I couldn't go to the game last night because of work....and that sucks because 7 people from my company went and today they just won't shut the hell up. But I did get to go to a bar with some friends of mine right down the street from MSG and I am going to make one prediction and ask one question. Prediction: Yao Ming will be BIGGER than Micheal Jordan is now, was then or will be. I can't tell you the buzz in the area last night. It was playoff caliber. In the bar, everytime Yao touched the ball, the crowd went absolutely NUTS. I was so stunned by the reaction each and every time he was in the game and when he made a shot? Holy shiznet. People were treating him just like they reacted when Jordan was in his prime. No kidding guys. This was so...weird. I never thought I would see anything like that in my life. Yao was on our side and the Knick fans were all into him when the Rockets were on offense. Kids, we are going to witness a revolution sequel. It was MJ who started it. Penny couldn't carry it. Hill couldn't carry it. Duncan didn't make it. Garnett had his chance and couldn't do it. Shaq is doing it...but mostly in the USA. Kobe could of been the main one to carry it internationally but now that Yao is here, move over buddy. So that brings me to my question. Yao is only 22. He is being treated like a rockstar. Just like Kobe was when he was relatively new to the league. Like Shaq was when he was just entering. And like MJ was when he was entering. And we all hated them for it and we said that it was such crap that they were getting all this press when they hadn't done nothing to deserve it. Hell, even when MJ was winning rings people on this board complained that he got all the attention, all the calls and gets treated like god while we had Dream with us and he got no attention in our mind. We hated Kobe. We still hate Kobe. We hated Shaq. We still complain about his on the court game saying he gets away with it because he is Shaq. Well, now that Yao is getting the same treatment...the same rockstar status worldwide and will eventually get all the nice calls from the refs, are we going to be FAIR and state the same attitude or is it going to be all good since he is with US? I saw Yao hook Thomas a couple of times when making a move to the basket and got away with it. Sure Yao got some bad calls. Got alot of them actually. But lets be real here. He is gonna be MJ within a couple of years. He is getting all the lights now. The people are loving him. He is getting the endorsements. So, are we gonna be unhappy with all this attention? Houston on TV all the time? Be fair here. And last night was a night for the ages around here. The buzz is all over the office. MJ Deux has arrived. Be prepared for all the b****ing and whining from everyone like they got from us all those years and still get from us.
By the way, help me on the Get Riddy Rudy bandwagon... Not calling a play for down the stretch Yao until 2:43 left in the 4th quarter is inexcuseable. Setting up Yao as a passer so that Mobley or Francis can jack up shots? WTF!!?!?!?!
Well he is not getting treated like a rockstar by the officials, they are letting people foul him like crazy. Good to know that other people are excited about him too though !! DD
Thanks a lot for the perspective. This makes me feel giddy just thinking about what could happen in the next few years. -G'day-
The thing with Yao is that, he's very likable and very charismatic. He always smiles and after last night performance, he makes no excuse and blame on himself for his team loss. He's humble and says all the right things to the media and about his opponents. He's not cocky like Amare, Marbury, Shaq, R Miller nor he's a show off like SF, Kobe, A Walker.
No sh*t... It's getting to be ridiculous... I bet it was because of the turnovers, but if that was the case, then Franchise and Mobely wouldn't be getting the ball either... Grow up...
I think it is possible that prolonged exposure to Yao idol-worship will eventually make me hate his guts despite him being a Rocket. My personality does tend in that direction, though my loyalty to the city might block it. As it is now, we aren't nearly at the stage we were with Jordan-worship. And, I'm no so sure we'll ever get there. I think Yao will be an international force for basketball, but I don't think he will get the sort of domestic allegiance Jordan commanded.
The backlash is what worries me, more than anything. The Amare Stoudamire worship is at least partly a reaction against Yao Ming-obsession. Statistically, Yao's a better player than Amare. And that's with double teams. Yet a lot of people are ready to give the ROY to Amare... I don't want to turn your thread into a debate though . Suffice it to say... that I think it's more a backlash against Yao than anything else. Unless Yao averaged 20 and 10 from day 1... it was gonna happen.
That's just a bizarre statement. As a long-time Houstonian, it always made be mad that none of our superstars ever got the superstar attention or respect. Whether it was Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Hakeem, Bagwell, Francis, etc etc etc..... The one thing they all had in common was that they were very humble and gracious and never sought the limelight - they were the perfect athletes for this city. Here comes a guy who has all the same traits as our former superstars putting the Rockets on the national scene and you may eventually hate his guts? Especially given the fact that he purposely tries to avoid the attention and would rather be just another player on the team. That makes no sense to me.
