Yao Ming: The Next Asian Superstar? | Asian American Issues

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Yao Ming: The Next Asian Superstar?
(Updated Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:38:56 AM)

he sweetest moment for Asian men in American sports came on June 26, 2002 at Madison Square Garden. The Houston Rockets had just spent their number one overall draft pick on 7-5 Chinese center Yao Ming over 6-2 Duke guard Jay Williams. The largely black crowd of draft prospects and their contingents booed. They had reason to be displeased. For the past quarter century black athletes had dominated pro basketball and they saw Yao as a subversive force, an alien threat. Even Charles Barkley -- Yao's basketball idol -- sniped at Houston's choice and hinted at bad consequences.

David or Goliath?

     What's wrong with this picture?
     In the global sports scene blacks have come to represent all-around athletic prowess. Asian athletes, on the other hand, have been painted as disciplined and skilled but lacking power and size, able to excel only in sports no one cares about. For an Asian to get the top pick in a black-dominated sport was heresy.
     To appreciate what Yao represents to Asian American men requires a quick trip down memory lane. And we do mean quick. The lane is short and sparsely populated.
     In the beginning there was Sammy Lee, the first Asian American to win Olympic gold. He did it with 10-meter platform diving at the 1948 London games and again in 1952 at the Helsinki games. Not exactly a marquee sport, but inspiring nevertheless at a time when Asian Americans hardly knew what to call themselves.
     Then came Michael Chang whose 1989 French Open championship has passed into tennis legend. Cramping and down two sets to Ivan Lendl in the round of 16, the 17-year-old phenom dared to discombobulate the Ice Man with moonballs and an underhanded serve. The ploy worked. The proof that Chang's nerves and speed were real came in the classic 5-set finals victory against Stefan Edberg. But Chang's recent ignomious descent into tennis twilight raises the suspicion that he simply lacks the size and power to stay in the power game.
     It wasn't until Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers in 1995 that an Asian athlete was able to inspire sustained frenzy in one of the big-three sports. Nomo's martian windup and delivery proved so effective that he set Dodgers strikeout records, made the All-Stars and inspired Nomomania.
     By 2001 when Ichiro Suzuki joined the Mariners, Asian imports taking Rookie of the Year honors had practically become a Major League tradition. But none had done it with Ichiro's flair or sunglasses. It wasn't enough that he led the game in hitting and basestealing, he seemed determined to make it look easy. Sex appeal had finally come to the image of the Asian male athlete.
     But the image still lacked something in many AA minds. Sure, for a leadoff hitter Ichiro hit his share of home runs, but he was known for speed and finesse, not power. Having chafed so long under stereotypes denying them size and strength, AA men longed for a star who could knock those assumptions back into the last millennium.
     Eyes turned longingly to football as the obvious arena for the ultimate stereotype smasher -- and saw only Dat Nguyen of the Dallas Cowboys. As a promising linebacker, Nguyen doesn't enjoy the cache of a star offensive back. And at 5-11 and 240 pounds, Nguyen isn't exactly in the 99th percentile in terms of size and power among football players.
     Asian American eyes were drawn to basketball by a trio of giants known collectively as "The Great Wall". They were very big for the Chinese national team. First to make his NBA debut was Wang Zhizhi (7-1, 220 pounds) in April 2001. As a center for the Dallas Mavericks he has averaged 5.5 points per 10.6 minutes of playing time per game. A respectable stat for any rookie but disappointing for those who had hoped for an instant Asian star. Then came Mengke Bateer (6-11, 290 pounds) in February of 2002. Despite 15.1 minutes of play per game as a center for the Denver Nuggets, he too disappointed some with an average 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds.
     Enter the Dragon. At a height variously described as 7-5 or 7-6, Yao Ming, 22, is at once the tallest and youngest of the trio. In the past two years his weight shot up from 255 to 295 pound -- and he's still growing. His gifts extend beyond size, however. He moves a foot shorter. Born to a pair of former stars for the Chinese national teams, his court instincts and skills are practically dyed-in-the-wool.
     And yet Yao isn't a lock to defy the darker prognostications of his prospects as a Rocket. He was regularly outplayed by Wang Zhizhi when both were playing in China. Even with Yao, Wang and Mengke, the Chinese national team routinely lost to second-tier powers like France and Lithuania. Yao has never gone up against the likes of Shaquille O'Neal. The adjustment to life in the U.S. will be long and difficult. In short, Yao Ming is ideally positioned to become the biggest disappointment in the history of Asians in American sports.
     Is Yao Ming the next Asian superstar? Or is he more likely to reinforce the image of Asian men as also-rans in power sports?

