Only in the US. spacepimp and ricerocket, if you continue to play the naive and arrogant Americans characters, this thread will be in danger of being moved to the D&D forum. Back to the topic. I agree with those who think participating in the national team is good but long training with the team is unnecessary. GATOR is right that the Rockets should persuade the Chinese that a rested Yao is better for the National team.
The Olympics offer something that the NBA and any amount of money cannot provide. Patriotism. Why do we uphold the 1980 US Hockey team over all of the great NHL teams? Why did Canada basically declare a national holiday when their hockey team won the gold in Salt Lake? Patriotism, and that is the most important thing to the Chinese National Team and probably to Yao. I suspect that if Yao had his choice of winning the NBA Championship with the Rox or an Olympic gold with the Chinese National Team he would probably take the latter. As Rox fans we might not like but that was part of the deal to get him here.
I don't think that is factual..... "we" tell that to a Red Wing fan in Detroit.... Patriotism or Nationalism?
Last I checked there isn't a Hollywood movie starring Kurt Russell being made about the Red Wings. Just curious: What do you consider the difference between patriotism and nationalism?
Doc, you gotta understand the Chinese system. People, fans there not all of them want Yao back for Asian games, or 3 month stay to prepare. It's the sports officials. Why, blame the system. In China, all sports revolve around hornor in the international play. Olympics is the most important one, Aisan tourney is the qualifying round. Chinese are very proud people. However, the problem with that is the the only measure of sports officals in China is how the national team under their tenure do in the international play. That translates to pusure of power, money, and more power. They dont care about the players, whether they are tired or not, whether they are injured or not. Players are like slaves, if there is not a better comparison for that. This is why Wang's rufusal to play for NT was such a huge slap to them. They went out all force to claim that Wang's not patrotic, dont want to play for China. Wang just refused to practice with Chinese NT for 3 month during that summer, he never said he wouldnt play. Same goes for Yao. They just dont care. Agian, blame the system there.
Let's get back to the issue at hand. I agree that the best thing to do is to convince China that Yao's NBA play is readying him far, FAR more for Olympic play than any training with the Chinese Nat'l team would. After seeing Yao's physical development from a lifetime under their tutelage, I'd say it's fair to assume they have some strange ideas about athleticism. Of course, that's going to be a hard sell in China. I'm guessing placing one player apart from the rest and treating him as special won't jibe too well with a communist mentality. It might "embarrass" some of the other players. Still, the benefits are clear. Yao is going to crush pretty much any center he faces in the Olympics (unless Shaq happens to be there) no matter what bizarre drills the Chinese coaches put him through. Why not give him some time to relax and work on his own routine. If nothing else, I recall reading on this board during the summer that the Chinese were pretty damn impressed with Yao's added strength and bulk when he returned. Why not send an NBA ambassador to help the Chinese coaches with their regimen? Possibly headed by a nice figurehead hall of famer like Patrick Ewing with the P.R. coup that he's there because Yao has interested him in Chinese basketball and it reminds him of learning to play when he was a kid, etc, blah blah blah. That way, Yao (and the other Chinese) would have some real professionals alongside Ewing to guide his training in China and Ewing would get a free trip to China. The Chinese gov't gets to tout how their b-ball program is moving up in the world and attracting attention. Everyone wins!!
Not only doesn't it jibe well with the Communist mentality it doesn't jibe well with traditional Chinese culture. The culture that coined "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down." Yao was brought up in this culture and seems to accept it. I like your idea of sending Ewing to work with the Chinese National Team that could do a lot to convince the Chinese that this doesn't have to be a competition between the Rox interests and the Chinese and both can benefit if they keep Yao's interest foremost.
Not to nitpick, but there's nothing wrong with that. That makes it sound like he shouldn't accept it. Every culture is diff and just because one is, it's not right for someone else to say another culture is bad because it doesn't conform to their own culture. Yao was brought up in a collective culture versus an individualistic one. You shouldn't denounce him for that. He just needs to adjust and learn about the new culture, while not abandoning his own culture in the process.
I'm happy for Yao to be himself, if that's who he is. But I'm also a Yao fan and a Rockets fan. If you have an idea to give Yao a little downtime or superior training conditions while he's home, why not share it? What do you think of the Ewing/Rocket trainers idea?
Crikey Xeno! First you challenge my reading comprehension skills and now you take me to task for not being PC. I never said it was a bad thing for Yao to accept his culture just that he accepts it to explain why there is a perceived conflict between his obligations to the Chinese National Team and to playing well for the Rox.
Olympics OK, but the Asian Championships??? I can see why Yao would do the Olympics, but why the Asian Games? He's already won it once with team China, why waste time doing it again? I hate to say it folks but the problem is the Chinese gov't. Think about it. Yao's mere presence/participation in these games means $$$ from corporate sponsors, the tourist trade, airlines, and advertising. All of which have ties to the gov't coffers in some shape or form. Economic reasons are driving this arrangement and it's going to take economic reasons to get Yao out of this mess. One outstanding question I have is who foots the bill if Yao is to get injured during the off-season? He represents such a big part of the Rocket franchise AND to the NBA that it would be foolish for the Rox organization to just let Yao participate in these activities with risk of injury. That is no laughing matter. Yao is young now and able to absorb all this exercise, but in a matter of years, he will start feeling it in his joints. Yao should look after himself and commit to the Rox PERIOD. He has better facilities, better supervision, better medical attention and better opportunities here in the States under the Rox organization. If the NBA plays hardball with the Chinese gov't, I honestly think the NBA would win. While the Chinese gov't wants to keep Yao it's own, they would be hard pressed to see Yao step down from the global stage that IS the NBA. theSAGE
Maybe he is looking after himself. Maybe he WANTS to play. NBA vs. China... China would lose? Riiiiiight. China and the Sharks did not hand over the rights to Yao - it required lots of legwork by the Rockets and the NBA, as well as some diplomacy. Don't forget that this was no cakewalk. I doubt Yao is going to defect or anything like that. If he did, the NBA loses its oh-so-coveted Chinese market of one billion people. I agree that a rested Yao is probably beneficial to the Chinese National Team as well, but he may not want to ruffle any feathers, as those who have commented on cultural differences have pointed out.