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

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Re: Korean pride

I have noticed a few things on this site. It seems most of the posters are either of Chinese or Korean descent. Of course there are a few Japanese, Filipino and Vietnamese posters here and there. The real problem it seems is that many Chinese do not like the Koreans boasting of their success in the World Cup and other sports. So basically the arguments are between Koreans and Chinese.

I do have to say that if a certain team does well, then they have bragging rights. Korea obviously did very well at the World Cup, so they've got bragging rights in soccer. Historically, Korea has been the strongest of the Asian soccer teams going back to the mid-1900s. I noticed that North Korea even qualified and had some success a number of years ago. Japan is a fairly good soccer team, but this was only the 2nd time to play in the WC and the first for China. Sure Korea did not have success before this WC, but they did perform the best and even gained admiration among many Japanese. The Korean hosts did a fantastic job and received international acclaim for the street-cheering and strong support for their team. Of course home field advantage did help the Korean team, but it is expected to.

My point is that we should accept the fact that Korea did very well and let them revel in the success. When the Lakers won the NBA championship, all Lakers fans yelled out we're no. 1. It's natural for fans to enjoy the success of their favorite teams.
Skariah sheik Monday, July 22, 2002 at 11:15:18 (PDT)

Better facts,

The Germans won the most olympic medals in the recent Winter Olympics. The Nazi legacy live on in the Alpine slopes. Heil Hitler in the bobsled.
AC Dropout Monday, July 22, 2002 at 11:04:38 (PDT)

One Korean Man,

So the moral of the post. Don't bet against the Korean in Archery, Tae Kwon Do, or Go when your in Las Vegas.

Aren't the Korean women doing pretty well in golf these days to?

I think asian countries also do pretty well in the sharp shooting events in the olympics. That's kind of scary in my opinion. There's not right to bear arms in asia. How did they get so good at shooting guns?
AC Dropout Monday, July 22, 2002 at 10:59:25 (PDT)

Joejoe,

Your arguments lack any intelligent merit. At least provide some sensible rebuttals..unless you are not capable of doing so. Please note that over 10 of the Korean soccer team members are being heavily recruited by major European teams with some already being signed. Eat that you moron!
fighting! Monday, July 22, 2002 at 10:58:34 (PDT)

Well, I don't wanna get into discussion about the origin of Han Chinese people/intermixing w/ Manchu-Korean racial stock("Dong-yi" people) on this forum because this is a sports forum as we all know it, and this forum should be kept as only that.

I stayed almost exclusively on 'Comparing Asian Nationalities' forum for the past two months(I don't know why?!) -- of course, I didn't post every day -- and gee, I thought I was finally able to leave that place/visit & post on other interesting forums here in Goldsea! Maybe I need to go back to that forum and write more about what little I know regarding Dong-yi people and their impact on the Han Chinese genetics/history/etc. Some of you will be really surprised/shocked although I suspect many others are already fully aware of what I may say. Of course, I'll be slammed/hated/attacked by millions of netizens from all over the world...

Anyway, regarding Korean 7-footers or the lackthereof;

If I recall correctly, the tallest player on South Korean National basketball team is just about 7' tall or very close to it.

The next tallest player and also the best player on the team is a legit 6'11" guy with surname Suh(full name = Suh Jung-hoon?), I think. Remember that right now I don't have time to search this information on the web, and my post is based on my visit to Korea two yrs ago. Feel free to correct me if you know better.

But, the tallest basketball player with Korean background is this 7'8"(yes!) tall North Korean basketball player whose last name is Lee/Yi (no, I don't remember his full name). He's the tallest Asian basketball player from what I've heard.
He's quite young too, maybe in 22-25 range. I don't recall whether there were any other 7-footers on N. Korean team or not...

As many of you might recall, there was some significant amount of cultural exchanges taken place btwn N. Korea and S. Korea two yrs ago in anticipation of the meeting btwn the heads of two states, Kim Jung-il and Kim Dae-jung. A North Korean Men's basketball team's visit to the South/the friendly game in-btwn was one of this package deal.

I didn't watch the game, but I was able to catch some hightlights on the late night news that evening from my hotel room, and I tell you this;

Both N.K. and S.K. suck in baskeball. Period.

Of course, please remember that virtually all my life I grew up watching American basketball, i.e., Atlantic Coast Conference(I grew up in North Carolina. ACC is the BEST, right?) and NBA b-balling, so I'm extremely discriminating/biased/pro-USA. Yeah, I have a v. little respect for Lithuania/ Russian/ Greece/Australia/ Croatia/etc. Anything non-USA in basketball is BAD...