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WHAT YOU SAY

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Realist scrub,
Yao sucks, just like you. Deal with it.
ESPN called him the biggest 1st overall pick bust. Look at Jay Williams(2nd overall rookie) he lit up the court the other night, that's what a first overall picks are suppose to do.
Counter Puncher
Tuesday, November 12, 2002 at 16:41:45 (PST) [64.12.96.205]

Counter Puncher,

You make me laugh the power houses of the summer Olypmic Games have always been USA, USSR, Germany and China.

The only time Korea made it into the top 4 was in 1988. When you guess it, the games were held in Soeul. Talk about suspicious results.

USA, USSR, China, and Germany are always on top for medal counts.

The next summer olympic is in Beijing. I'm pretty sure with all the politics behind Olympic events China will have a high medal count for 2008.

Get over it. Just wait another 10 years and maybe a korean national will make it into the NBA.
AC Dropout
Tuesday, November 12, 2002 at 14:16:14 (PST) [24.90.98.143]

Realist:
Leave the JAPANESE OUT of you're bickering. What do we have to do with Chinese/Korean argument?
Ichiban
Monday, November 11, 2002 at 20:43:38 (PST) [152.163.189.134]

Realist,

Please check your facts. Korea has beaten Japan for the gold in rugby at this years Asian Games and the 1998 Asian Games.

Additionally, Korea has been consistently outdoing Japan for medals in Asian Games and the Olympics. This is not to put down Japan, but to provide you with the correct facts. Japan in fact had commissioned a study after the 1996 Olympics to learn how a smaller country like Korea has been consistently outperforming them.
The facts

Realist character is a disgrace to the rest of the Chinese sports fans. Its one thing to support his national teams and engage in spirited discussion but its another to flat out LIE! I've provided links and stats to all my claims,e.g. Corean gold medal winners in Greco Roman wrestling and Corean world champion boxers throughout history but I have yet to see a Chinese on here provide the same evidence for their claims. Either he's a stupid little troll or just a little geeky scrub whom I'm sure has never played competitive sports in his miserable life. His lack of knowledge of sports only proves he has NO CREDITIBILITY.
Realist Loser stick to ping pong?
Counter Puncher
Monday, November 11, 2002 at 18:29:12 (PST) [205.188.209.43]

Asian brother,

No way I say truce to a racist, loser, such as Counterpuncher. No way. I post a positive post on Yao Ming, which by the way, is the subject of this section, and he blasts all of China.

No way. Counterpuncher is a loser, a racist. A truce with him can go to hell.
Realist
Monday, November 11, 2002 at 17:09:49 (PST) [210.0.188.194]

Counter-puncher and Realist,

I think it's time to call a truce and end this endless arguing. Regardless of who thinks who is right or wrong, I believe this is causing a rift between the Chinese and Koreans who see this and take sides. I believe the CHinese and Koreans who normally would not get involved in arguments about who is superior are getting drawn in to this also.

I'm asking both of you to simply say "truce" on a post with your username.

I hope both of you will heed this so that we can end this and move on and support all Asians and Asian-Americans in sports.

Lastly, I ask anyone else who has been drawn into this argument to stop writing negative posts about the other group.

