Davis Gross Blog: We could all learn something from Yao

I would like to say Yao shows true dedication for his country

unlike some athletes that I can name from USA basketball

 

w/e man. yeah yao is dedicated to his country. you can say that without taking potshots at americans or american athletes.

it's rarely pointed out but a large part of the ambivalence and priorities NBA players have is that historically NBA players and professional athletes have not played in the olympics because they've been prohibited by the rules of the american olympic committee from competing. before 1992 only amateur college players were invited into camp for the olympics.

it was only in 1992 when stern had the political clout to have things changed (supposedly to bring back the gold to the USA but more accurately in order to further market the NBA and NBA personalities worldwide) did NBA players start to play. it's not simply a matter of patriotism, it's a matter of culture. there's ambivalence about the importance of the Olympics vis a vis the NBA because for 50 years NBA players did not compete in the Olympics and used the summer for conditioning and other professional commitments

this is getting r****ded, more and more of these posters and columnists are talking out of their asses. Yao is patriotic because that's his character. it has nothing to do with him being chinese. and this doesn't prove anything about Americans being less or more patriotic than chinese. there's plenty of chinese bureaucrats skimming off the people of china who are hardly patriotic and plenty of americans in small sports who make huge sacrifices bigger and less heralded than yao to represent the USA in Beijing.

there's really no need to bring nationalities into this. yao is patriotic good for him. a lot of us really couldn't care less. here's hoping to a quick recovery and a nice experience for yao in the olympics and future success with the rockets

 

好主意。

 

Yao shows true dedication for his country as well as Houston Rockets.
He devotes himself more to Rockets than his country.
NBA championship is his big dream all the time as well as the Olympics.

 

Im not taking pot shots at American players, Im taking pot shots at American fans because they don't push for their athletes to play in the Olympics cause it means little or nothing to them. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan are two players who aren't playing in the Olympics even though they should be. Yao is only getting paid out here because the National team means nothing to many players as mentioned above it means nothing to the fans. Its nice to see players like Jason Kidd play again with a bit of national pride. But the team being fielded now could be so much better especially at the Power Forward position with players more suited to the international game.

Olympics is an important part of basketball. Yet many posters here don't give a damn about it, wouldn't understand the importance of it to Yao. Why? thats a question you gotta ask people. If they understood they wouldn't be bagging Yao for the Chinese National Team.

 

Easy guys. Nothing about Americans v. Chinese here.

Some American players are really dedicated to their national teams too, say the women gymnasts.
Some Chinese players are not really dedicated to their national teams, say the basketball player named Wang Zhizhi.

 

It is a matter of MONEY rather than culture, man. It is really funny.

 

actually im from Australia. In actual fact I can't understand how you can't play for your country. Here in Australia representing the National team is a huge thing. But I've found most NBA players don't seem to consider it important to play. Tony Parker isn't this season, Big Z only just returned. Kristic will probably not play much for his national team neither will Peja ever again. Yao is one of a kind playing for national pride. Yet many Houston Rocket fans bag him for it since he got injured. I really think that comes back to the culture of how the NBA players treat their national team.

 

deeply agree with you.

 

Well, don't get me wrong.

When you know that the Americans regard NBA Champions as "World Champions", and the Americans call MLB Finals "World Series" and MLB Championship "World Championship", you will probably know how the Americans view the rest of the world, and you will probably understand why some posters here are in the view that NBA Championship is everything, and why Yao playing for CNT is "meaningless" in their eyes.

We have to understand each other's positions, values and cultures, right?

 

FTFY.

 

If they did they should understand Yao's culture, values and positions. I am clearly aware of what the NBA calls World Champions. The fact of the matter is American's play with different rules. So realistically they are. They have the best players too, thats not disputed. But to crap on the rest of the world as fans shows total disrespect to other basketball playing people of the world. Which in my opinion is half the problem with the USA National team. This is changing though.

 

The olympic will be held in BeiJing, who else does not want to play as an athlete in and for his/her motherland ? Yao just shows his deep love for his country, He is a man, man of responsibility !

 

Yeah exactly he is the face of beijing olympics its just like Michael jordan was the face of the bulls

 

Well, even if those few posters didn't understand others', we should try our best to understand theirs, right?

 

I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for Yao Ming. The man is a standard few people live up to. Truly a class act and a true hero - a refreshing break from what most people in entertainment are in the world.

I think the Bejing Olympics are his top priority and I fully support that. I truly hope he's able to play.

 

I've heard the tears of Yao can cure blindness. This hero worship is borderline pathological. If Yao wants to risk prematurely ending his career by playing in the Olympics, hey it's his body. It won't burn my toast one way or the other.

What I think a Championship team needs is stability, and I don't associate that word with Yao Ming. He just too high maintenance to be a core player on a contending team. Same thing with T-Mac. Good guys, fun to watch, fun to root for, but not reliable enough to count on.

 

I am trying to picture playing for my country in the Olympics... picture this: I am an athelete who has been selected by my country to play in a once in 4 years event that I would at most, be able to only compete in 3 - 4 times in my lifetime. Eventhough I come from a small country (23 million pop), there are expectations from: my government, my sports association, my team mates, my family, my friends, my community, my media, my sports pundits and my countrymen.

And frankly, I would really be pissing in my pants... for I cannot imagine representing 23 million people let alone 1 billion people. If I am the face of my team and my country as well, I need Atlas type shoulders to bear me up.

Yao is frankly, the Atlas of his country for the Olympics.

 

Amen....