Well, what part of China have to been to? AI might be the most popular in Shanghai, but certainly not round the other cities.
Geeeeeeez Shaquille O'Neal almost created a riot in Chengdu !! According to what was reported on tom.com, Shaquille O'Neal was supposed to fly by his private jet into Chengdu around 11:30am in the morning. A welcome party in a Li Ning outlet on the most busies street of Chengdu was planned for him around 14:30pm. He was then supposedly to have a press conference around 15:00pm But his arrival was delayed for almost 5 hours. There were 2 version of why he was delayed. The official one was that due to traffic control in Beijing, Shaq has to change to fly by a civil flight instead of his private jet, and therefore the 5 hours delay. http://sports.tom.com/2006-08-18/0426/04966241.html The unofficial one was that a gun was found in the hand carry baggage of his bodyguard, who is Shaq's cousin. So it delayed the flight for 5 hours. http://sports.tom.com/2006-08-18/0426/06271041.html As over 10 thousand people crowded onto the street just to have a glimpse of Shaq, the crowd started to grumble and rumble due to the delay. And upon Shaq's arrival around 17:30pm, the situation was so chaotic that the authorities had to cancel the activity. Shaq later appeared in a press conference on TV to apologize to the fans, and promised he will return to Chengdu on his next visit to China.
I take Shanghai as an example, because it is the most exposed to the outside media. It is also the most populous in China. If any city in China represents the country in this aspect, it is a city like Shanghai, where basketball has a big scene. I have been many other city too, and there is no sign to say that Kobe is more popular than Iverson.