Anybody else who agrees with my request, I hope you join in and encourage this. Let's not continue this negativity. Thanks.
Asian brother
Sunday, November 10, 2002 at 22:52:34 (PST) [209.179.44.240]

I agree that gymnastic is no sissy's sport. It just gets an inaccurate rap like that, since women's floor gymnastics are emphasized the most. Gymnastics requires superb coordination, timing, explosiveness, athleticism, and strength. It's nothing to laugh at. Take a look at how buff and cut and agile the olympic gymnasts are. If they took some combat training on top of the gymnastics and were recruited into the Army, a country could create a nation of super-soldiers. I'm not even a gymnast; I'm merely showing respect where it's due.

As far as the Korean vs. Chinese athletes go, I think that for such a small country, Korea produces some fine athletes. They are not necessarily physically superior to Chinese athletes, but they really do have heart. The mental aspect in sports is tantamount to victory, and the Koreans have a firm grasp on that. The Chinese have a superior genepool thanks to their large population, but they seem to lack the heart that Koreans have. Perhaps its the robotic method of sports sceience/training in China (pluck a young boy/girl from a remote village, train them to death w/o any vision or purpose) that contributes to this. Anyway, if Korea had 1 billion people, they would be just as strong as China in all the sports the Chinese dominate in.
You are wrong.
Sunday, November 10, 2002 at 13:58:52 (PST) [128.253.186.46]

Face the facts of this day and age.
What sport domination ultimately boils down to is concrete VICTORY, STAMINA and CONSISTANCY. A country is only as great as what they have proven to be great in. No one can predict the future (be it successful or ailing) of their countrie's athletics no matter how inevitable it may seem because the only thing that proves a countrie's domination of a sport is a demonstration of excellence during the PRESENT. Word.
physch
Saturday, November 09, 2002 at 23:18:52 (PST) [63.214.72.12]

Counterpuncher,

True, Yao has only 3 or 4 rebounds a game. However, he is only playing 11 minutes a game. Extrapolate that over a 48 minute game, and that is 12 or 16 boards, which would put him in the leadership position in the NBA.

Man, you suck.

You talk about physical sports? Swimming is an extremely physical sport, so is gymnastics, weightlifting. These are as physical as they get!!!!! China is clearly the best here. All you can do is talk about rugby, but you know what? China does not even play rugby. In fact, most of the world does not play rugby. You talk about judo as well. Man, Japan kicks the crap out of Korea in judo, as well as rugby. In fact, Japan kicks the crap out of Korea in most sports, such as the Olympics. Tough to be #3 in Asia, huh?

Soccer, you call that physical? One touch on an opposing player and you get a yellow card. Besides, Korea sucks in soccer. They lost to Iran, at home, in front of thousands of weeping fans. Iran did not even have their best players there and were underaged. Korea brought 5 of their World Cup players. Man, they suck!!!!!!!

You are jealous of China. You are jealous of Michael Chang. Man, you make Koreans look like insecure, pathetic, sore losers.......
Realist
Friday, November 08, 2002 at 17:10:45 (PST) [210.0.188.194]

Guys, we need to cut this" those koreans, or those chinese, or those whatever" out. We should be proud of our races but also embrace others as well. What those individuals did represent those individuals, not the country as a whole. Guys, you have the rights to express your opinion, you also have the choice not to sound like a jackass. People, kids in 3rd grade use name calling as a form of defense/argument. I am half chinese, and half korea. I am happy to see all asians represent in the mass media in a postive way. We are supposed to be the most well educated, and here we are arguing like some ghetto inbred trailer trash.

Seems like some of you guys like to use athletic abilities to determine race superiority. Well, in that case, i guess the blacks are far superior than anyone else. Cut that shit out.

The bottom line is, there are more and more asian faces in the media, whether it be sports or entertainment, so lets cheer for them, not bash them.

ps, im a chicago sports fan, and there is going to be a korean player(Choi)in a Cubs uniform. I can't wait for the next baseball season.
Chicagoan
randomtexture@yahoo.com Friday, November 08, 2002 at 09:44:37 (PST) [12.250.171.174]

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