Exactly why media loves Yao. Remember after the 1/17 Rockets-Lakers game, Jackson/Shaq/Kobe all blamed refs flagrant call for the loss, while they should really blame Kobe's missed FT, Jackson's T, and Shaq's Francis-watching near the end. Yao, on the other hand, took the loss straight on his shoulders. He didn't blame the refs for the bad no-call on Thomas. They guy is all class and professional.
Well said. However, just because of the complaints the flagrant foul got erased and the refs will think twice next time when giving Shaq another. In the mean time we'll see a lot of no-call for Yao. That's sad.
i'll bet anyone right now that by next year, yao ming will be yesterday's news and everybody will have lebron james fever. yao's just getting his 15 minutes of fame. people will forget all about him next year and he'll get dunked on more than shawn bradley.
For Yao Ming, he doesn't need to worry about anything. I hate to say it, and I definitely KNOW that he has enough talent to do without it, but the league will ALWAYS protect him. Right now, he draws as big a crowd as MJ in his FINAL year, and the league will not let that go to waste. AGAIN. Yao Ming has the talent and ability to be a great player in the league, and probably the best C of his generation. But on top of that, the league will always give him the "royal treatment". He doesn't b**** at referees, so he was going to get THOSE calls anyway.
Yao could become as big as MJ, but it's too early to say that. Yao will need to continue to improve and just as importantly the Rockets are going to have to win Championships. As unique and great a personality Yao has, the adoration will die down if he doesn't continue to progress and if he doesn't win. I could definitely see him being the most popular player in the league, but MJ status is another level. If I had to place my bet on the guy to be the next big thing aside from Yao it probably would be T-Mac or Garnett. Both are young and don't come across as ego maniacs. Kobe is awesome, but he's alienated a lot of hoops fans with his personality. Getting booed in your hometown (sort of Philly) is never a good sign.
Yao just needs a new theme song. Chinese Rock or Do You Remember RnR Radio by the Ramones could be adapted to make a good Yao song. The current Yao Ming chant just isn't catchy.
I hate to break it to you, but rookies do not get the calls vets do. I don't agree with it but thats just the way it is. Same as how a foul is called in the first minute of a game, but the same play in the final minute of a game is not a foul, the refs swallow thier whistles because they dont want a foul to decide the game. Thats bs. I say if its a foul in the first minute then its a foul in the final minute. If its a foul against a rookie then its a foul against a vet.
Bet me...I've got a hundred dollars that says that at this point next year Yao will have more endorsements and will get more all-star votes than LeBron. Put your money where your mouth is! Operators are standing by...
Yao seems to be the refreshing, humble, old-school, play-to-win-not-for-the-duckets, new face of the NBA. I think fans over the past 5 years are tired of the negative image a lot of the current NBA players displayed (i.e. Iverson, Sprewell, Wallace, Artest, even Shaq). David Stern and his marketing team needed this new face. Unless you're a black-top baller or a fan of the And 1 tour, the attitude of the NBA players is not appealing. I don't know about LeBron James as a person, but his game seems to be all about show-boating and sticking it in the face of his opponents. He won't be nothing new. Yao is new. His smile is new. His attitude is new. Jordan, with his love for the game, unrelentless will to win, and clutch play, sparked the imagination of fans in the past decade. Yao, with his love for the game, honest humility, skills that don't match his size, and continued clutch play, will draw new fans and bring back the casual and old-school fans.
Well it depends which team he is going to. Assuming he goes to either Denver or Cleveland? He is going to be playing for a team that will most likely not make or even be in the playoff race in those two mentioned above. Many scoust have it that it is more likely that he will not have an impactfull first couple of seasons. What if does not measure up early just like Jay Williams who the likes of Richard Vitale proclaimed an INSTANT HIT in the NBA? What above Mike Dunleavy jnr.? They said he will fit in immediately with the pros because of blah blah blah? My piont here is that nobody knows what will happen. One thing I am sure of is that Yao is going to the ASG game again next year and if Lebron is in the West, he may not smell it for a looooooong time. Also if his team does not win early, he may turn into another Shareef Abdul Raheem or Antoine Jamison or Lamar Odom. All promise but...... Well we shall see........
I'm getting this HORRIBLE feeling that Lebron James will somehow, someway land with the New York Knicks. On a side note, I'd love to see Lebron James somehow go to the Hawks. It's a match made in heaven. Brand new arena, need to boost attendance, have talent but are never on TV, lack flair, have a pass 1st PG (Terry) and savvy veterans, as well as an eraser (Ratliff) to make him look good on defense. It would make up for the Hawks' blown promise of playoffs, and the league gets to promote a slumping team. Also, the Hawks would (should) be winners, so he won't gather any bad habits.
