Yao’s Out for the Season- but for the Olympics?
The big story right now in the NBA is that Houston Rockets star center Yao Ming has fractured his foot and will not play again this season. For Rockets fans, this is surely terrible news: the team has won 12 games in a row and were a legitimate championship contender. Without Yao, Houston's hopes for an NBA championship are nil.
Ordinarily, this story wouldn't be earth-shattering news. Big-time players get hurt all the time, and sports fans have long learned to cope with these kinds of disappointments. But Yao's injury has broader implications than just the Rockets' season- he of course is the most famous athlete in China and the star of the country's ultra-popular national basketball team, expected to compete for a medal in the upcoming Beijing Games. Should Yao be unable to play, both China's competitive chances and the spirit of the nation's millions of basketball fans would surely dampen.
At the moment, it appears Yao will heal in time to hit the court this summer. Let's hope for the sake of China's hoop fanatics he doesn't suffer any setbacks. åŠ æ²¹ï¼
UPDATE: Just for the record, the Rockets have now won 21 games in a row- the last nine without Yao. The streak is the second longest in NBA history and has catapulted the Rockets to the top of the Western Conference standings.
February 28th, 2008 - 00:11
“Should Yao be unable to play, both China’s competitive chances and the spirit of the nation’s millions of basketball fans would surely dampen.”
With or without Yao Ming, China’s competitive chances aren’t that great. It will be lucky for them to advance to the group of 8.
February 28th, 2008 - 09:40
I was kinda hoping they’d learned from the last Olympics when the fielded what was little more than the “Yao Ming team”. Basketball is a team sport and takes more than one individual.