The 7'8" Korean guy ain't even worthy to untie Shwan Bradley's Nike shoestrings. He's terrible. Very uncoordinated/unathletic although he showed some nice soft touch from mid-range, maybe like 15' out. He's just tall. That's it. His upper body is especially poorly developed, and actually most N. Korean players appeared to be skinny and somewhat malnourished. What an outrage/shame...Weight training? C'mon now...

(I confess I don't know too much about what's going on in contemporary American/Asian sports scene although I'd like to watch ESPN Sports Center whenever I can. Even then, Sports Center is NOT the credible source to get fairly-unbiased/reliable sports news from...)

I can't imagine Chinese basketball players being much better than Korean players although I hope and pray Yao Ming and his buddies will do well in NBA.
Believe me, although I'm not much of a sports fan nowadays, you are not gonna find many people who are as a die-hard, staunchiest Asian athletes supporter as myself...

I do have a mixed feeling about Asian athletes, especially American-born
Asian athletes;

When I was a young boy, there was this All-American kicker from UCLA who made it to the NFL as a second round pick. His name was like Micheal or David Lee(of Korean descent) and I think he played for St. Cardinals for a few yrs. He was B-A-D! It hurt me just watching him misss a field goal after a field goal left and right, especially at crucial juncture of game. After a while, it became too much of a mental burden/game for Lee and he quit the team in disgrace...

Then, Michael Chang came along and gave us some hope, and I became one of his biggest fan(I played a varsity tennis/soccer when I was in high school)...I'll never forget how Chang won the French Open in '89 (was it a fluke?). I celebrated a whole wk after his triumph, and I HATED Jonny Mac for some of his racist/derogatory remarks against Chang.
Even to this day, Chang's one of my favorite sports figures/people of all time, although he's been mightily struggling during the past few yrs...

Then, I became a big fan of Eugene Chung (of Korean descent), an All-American offensive tackle/guard, 6'4", 290 lbs, from Virginia Tech, who became the 1st pick of New England Patriots back in early 90's. The Patriots were godawful back then, and Chung was decent for a few yrs. Then, the Tuna, Bill Parsels(sp?) became the head coach, and the team started to get better/or rather started to get better players, and lo and behold, Chung turned out to be a bust...Last I heard, Chung is married to his high school sweetheart and is running a health/fitness club back in his hometown in Virginia...

Well, I stopped living my life vicariously through AA athletes long time ago -- if I ever did.

I'm glad that Dat Nguyen is doing well in the NFL. I hope he makes to the Pro Bowl some day and marry a gorgeous/statuesque blonde babe...Haha...I'm serious...

Regarding Asian in-fighting here on Goldsea;

When I first joined, yep, I was somewhat taken aback too. But, now, hey I woundn't want it any other way. It's more fun this way, you know. It's a good way to relieve some of your daily stress/catharsis treatment. If everything is peaceful/quiet/hunky-dory, then life here on Goldsea, my my my...will be well, so BORING!

Okay, you stupid Chinese or whatever person;

Get over the world cup soccer and stop bashing korea, you moron! don't you know that china wouldn't even have made it to the world cup finals if korea and japan were not cohosting? yeah, that's right, stupid a$$. get on your knees and thank korea and japan for that.
every single host nation has benefited from home court advantage, and what korea might have benefited is nothing, i mean nothing, compared to some of the most infamous/outrageous/favorable outcomes all those european and south european nations had enjoyed in the past, you knucklehead! go study up on world cup soccer history, dumdum!

There, I feel so much better now...
One Korean Man Monday, July 22, 2002 at 03:03:06 (PDT)

Ichiro is a great player and I really love the impact he's had on the game, but the only drawback to him is that he is smallish and fits the stereotype of Asian male athletes. I agree that Hee Sop Choi is definitely going to open up some eyes next year in the Major Leagues. I've read that he is a "masher", meaning he is a true power hitter. That is what we need, a powerful slugger that is gonna crank homers. The Cubs have been very careful to ensure that he is ready for his Major League debut next year and have him in place to be their 1st baseman for the next decade. He's 6'5" 240 pounds and he is only 22. It will be interesting to see the response of the baseball fans when they see this Asian giant cranking homeruns all over the country. Can't wait!
LA AA sports fanatic Monday, July 22, 2002 at 00:11:24 (PDT)

Telling it like it is,

China does collect the most medals in the Olympics no doubt. Communist countries place a premium on Olympic medals to help spread their ideology and for propaganda purposes. But most of China's medals were collected by the WOMEN. The men won medals in gymnastics, diving, badminton, etc. These are crap gay sports. Korean men win medals in more rugged athletic sports and that's a fact. Korea swept all gold's in boxing at the Asian games not too long ago. Chinese men dominate in gymnastics. Nuff said.

