I'm going to do this on the Chucky Brown Fan Club website, I thought I'd try to recruit some folks here as well. I am guessing Yao is going to be pretty tweaky arriving in the USA, in the NBA, and in freaking Houston. "A little bit shaky, a little bit nervous" to quote Jackie Rogers Jr. Maybe he'd enjoy some words of welcome, comfort and encouragement from some Houston-centric folks like oursleves. Those of us who have webpages and access to sites or whatever -- maybe we should all take these pre-draft days to put up a page apiece welcoming Yao. A web welcome or something. Before draft day, we could compile a list of links, or make some web-ring or something, and send them to the rockets who could send them to yao. Dude probably will have email and a little time on his hands, and we can provide him with something the Rockets organization can not -- totally personal and authentic fan support. I bet they'd forward him some links. I am going to have a translation page of important phrases to know in houston, translated into Chinese. Like "It's not the heat, it's the humidity," and "Kirby is too slow, try Buffalo Speedway," and whatnot. And, of course, a big welcome page for our new man. Chinese stuff and everything, the works. Anyone in? Not all of you have bad-ass Chinese friends like me, i bet, but we can all do whatever we can do. We can post the links here when they are done, and i'll compile them and send them in. He'll love it. CBFC
CBFC, that really is a great idea. It has been mentioned many times in interviews that Yao LOVES to surf the internet. I am sure if websites were made in honor of him he would definitely check them out. Clutch, how about signing him up to do a column on your site! Chris
If American fans can welcome Ming with a Chinese national flag, he will be deeply moved and feeling at home.
You can bet when he's an OFFICIAL Rocket, I will have these pages overflowing with YAO LOVE!! The Official YAO MING ROCKS website The Psychedelic Groove House of Rockets Basketball Love
A Yao Ming fan club may not be a bad idea. http://www.directron.com/yaoming.html However, with 12 million dollars, I am afraid he can hire many pros helping him full time doing all kinds of things in Houston such laundry, driving, finding places to eat, etc. It may be even hard for any of us - the fans - to get hold of him at all. "A Chinese national flag?" in an NBA game? That would be kind of silly. Once in Rockets uniform, he represents Rockets and Houston. Besides, that five-star red flag means many different things to many different people. Does any one know what the five stars especially the big one represent in that flag? Or should one know?
Just because he's playing for the Rockets does not mean that he suddenly stops being Chinese. If I played for the team, I'd love it if a few fans were waving the maple leaf around. No matter who he plays for, the man never stops representing China. You claim it means different things to different people, and then admit yourself that you don't know what it means. *LOL*
NBA is about entertainment. It's not Olympics. It's not a country against another. It's more or less a city against another city if you will. Yao would not represent China as far as Rockets are concerned. He could and should represent China and Chinese on a personal level. But, when he plays for an NBA team, he is wearing that NBA team's uniform not the Chinese uniform. I know what that five stars represent, but I am afraid most other folks in this forum do not. I hope you do.
here is information from different highly-informed sources on what the Chinese flag symbolizes... http://fotw.vexillum.com/flags/cn.html
To properly welcome Ming, I think we should get Barkley to show him around town. I'm sure Charles knows all the best places to go - Ming would have so much fun he'd never want to leave. If you filmed a whole weekend of them cruising Houston for beer, BBQ, and chicks, I bet people would pay money for a copy - you could sell it with commercials during TNT games.
Leave? He'd never arrive. Barkley would pick him up at the airport, turn south on 59, and stop at every t**** bar on the way. By the time Yao got to the Compaq Center, it would be demolished.
Read ron413's link. Fadeaway: Now you may agree there may be a subtle difference between a Canadian flag and a "Chinese national flag." It's better off for us - the supporters of Yao - to leave that off, IMO. Comments on Charles welcoming Yao in Houston: It'd be only great if Charles waves that five-star flag.
