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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
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?
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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
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
Non-believers, how's this for progress?
First four games, Yao averaged 2.5 points. In the past four, he has averaged 10, scoring 10 points in Phoenix and 20 in Los Angeles. And all those in limited minutes.
Vun
vunny1979@asiamail.com
Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 01:35:04 (PST)
[210.50.56.128]
Hey Chinatown, does the name Lucid ring a bell? hehe (as in Interval?)
Anyways, yeah. All of this petty infighting is exactly why in America Asians are downsized compared to other minorities....you don't see blacks fighting between themselves simply because of nationality; imagine what Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton would say to that. Bottomline, he's an Asian basketball player first and foremost, and all Asians should support him as he breaks stereotypes and boundaries. We all felt the pain when Byung Hyun Kim blew those saves in the world series...we all secretly root for Timmy Chang to blast his way into the NFL.
best of luck Yao...hopefully one day you will dunk over Shaq himself.
murkyChord
Tuesday, November 19, 2002 at 21:21:04 (PST)
[140.247.73.199]
How lame, first of all, you are completely wrong. At these Asian Games, the contribution by the men and women of China were about equal. For example, almost all the medals won in swimming by China were from the men. In table tennis, the medals were from the men. In fact, the women did not bring in many medals in table tennis. Not to mention other sports as well......
Second, China has always treated men and women equally in sports, in terms of funding by the state. We all know that in other countries in the world, women tend to not get the funding. Look at the discrimination cases going on in the U.S. right now for lack of funding of women sports at colleges. China may have her problems, but in terms of sports funding, it treats the sexes equally. This is the key reason why China's women do well.
Third, the reason why Korean men do better than their women is that in Korea, there is heavy sexual discrimination. Everyone knows that. So, Korean women tend not to receive funding in sports. I find it interesting that the Koreans on this site like to point out the different medal count among men and women. You see, for Chinese, it does not matter. We are all Chinese, men and women. For Koreans, they seem to place a premium on medals for the men, which indicates that their culture has serious discrimination against women.
But bottom line: this is a section about Yao Ming. I post a statement praising Yao Ming, and a bunch of Koreans start slamming China. There are a lot of racist Koreans. That is a fact of life. So, you should send messages telling counterpuncher to stopping being racist. i am just responding to his statements of korean racial supremacy. Instead, you just add flame to the fodder. Look, get used to it, China is going to dominate in sports. You can waste your time splitting the men from the women, but this just shows your sexual discrimination. Whether you like it or not, Chinese men and women are going to do incredibly well in sports, as China's economy further develops. Get used to it!
Realist
Tuesday, November 19, 2002 at 18:33:17 (PST)
[210.0.188.194]
Thanks to his perfect shooting (9 of 9 attempts) in his Sunday game against the Lakers, Yao is now Rank #1 in the NBA in Field-Goal Percentage(0.667)
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/yao_ming/index.html?nav=page
What a difference one night makes - from a ZERO to a HERO!
Yao, NBA Rank #1 in FG %
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 21:46:30 (PST)
[209.232.22.104]
Korean fella,
Finally we have a Korean dude here who's got some senses. You see, Yao is not only a representation of Chinese ballers. If you or some Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino go out balling in the park, they would all assume that you are the same race and nationality and that you are a Yao fan and they would respect you more because they are now finally seeing some Asians in the NBA.
When Yao dunks a basket over some white or black guy, it is not only for China, but for all the Asian guys who have been balling for all those years and never get the respect from other races.
Asian basketball
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 20:27:09 (PST)
[64.130.235.33]
I can't believe all this ridiculous and petty bickering between Counter puncher and some Chinese guys. This is absolutely ridiculous.
I'm Chinese, but when Korea was winning in the world cup, I was Korean at that moment. I don't care what kind of Asian succeeds, it will only be a benefit for us all. Does it really matter to Americans whether it is a Chinese, Korea or Japanese kicking ass in whatever sport there is? It doesn't and it shouldn't to us Asian Americans either.
Counter puncher, I know that you have face to keep on this forum but do you truly want Yao to fail deep inside? If you do, then you are a really stupid stupid man. The fact is that Yao's success will only translate to a better image not just for me as a Chinese man, but for ALL Asian men.