China doesn't care about baseball becuz they suck. People can say that Koreans are too nationalistic, but that doesn't change the fact that Chinese MEN do well in the gay sports in the Olympics while Korean MEN do well in more rugged sports which require a strong fighting spirit. That's the trademark of Korean male athletes.
Telling it like it really is Monday, July 22, 2002 at 00:04:37 (PDT)

It's stupid for Asians to hate one another. The rest of world sees us pretty much as one homogenous group, whether they like, hate or fear us is another matter.

Asians should support each other, regardless of where the fan or the athlete is from.
huu76 Sunday, July 21, 2002 at 22:55:56 (PDT)

Whoa ! Look at all these illiterate Chinese coming out of the woodworks. First, learn to read and follow the thread from the begining. I do believe it was one of your brothers "Chinatown" who came on here boasting about chinese superiority in sports. We Coreans are merely correcting you folks.
I have no Corean superiority attitude I onlypost "real facts."

Firestorm, what are you babbling about??? Take a pill and go to bed.

B. Lee, my point is China's basketball is NOT world class, best in Asia doesn't translate into world class. Some of your compatriots keep bringing up China's basketball team like they have ever won the gold or produced basketball players like Domincians produce short stops in the majors. When China ever win the gold medal or beats the likes of US or Yugoslavia on regular bases I'll consider them WORLD POWERS in basketball.

To Ichiro his ownero,
You're sounding like some of these Chinese on here, why talk about "potential?" This guy Choi hasn't done s*** in the majors so why disrespect Ichiro when he is obviously one of the best hitters in the majors?
I'll love to see a Corean dude make a big impact like Ichiro too but give Ichiro his due.

Joe Joe,
You're just a retard.
Y-o-U s-h-o-u-l-d p-a-y a-t-t-en-tion in s-ch-oooolll. Low self esteemed Chinses guy wishing he was white or black, which is it? LOL!
Losers like Portugal, Italy and Spain you're still harping on the Corean soccer team cheated theory? If the referees don't call it,it ain't cheating moron. How dare Corea take advantage of homefield support? hahaha...last time I checked that's part of the reason why teams prefer to play at home.
I stated Coreans are pretty good in teakwondo, boxing, Judo, wrestling on the world (Olympic)level not only in Asia. Stick to your badminton busboy.

Your not all that,
Corea has never been all that in soccer in the World cup, only this one. But France was never all that in world Cups before France 1998. When they destoyed Brazil for the championship. Now France has even better team than Brazil, they were just unlucky this year. Hey North Corea made it to the quarterfinals in 1966 after beating Italy. So I guess we do have some success in soccer.
I tell you what,Corea has dominated Asian soccer throughout its history.
How many times China has beaten Corea in soccer, like two out of 24 tries?
Why can't China dominate soccer when its the most popular sport in China, it doesn't require alot of strength or height. Chinese women are among the best what's the deal with Chinese guys? There are more than 500 million of you.
If China had to qualify like previous years before against Corea or Japan you guys would of again NOT qualified.
True right? So there goes that Chinese superiority in sports when best of their gene pool can't beat the best of Corea's or Japan's limited gene pool.

One Korean Man,
Who cares about archery? You sound like these Chinese with badminton. blah blah blah...take your irrelevant tirad somewhere else.

Telling it like it is,
Doofus, heard of Micheal Kim from North Corea? He's 7'6",commies won't let him enter the NBA draft. Stick an eggroll up where the sun don't shine busboy. That shows how much you really know about basketball. You need to stop with China's wishful thinkinking, China couldn't even beat the Duke blueDevils.
I really mean that.
China win more medal BY FAR in the Olympics? Where are the stats???
I would say just barely more than Corea or Japan. And most of your medals are from wuss sports like ping pong and diving. Who cares?

I think its best you Chinese guys just admit Corea for its size produces best athletes in Asia.
REAL FACTS Sunday, July 21, 2002 at 20:26:20 (PDT)

i don't mind the fact that ichiro is a shorter baseball player, so is b.h. kim. as asians we have to admit that we are not quite as tall as the other races. i think it's great that asia has produced some shorter baseball players just as long as they produce some taller ones too. it sends the message that even though we are not that tall we can still kick butt.

asian baseball afficianado Sunday, July 21, 2002 at 19:51:54 (PDT)

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