Houston Rockets center Yao Ming fulfilled at least one goal for many Chinese-Americans who went to watch his Chicago debut Sunday simply by walking his 7-foot-5-inch body onto the basketball court.
“I think he’s important because he breaks the stereotypes that everyone in China is very small,” said Chicago resident Bernie Wong, president of the Chinese American Service League, who stands about 5 feet tall.
Thousands of Asian-Americans, many of them attending their first NBA game, filled the United Center to cheer for a man who, for them, serves not only as a sports icon almost rivaling Michael Jordan but also as an ambassador for a culture.
“We don’t want to put the burden of all Chinese people on him,” said Harry Tang, a financial portfolio manager who founded Yao’s Chicago fan club recently. “But he can help Americans understand Chinese culture better with the way he has handled himself.”
After Yao’s 10-point surge in the second half helped tie the game, the Bull’s won on a last-second shot.
But for the Asian-Americans cheering Yao’s every score or rebound, he is much more than a star. Dozens of people repeated the same praise: They were as proud of Yao’s demeanor off the court as they were of his play on it.
“We like him to always be humble and polite, because those are Chinese merits,” said Yufueng Ma, a Chicago lawyer who took his parents visiting from China to the game. “He also has a sense of humor, and that is also important.”
Yao demonstrated his wit before the game.
When reporters asked him what he remembered about Bulls general manager Jerry Krause during his pre-draft visit to Chicago last spring, Yao said: “He ate twice as much as I did.” Krause is about 2 feet shorter than Yao.
Yao’s translator, Colin Pine, said Yao was well aware of the huge expectations Asian-Americans have for him on and off court.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Pine said.
In an interview after the game, Yao said he noticed the large Asian-American audience at the game. “I’d like to thank them for coming,” he said.
Some of Yao’s fans wore T-shirts with his name hand-lettered on them, others made signs in Chinese with cheers to motivate him, and they all clapped and yelled when he came out for the pre-game shoot-around, when he was introduced, made a shot, grabbed a rebound or simply reentered the game after a break.
The Bulls got into the spirit too.
Some NBA teamshave given out fortune cookies or put on martial arts demonstrations when Yao played, but the Bulls, in recognition of both Yao and the upcoming Chinese New Year, had the New Lion Dance Team from Chicago put on a traditional dance with men dressed as brightly colored lions that would “ward off evil and offer good luck.”
But the fans were there to see Yao.
Sia Li, 24, a financial analyst who was born in China, came to the United States 12 years ago and now lives in Hyde Park, sounded like any American when talking about the Bulls and his new hero.
“I used to be a Bulls fan, till they took a little downturn,” he said, laughing. “But I’m a Rockets fan now. I grew up in Shanghai–the same hometown as Yao, baby!”
Li’s friend Yang He, 23, said Yao is helping to counteract stereotypes about Asians.
“I think a lot of Asian-Americans have been waiting for someone like him to come along,” he said. “A Chinese basketball star is so counter to the stereotype of the un-athletic Asian. You know, that Asians are just known for sports like Ping-Pong.”
Yao’s impressive maturity would attract little attention if he weren’t a great athlete, his fans say.
“He’s such a breath of fresh air,” said Tang, whose Yao fan club brought more than 500 Asian-American fans to the game. “But first, he has to be good. Otherwise, he’s just another Shawn Bradley [a 7-foot-5 center] with a Chinese accent.”
Not all of Yao’s fans were Asian-Americans.
Wearing a Bull’s jersey, Jackson Lundmark, 11, leaned as far as he could over a railing as Yao walked to the dressing room before the game, hoping to get his autograph. Yao was in a hurry and couldn’t stop, but Jackson wasn’t upset.
“He’s awesome!” Jackson said.
“I like how he came to America from his country and just dominated,” he said, and his friends Brian and Ryan Foley nodded in agreement.
For some Asian-Americans, a recent incident involving Los Angeles Laker center Shaquille O’Neal seemed to convince them that Yao was going to be a good cultural ambassador. O’Neal had mocked Chinese speech patterns during an interview weeks ago.
After a recent game when Yao and O’Neal met for the first time, they talked briefly and Yao declined to tell reporters what they discussed, saying only that it was a “private matter” between him and O’Neal.
“He’s a pioneer and everything he says really reflects on the Asian-American community,” said Stanley Wong, 18, a Northwestern University student who wore a T-shirt he adorned with Yao’s name. “So the entire thing with Shaq, I think he handled it very well. He didn’t try to incite, he just tried to focus on playing basketball.”
