Will Yao Ming always be popular among fans?

No. There will be another "big thing" from Asia or India or somewhere unique. When that happens, Yao will not receive attention.

Look at Hideo Nomo and other Asian athletes who were fads for a year or two, only to be forever forgotten.

 

Yao will remain popular not only because of the player he will become, but most of all because of the person he is.

 

WTF? You are comparing Hideo Nomo to Yao Ming? Nomo never received the sort of hype Yao is receiving. Just look at the number of major city newspapers, national news organizations and magazines have done on Yao in just half a season. I doubt Nomo has appeared on 3 Sports Illustrated covers in his whole career let alone just 1/2 of a season.

What does Yao have to do with other "Asian athletes" besides being Asian?

Fad?

 

I don't think Yao will get features in the papers of every town the Rockets visit in the future, if that's what you mean.

If he makes it into that elite echelon, who's to say he won't be mentioned amongst the great ones? We know he has the potential.

Still, I can't see rappers sporting his jersey in the vids anytime soon.

 

I think it depend on how he does on the court. If he continue to improve and becoming a dominant big man, then his popularity will continue among the fans. Off the court if he can continue being humble and do not let success change him then the fans will continue to like him. On the other hand, if he fail on the court then he will probably be forgotten and label as "just another tall guy." The chances are he will continue to improve as his main weakness now (which is physical strength) is not a difficult thing to overcome. He will get stronger for sure because anyone who lift weight and train hard will get stronger. So because of that, I expect Yao to continue to be popular among the fans for years to come.

 

If Yao Ming for some reason does not dominate like he can than eventually his popularity could die down. I do not expect that to happen. He will be one of the most popular athletes in the world along with tiger woods. He is not going anywhere everybody just has to get used to it. (tom tobert)

 

For Yao, it is probably better if he is a bit less popular - but it won't happen. He will always be the most popular Chinese sportsperson in the world. His influence will run much, much deeper than just sports - he is going to play an important role in connecting the East and West.

Soulsong999

 

He will still be popular like Cat is today. Or Cato. They are known by everyone in the city. We watch them every season (if they still play here in Houston). Across the world? I dont know so much. Yao will be remembered. But I doubt he will be the main segment of sports news. It has already died down. Kobe has taken over.

 

You mean Kome's ego has taken over? I thought Francis and Mobley were ballhogs. But Kome is the ballhog queen! He took so many bad shots after bad shots and Shaq didn't get ball when he asked. I hope he continue to play like this rest of the season. We may even be able to catch the Lakers.

 

Unfortunately, fame is a fickle thing and you are only as popular as your latest success. It is up to Yao to work hard and improve to maintain his popularity and there doesn't seem to be anything that would suggest that Yao would do otherwise. However, one bad season and the critics turned Yao fans will be back to their harsh Yao bashing and "I told you so's".

 

Died down.What are you talking about? TNT is hyping him like crazy. He was just recently on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Yes, Kobe is getting a lot of mention...his team is charging into the playoffs. He's in a major media market and on a 3 time championship team.

But if you think Yao is just going to fadeway you aren't paying much attention to what is going on.

 

I said Kobe because of his 50+point games. Whoever is dazzling the audience (fans) are the ones that are "popular" at the present time. Yao is still around. The rocks need to get back into it. They have to start winning, and Yao will be back in especially if he continues to play well right now.


I what I meant by died down is that, compared to the begining of the season Yao is not as "big"

 

I quit.

I hate it when I fall for these discussions. There is no clear answer and yet I try to convince people of things they can't possibly be convinced about.


Like Bill Murray said in Meatballs: "It just doesn't matter."

 

The ONLY asian athlete who even comes CLOSE to being in Yao Ming's media hype league is Ichiro. Nomo is like Wang.

 

I think his hype will die down next year when Lebron James enters the league, in which case he'll be the new #1 Draft Pick everyone will keep their eyes on, and the next big thing in the NBA. Yao Ming won't receive all the special treatment he's been receiving I don't think with all the special halftime shows, unless they continue to do Asian cultural stuff to attract more crowds in their stadium. So maybe he will if their goal is to attract more Asian fans, but it all depends how much better he becomes by next year. And I think he'll be much improved by next season as will the Rockets, so he'll still be popular, but you won't be seeing or reading as much national coverage over him anymore.

 

Um no, Ichiro is only popular in Japan.

 

For some reason, Kobe is just never that popular, even among Laker fans. During his recent streak of 40-pt games, many Lakers fans here in LA questioned his decision to take so many shots and not sharing the ball. Hmmmm.

 

There are a number of aspects to consider when answering this question. Yao Mings popularity will depend on 1) Does he improve each season, 2) Does he reach'Star Status', 3) Does he become the NBA leading Center ( he will never be known as dominent like Shaq he could be so much more than Shaq because of his fundamental ability) 4) Does his team, the Rockets, reach its potential, 5) Does his team become a Dynasty,6) Does he continue to have the big time Star Status in Asia, 7) Does the Cultural bond between China and the USA grow and become stronger,resulting from this #1 Draft Pick,8) Does the NBA want Yao Ming to be the NBA symbol of National and International success. If the answer is YES to all of these then Yao Ming will be at least as known as Tiger Woods for as long as he is with the Rox and maybe in politics after his Basketball Career is over.Or maybe in the Movies!!

 

Actually, I think Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui of the NY Yankees is the equivalent of Yao. The guy hasn't played a single game in Major League and he is already having his spring training games broadcasted live back to Japan.