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

I think these two posts really show the differences between Chinese and American attitudes and also why there is so much misunderstanding between the two.

The American view is about individuality and money while the Chinese view is about contry and honor.

From following Yao I would suspect that his outlook is still far more Chinese than American and while he would prefer to rest for the summer he will still play for the PRC if they tell him too. Not because they force him to but because he wants to. I don't think defecting is anywhere near Yao's mind and also given that this isn't the Cold War and Yao has freedom to travel it wouldn't be defection but would be him breaking his contractual obligation to the CNT.

 

What a joke.

Don't tell me you are being so serious about NBA. What exactly is NBA? It is a FREAKING COMPANY whose boss want to make FREAKING MONEY! What are NBA players? They are bunch of "blue collar workers" sweating and making millions of dollars! ("blue collar worker" is quoted from Yao Ming himself) If it is not because NBA is paying millions of dollars, will they ever come and play? Guys like Ben Wallace who refused to play for NBA is just some money sucker.

THIS IS JUST A FREAKING JOB!!! Defecting because of a job??? I guess if iraqi gives you 10 million dollars, you will sell your soul and do whatever they ask you to do, won't you?

Yao is already making tens of millions of dollars, which is far more than enough that he needs to live anywhere in the world. What Yao needs now is honor and pride, a NBA championship is definitely a nice thing to have but national pride is AT LEAST important as NBA title.

I agree that spending 2 or 3 months training with CNT is not a good idea because Yao needs break and rest. But that's for YAO'S OWN GOOD, not because CNT is bunch of scrubs and CNT BBall sux so that you should NOT play.

BTW: If your mama is ugly, you will never let her show up in your party, you hate her so much that you will never do anything for her, is that you??? If that is, YOU MAKE ME SICK!

Also, you probably liked the way how GeorgeWBush avoid his millitary duty by staying home, huh? Yeah, if he were dead or wounded in the war, where should we get the PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES!

 

Every time when I hear about "World Championship", (which is really just an American Basketball League Champiotion, or ABL Championship), I have to laugh. Talking about fake medal and fake honor! But it is so real for fans who live in his own little wonderland like NEWYORKER.

Seriously, NBA is indeed fun to watch but mixing the term "World Championship" is just so ignorant, and talking about fake medal and honor, that's just plain arrogant!

LOL!!!

 

Wow - what a thread. There's been some borderline racist comments here about Chinese ("the men look like women").

I used to be in the camp that wanted Yao to stay in the US. But after reading some of the bone-headed comments ("stick to ping-pong...") about the Chinese in this thread - I may reconsider.

Training with the CNT isn't as bad as some of us paint it to be. At the very least - Yao stays in shape. A guy like Shaq should have trained every year with the CNT.

 

Laugh all you want, but it's the truth. The NBA Champion can beat any world champion team with ease.

The arrogant thing is for anyone to think that American is anything but the mecca of the sport. Before Yao came to the u.s., I wonder how many Chinese fans of Yao there was. I mean, he's a world celebrity BECAUSE OF THE NBA.

I have news for you...Yao has zero chance of winning a world championship with the Chinese national team. No offense, but no one could carry that team....because the Chinese team is lightyears, generations away from playing basketball.

How arrogant is it to think that a country can just embrace a sport one day and all of a sudden they are experts and know what basketball is about?

 

Yeah it's just a job....

Why do you even want Yao playing in the NBA then? You should lobby for him to leave and head back to China.

Honor and pride doesn't come from playing with a bunch off crappy players of the same race man. That's what so weird....Yao has an opportunity to make China look good by winning an NBA championship....yet China wouldn't be proud of that, they wouldn't care.

All they want is to control Yao and make him come back to win Asian Games - which no one cares about but China.

It's like bizarro world or something.

 

No. Both China and America are about money and power. Don't forget what runs the world. That's the reality. Maybe Chinese people tell themselves they are more about honor because of the system they live under....but America is the human essense in purest form...it is a conglomeration of people originally from countries where they were not allowed to be individuals or seek money or power.....money or power retained by their rulers.

China kept power and money in the hands of the very few, and keeps the masses poor. America does the same, but gives any person the FREEDOM to change thier fortune. That is the true difference.

We want Yao to make a CHOICE free from being INTIMIDATED by the Chinese gov't. You want Yao to SACRAFICE his free will and do what is YOUR PERCEIVED best interest.

If Yao really wanted to go back to china and practice with the CNT, I'd support that. But he HAS STATED HE WISHES TO REMAIN. I don't want yao to defect, I just want him to do what he needs to he doesn't keep getting dunked on....don't you want the same?

 

You seem to act like you know what basketball is all about. Yet, you don't even understand national loyalty or national pride.

The NBA has the best players in the world no doubt. But many of these players came from countries around the world and have loyalties to them. Insulting a player's loyalty to a country and insulting a country itself speaks volumes of your narrow view of the world.