I think we Asians should start bickering amongst ourselves only when Asians dominate the entire world in sports. Until then, what one Asian does is a great contribution to the entire race not just his nationality.
rationalist
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 19:17:41 (PST)
[12.236.102.55]
Lucky? Counter Puncher, you've even incensed the head hancho of this board. please do us all a favor and can that racist little mouth of yours.
BTW, yao ming isn't a point guard. At least he put forth the effort to guard stephon marbury (though he probably shouldn't have, seeings how they probably don't show many AND1 mixtapes in China). But boy, what a blow out game for Yao Ming. I was standing by him all the way, ever since 2000. Sure, he had some tough times, but that's what loyalty is about.
Counterpuncher, you can wallow in your hate, and if Yao Ming should ever rise the throne of the NBA, I would imagine that you shall be drowning.
As I've stated time and time again, Yao Ming is not just representing China, he's representing all Asians. His failures have an effect on us, and his successes do much the same. Quite frankly, I think we should only encourage him all the more to succeed.
I do believe we can expect similar production from Yao Ming beginning here and now. 9-9 from the field, that was one shy of the team record of field goals without a miss. And in only his 8th game? Wow. But believable, as we know he's been perfect from the field in games before. In the WBC, he led all players with a 77% shooting percentage.
Wang Zhizhi is also a very talented player, though not on the level of Yao and his potential. Yao put up 8 points off of dunks against LA. That's a stereotype breaker for ya.
chinatown
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 17:43:36 (PST)
[67.98.162.48]
Counter Puncher,
What do you have against Yao? Did he decline to sign an autograph for you? LOL. I'm thinking you're not a Chinese, otherwise you would at least root for him to do well. I root for all Asian athletes whether they're Chinese, Japanese or Korean, etc.
Tomorrow
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 13:57:34 (PST)
[64.174.7.191]
realist,
if you bother to check the medals count at the asian games, the chinese women accounted for the bulk of the medals. chinese women are world class in certain sports like soccer and softball. then why can't chinese men be world class in soccer and baseball?
aside from basketball and volleyball, in the more popular/high profile sports, chinese men are not highly competitive. this is not a diss, but you are telling koreans to stick to archery when the koreans were outperforming the chinese men in the more popular/high profile sports and especially team sports...like baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, rugby. its not the quantity only that matters because both korea and china gained a lot of medals in strange events which are not exactly popular sports in most parts of the world, but the higher profile sports such as baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball are popular pretty much everywhere.
i give credit to chinese men for their strength in gymnastics, basketball and ping pong (not joking-china has always been strong in this sport), but don't diss on koreans and tell us to stick to archery simply because of some dude (counterpuncher) you are arguing with.
if you want to keep arguing with counterpuncher, you are welcome to. however, not all koreans are trying to diss on chinese here. however, if your judgment possesses you to make derogatory and incorrect remarks about koreans, then we have no option but to strike back. you keep calling counterpuncher all kinds of names, so why do you continue to argue with him??
how lame
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 12:03:40 (PST)
[63.206.24.50]
Oh boy! It looks like all of us caught that Lakers vs. Rockets game.
I guess that performance should lay to rest any questions about Yao potentials. He got the goods and is still developing. I see a bright future for Yao in the NBA.
I'll be one of the first in line for Yao line of sneaker and Yao wheatie box, if he ever gets that large in the USA. ^_^
So give it up and stop harrassing the Eds. Conversation is over here Yao-bashers.
"I believe he's averaging about 3 or 4 pts now."
Did your Mama drop you on your head as a baby?
He's only played like 8 games in the NBA. And the PPG is more like 7 now, wait till 30 games and you should see some double digit average for this year.
AC Dropout
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 11:59:04 (PST)
[24.90.98.143]
I'm so glad that Yao Ming scored 20 pts. against the Los Angeles Lakers. Like I have said, give my star a chance. He just needs to adjust himself with his game.
dsfbcbsijbdax
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 09:41:28 (PST)
[148.4.18.53]
Counter Puncher,
Are you racist against chinese people. Stop accusing ED of being chinese. I think you have a lot of hate in your system. Clam down, and stop hating on Ming.
lokiloki
Monday, November 18, 2002 at 07:47:07 (PST)
[162.83.150.240]
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