, because of DHCP.
Most of the Chinese who vote for Ming probably won't even be basketball fans....word will probably spread about it and people will vote just because he's their fellow countrymen.
Not all bball fans in China are sunshine arses. As far as my reading of the Chinese bball BBSs, majority have an objective view of Yao Ming in the NBA. For the record, I will not vote for him now, not even for the all-rookie. Yao Ming is my hometown boy, and I am eager to see him starting at the all-star. But I don't want to rip off my brain and eyes. However, Yao Ming may get enough votes purely due to the statistical variations, considering his fan base at home. And if it happened, I think the NBA would have made an mistake by putting its immediate business interests above its virture.
I think Yao, and basketball in general, has plenty of fans in China. The reason he probably will not get the votes in China is simply because most people in China does not have computers and internet access is even more difficult to come by. However, don't ever underestimate the possbility of some computer nerd there that happens to be a Yao fan writes a little program that cast a million votes for the big fella.
Yao will show some great ablity if he is chosen to the allstar lineup. My concern is that with him being so passive and the allstar game full of high flyers (TMac, Paul Pierce, Vinsanity, etc...) he will get embarrassed on more than one occasion due to a "hot dogg" play.
Isn't there internet cafes all over the place ?? I read something one time about there being like over 50,000 ?? internet cafes in China.
Yeah, but everyone keeps hogging them for 30 or 40 straight hours to play video games and end up dying.