Yes, China is at least 25 years away from the NBA level. But sending all their best players to the US will just weaken their own basketball league development. Think about American soccer. All the best players keep leaving to go to Europe. The US continues to have a crappy soccer team compared to the world levels. China wants other chinese players to play with Yao and other great players and improve their own game. US basketball has improved so much because every generation builds upon the last one. China wants to do the same thing.

 

NewYorker, don't project your morals and beliefs on other people. We're not as disgustingly cynical as you are... and let me add, thank god! Fine, you'd sell your mom for a promotion at work, but "money and power" aren't the highest priorities for the rest of us gathered here.

Actually, I think I can safely assert that "money and power" isn't the only priority for the vast majority of fans on this site. Since when has being a Houston Rockets fan brought *any* of us money *or* power? We do it because it's entertaining, because we enjoy the camraderie, because we enjoy the competitiveness of human adventure. With that in mind.. what're you doing here? Shouldn't you be off writing up a business plan for the next Enron?

The idea that the best of the NBA "world champions" would beat anyone else on the world stage is.. well, laughably wrong. Guess you don't really follow basketball much, huh? Maybe you would've noticed that the last "dream team" got beat at the Athens Olympics.

Celebrate the achievements of the United States as much as you want. I fully agree, and admire, that people from around the world (at least those accepted by immigration) can only achieve their career goals within American society, when the same opportunity doesn't exist in their homeland.

But based on your ability to communicate in written English, I can only *hope* you're a recent immigrant, and perhaps that explains your misguided devotion. (Otherwise, perhaps you're a failure of the American education system... and that also explains your misguided devotion.) If you honestly believe that Americans live for the sole purpose of enriching themselves and achieving career goals... well, you should get out of New York.

But why's this discussion about what you, or what I want, anyways? No one cares about what you (or I) want. We're here to discuss one man: Yao Ming. Yao has been blessed with the physical skills that will guarantee him a 7-year contract for more millions of dollars than you'll ever dream of seeing. And Yao, shockingly to you but perfectly understandable to the rest of us, chooses to remain loyal to the country and society from which he came.

Maybe that pisses the crap out of you, but it sure inspires the hell out of the rest of us.

 

Yao playing with his countrymen will advance Chinese basketball insignificantly.

Yao winning an NBA championship will inspire little Chinese kids to play the sport and imitate him, and that is what will improve China.

American soccor suffers because no one has interest in the league, but despite that, Americans are getting better and better? Why, because we send our top players to Europe where they get Global recogniztion that still does manage to filter back to the soccor fields in the heartland.

I'm not against China getting better. I am against national pride and loyalty...but I think nationalism is stupid and leads to hate...just my opinion. But I also question the wisdom of using Yao for short-term gain (Asian games) vs. long term benefit (inspiring a country)

 

Every little bit helps.

Basketball is already the fastest growing sport in China. Interest will be high regardless of whether he wins a NBA Championship.

You're talking about short-term vs. long-term gain? lol. Having Yao come back and improving the CBA will be a recuring benefit for each generation as it builds upon the last. That's long-term gain. Having Yao win a championship is just Yao winning a championship for that year. That's short-term gain.

 

Yao isn't in the NBA to honor the Chinese gov't ok?

Why is that so hard for people to get? I mean the guy came here for fame and glory, and yes money! He's not giving it all away to his country. Why do people turn people into some idealist visions of nations?

 

Hey, I'm not trying to put down China or the Chinese fans here...I'm just stating that Yao wouldn't be playing in the NBA pulling in all this money and signing all these endorsements if he didn't care about fame, glory, and being a legend.

And that's not a bad thing.

I am sure Yao is proud of his heritage and wants to honor China....

But I think he should do it in his way, on his terms, not some beauracrats who know nothing about basketball.

That's my opinion, that's all I have to say, and I have no desire to get into name-calling with people.

Kindly leave my mother, my background, and my education out of this debate...because that is truly ignorant and narrow-minded.

 

I'll do it for you then. martianMan, you're a fugging lamo, kindly go back to your communistchinaownsmydick.com website and spread yoru bul**** there =)

 

why don't you bring up some thing that I said that you disagree with? I didn't initiate name calling on his mother, background, etc. Why does everything have to end up with communism. National pride, hopefully, isn't an attribute only communist countries have.

 

blah blah blah, you brought name calling into the argument. I'm just sticking up for a fellow Rox fan. After the way the season ended, I'm not really in the mood to hear any YOF r****ds.

 

lol. so you think i'm chinese? You're an idiot who lumps everyone together in a group called YOF. You don't know me, so don't act like you do.

 

Also, that post that you quoted was a response from New Yorker to a guy named "heech". It wasn't to me, you lil r****d.

 

Sucks when someone judges you huh?

By the way, I think hotballa is a very smart guy.

 

New Yorker - you know absolutely nothing about China.

Plenty of Chinese people (me included) want Yao to stay in the US. I think you can make your point without making disparaging remarks about the Chinese.