Asians in American Sports | Asian American Poll

ASIANS IN AMERICAN SPORTS
(Updated Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:39:09 AM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Which male athlete has done the most to promote the image of Asian American men?
Tennis Player Michael Chang | 36%
Pitcher Chanho Park | 23%
Golfer Tiger Woods | 8%
Linebacker Dat Nguyen | 13%
Rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki | 14%
Left Wing Paul Kariya | 6%

Which female athlete has done the most to promote the image of Asian American women?
Figure Skater Kristi Yamaguchi | 19%
Pool Player Jeanette Lee | 1%
Figure Skater Michele Kwan | 58%
Golfer Se-ri Pak | 22%

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WHAT YOU SAY

[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]

I don't understand this population argument:

"China should have the best athletes in the world since there are over ONE BILLION of you BUT you are not."

Higher number of population does not mean higher chance of winning in sports. Let me give you a game:

There are 3 bags. In one bag, there are 10,000 balls of which half is blue and half is white. In another bag, there are 100 balls, of which half is blue and half is white. In another bag are 4 balls of which half is blue and the other half is white.

You have to pick the bag that would give you the best chances of picking 2 blue balls. Think of all the balls as the population and the blue balls are the superior athletes. You have to pick the country (bag) that would most likely produce the best 2 atheletes in the world.

Let's look at the probability of picking 2 blue balls from the first bag. The probability of picking the first blue ball from the first bag is 5000/10000. The probablity of picking a 2nd blue ball is 4999/9999. Together the probability of picking 2 blue balls is (5000/10000)*(4999/9999) = 24.997%.

Now lets look at the probability of picking 2 blue balls from the 2nd bag of 1000 balls. The probability of picking the first blue ball from the first bag is 500/1000. The probabllity of picking a 2nd blue ball is 499/999. Together the probability of picking 2 blue balls is (500/1000)*(499/999) = 24.97%.

Now, let's look at the 3rd bag which has only 4 balls. The probability of picking the first blue ball from the first bag is 2/4. The probabllity of picking a 2nd blue ball is 1/3. Together the probability of picking 2 blue balls is (2/4)*(1/3) = 16.6%.

So even though the first bag had more balls than the 2nd bag, the advantage from having more balls is very very very small. You only gain an advantage when the number of balls is small compared to the number of blue balls you want to pick. The moral I am trying to make is that China's superiority in sports (like beating the US in gymnastic in LA 1984) or its lack of it (like getting kicked out of the world cup) is in no way attributed to population numbers. Even if all things are created equal, having more population doesn't give you any significant advantage of winning gold.

Chinese male who can read chinese Tuesday, July 16, 2002 at 12:36:36 (PDT)

I played on the junior circuit when Michael Chang was there. Although I don't completely agree with everything he does. You have to admire him.

The other top juniors like Courier treated him like crap. He faced a lot of adversity when coming up through the predominantly white male ranks. I think he relied on religion as an escape.

It's easy for guys like Agassi and Sampras who were treated much better, even though they were about equal at the time, to act cool. Environment really dictates your behavior, especially during the formative years.

Don't criticize until you have walked in that person's shoes (in this case, tennis shoes).
Former Tennis Player Tuesday, July 16, 2002 at 08:29:23 (PDT)

Asian Americans have a tough time developing into superior athletes in this country because they are not encouraged and in fact discouraged. I played and was an All_american in Division I sports and I can tell that growing up I faced incredible difficulties.

First of all when growing up I was never picked for teams until I clearly demonstrated that I was better than everyone else. So in another words you are allowed to play once you are good, but how can you get good unless you play.

Asian Athlete Tuesday, July 16, 2002 at 08:21:17 (PDT)

think of the training facilities, among other qualities conducive to the superior athlete. Pound for pound, China is dirt poor compared to Japan and Korea. With much improved nutrition, etc, talent scouts, China would rip it up, as if they didn't already. The women's soccer team is the best in the world (albeit the defeat to the United States), the men and women's basketball teams are the best in Asia, women's volleyball and softball. We're decent at speed and figure skating though there are virtually no skating rinks in China. and let's not even mention skiing, because no Chinese person in China has ever heard of such a sport. Just what exactly are Japan (aside from baseball) and Korea good at?

feel free to lay off the chinese folks. And another country with a billion people, India, sucks the nut in sports...they're also dirt poor (is there a connection?).

chinatown Sunday, July 14, 2002 at 20:46:03 (PDT)

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