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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Yao Ming: The Next Asian Superstar?
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:50:32 PM)
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.]
where was yao?
You are wrong
Outta Yao's respect for the guy, he practically gave him those 31pt 13 rebounds. He feel that this was no challenge and knows that his team was going to win anyway. So he didn't do too much.
Yao doesn't need to prove a thing to Shaq, Shaq does.
Where was Yao in the 3 mins?
Yao was in your face and blocked your shot.
Where is Yao now?
Yao is in your face for the last Jam.
JC&JO
Thursday, January 23, 2003 at 07:18:47 (PST)
[24.239.152.113]
Did u notice that Yao Ming is not only 7'5", but also just 22. Given how the American and Chinese developement sytems differ, if given the right amount of time, say about 4 years, to develop his already semi-polished skills,to learn to use his unteachable size and improve his knowledge of the North american game, Yao Ming will definately be a force. Does everbody expect a rookie to be an instant force. I, for one, am looking forward to the day Yao builds up, like any other rookie out of college, and then takes his game to a new level.
ddmonkey
ddmonkey91@yahoo.ca
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 16:16:00 (PST)
[142.173.13.196]
Everyone,
The rockets are making Yao eat pizza, high calories food. So Yao can gain weight, I also advice them to have him eat wheat [bread], pasta, and meat.
IKEA
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 13:03:12 (PST)
[24.239.152.113]
You are wrong,
"Notice how fustrated Shaq got against Francis and flagrant fouled him in the end of game. [posted by AC]"
No he is right and you're wrong. Shaq in the end panicked because his team was about to lose, so he beat up Francis. Francis was like, "what why you pick on me"? Off course to himself but still.
He's right
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 11:35:13 (PST)
[24.239.152.113]
Got some good news and bad news.
The bad news: Yao's offense has been absolutely anemic this month (only averaging 10.6 and 8.8 while shooting 38.8%). Add two more below-average shooting days and 17 points combined in losses to the other Texas teams. Is it an injury we don't know about? The rookie wall? Fatigue from not having a true off-season to recover? Only time will tell. The kid's got game, but now I'm concerned we might see more January 2003's than December 2002's in the near future. Let's hope he gets his stuff together soon, and that the past 3 weeks turns out to be a blip on the radar.
The good news: With his recent struggles in mind, it must be even more insulting to Shaq (and with the "ching-chong" comments, perhaps deservedly so?) that he won't get to start in the All-Star game.
"Yao is everywhere!"-
To write, "If there weren't special treatment for your kind and blacks, there would be none of you in colleges and universities!" is utterly racist. It's magnitudes worse than Shaq's "ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-so" comment. I hope that you weren't one who protested Shaq regarding his insensitivity.
MrMacross
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 11:17:00 (PST)
[206.31.28.1]
Another crappy performance from the chinese human cardboard! yao had no game against the Mavericks. The human cardboard from china is 7'6", but he got his ball swatted by some guy that's only 6'11", not once, not twice, but 3 times. Can ya ming even make a layup without getting his shot blocked in this league?? Well, his offense wasn't there, but his defense wasn't there neither. So where was yao? And where were his shots? (they were all on Lafrentz's big palm.)\
6 whopping points and only 5 boards.
WHERE WAS THE HUMAN BOARD???
on the bench. where else? hahahah
where was yao??
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 10:32:21 (PST)
[63.161.167.211]
You are wrong,
After game decisions are mostly politics and to prevent players and their franchise from getting fined and what not.
Okay let's say for the sake of argument Shaq did not flagrant foul Francis. I think we would all agree that poor attempt at defense was a FOUL. Shaq came no where near the ball. Unless Francis has a trick of using his face to palm the ball. So still a 2 point play at the foul line.
Also still goes to prove Shaq had no blocks in the game. He didn't give his team any defensive contribution. Could he stuff Yao and any of the shorter teammates...(ahem Francis)...Nope.
And lastly what is this smack he said it was unfortunate that game was decided by people who make less money than him. So if I walked up to Shaq with my W-2 form and showed him I made more money than him. Does that mean he'll wax my car. Give me a break.
Another reason why Shaq is a moron.
AC Dropout
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 10:30:59 (PST)
[24.136.115.189]
Nutritionally ignorant Kid:
As a fact, I do know quite a bit about body-building. I work out a lot myself, and hang out with a significant amount of body builders. Most serious body builders come competition time stick to fish and skinless chicken breast, as they are the leanest, yet packed with the most protein. Amino acids are just a further break down of Proteins, ignoramous. If you took any biology class you'd understand that. Fish and chicken more than cover the gamet of required amino acids.
Tomjanovich wants Yao to consume more calories because Yao is so skinny. You yourself even just said referred to >>>>calories<<<<<< in that statement and not nutrition. So what's your point? One second you're talking about protein, than meat protein- not fish or vegetables[they keep you small.. lol], than calories.... what are you leading to?
Don't confuse calories with protein or nutrition. Calories you can get from bacon or twinkies. He just wants Yao to add more weight. We're talking about your ignorant misconceptions on diet and protein. Obviously your statements about calories further conclude your ignorance.
Yes, Northern Asians are slightly taller than southern Asians, however, Northern Europeans are considerably taller than Southern Europeans. Per Capita, you'd be hard pressed to find evidence that Scandinavians (the tallest of Europeans, and who also have the highest comsumption of fish in Europe, eat more meat than Spaniards and Italians, who are relatively short, but consume large amounts of pork and beef).
Yes, blacks in america in general are taller than blacks in afica, slightly due to malnutrition, however, if you fed those africans the same things you fed black americans, there would be no difference. If you fed people in Asia what Black Americans ate, believe me, there would still be a very big physical difference. BTW, the dinka tribe in southern sudan, despite all their famines and malnutrition are the tallest people in the world ( the average male in that tribe is 6'4"). In other words blacks the world over are genetically similar. As are Asians.
Believe me, I've seen plenty of adopted Korean kids raised on your typical "White" diets and they are no bigger than your typical Asians, relatively small compared to non Asians.
Like it's been mentioned before and stated in STUDY AFTER STUDY by biologists and scientists the world over, although delusional Asians like you seem to have a hard time understaning, The physical differences amongst the races have more to do with thousands of years of evolution than current diet. Blacks in America eat no better than Whites, however, you yourself can see that Blacks in general are taller and much more physically developed.
You can feed your kids as much beef and dairy as you want, but believe me I'm sure they'll be just as small as you, but fatter than you and much shorter than Tyrone down the street. LOL... you're such a delusional-uninformed kid.
Go read some books and learn something, kiddo.
Post Intelligent Comments
www.ReadAndLearnKid.com
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 10:12:51 (PST)
[216.214.210.58]
I think the jury is still out on Yao. Let's wait until he has a few years or more under his belt. We can then properly evaluate him.
Disciple of the Dragon
Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 09:13:20 (PST)
[170.148.10.41]
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