I was upset yesterday that I was going to miss the US vs. Greece basketball game because I was going to be at work, but during work I received two text messages from friends that the game wasn’t on. This after the US vs. Angola game was also not shown on Chinese TV.
I have to say when I am wrong, I am wrong.
I thought that the Chinese would either show the Olympics two ways, every channel would be showing the Olympics all the time, or a few sports channels and the main stations would show Chinese events and the US basketball team, I guess that is what a person thinks when more people in China play basketball than there are in the US, and people love Kobe and Lebronious as as much or more than Yao Ming . There is a reason why China- Angola and China- Spain weren’t the most watched games in basketball history, and it’s not just because of an American audience.
The Chinese instead choose to re-air the China vs Angola game from earlier in the day. Maybe they did it because it was the first game China won this Olympics, and with the replay this morning it takes China's record to 3-2 . (with losses to the US and Spain, and three wins against Angola.) and they want their people to feel they are doing well and see a national hero in Yao.
I would assume the first time they re-aired the game was because the Chinese played in the afternoon when not everyone could watch the game. So they showed it at night, but that doesn’t seem to be an excuse for me to not show the US game.
If NBC has enough pull to get the basketball pushed to 10 at night so it could be aired closer to noon than dawn in the states, then how does the country hosting the Olympics which has already been able to use 13 year olds and not keep their promises to the IOC, not have the ability to get those games played at night in primetime.
How can they not play the China game and then the US game or the US game then the China game in the 6-8-8-10-, or 10-12 spot. It’s not even like the games are that long.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they blacked-out the US basketball games in China after the beatdown we gave them. It’s not like they weren't drawing enough viewers to US games to justify advertising costs. . I guess the people would rather watch air pistol shooting ( can there be a less exciting sport to watch) , synchronized diving, and badminton, the sports the China cleans up in.
I can’t say that I’m excited for the rest of the Olympics though, if this is the case. China is the one calling them "梦八“ (Dream Team 8) not me, we all want to see them play, let's start showing their games again and remember our Olympic motto:
ONE WORLD ONE DREAM
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2 comments:
I will take credit for the conspiracy theory that they are not broadcasting US games because of a perceived sleight in our opening matchup. In that first game I thought we laid it on a little thick with some behind the back passes and flashy dunks.
Realistically， it is essentially what they do during football games in the US if my memory serves me right. If a Steeler game is on they won't show a football game on Fox so that football fans' allegiances will not be divided amongst the two games (Yeah right is that the problem in Black&Gold bleeding Pittsburgh, but that is the idea I think. However, Big Snack and Adam Levine Madden Hall of Famer Aaron Smith are more of a no-brainer decision than Yawn Ming and the Chairman).
China realizes that this is a legitimate problem here in that fans absolutely love Kobe and the Redeem team and many realistically would choose to watch them over their national team. I think that these games have started to illustrate this problem for Chinese basketball, that American players are too popular over here, in favor of their own product.
I guarantee you go to Germany and you are going to have everybody loving Dirk more than Kobe. You go to Argentina they are going to love Manu more than Kobe. Hell, probably in Spain they love "Defense's Steve Nash" Ricky Rubio (as he was penned earlier today by one pre-mature fan) more than they love Kobe.
My point is that the NBA has done an incredible job in marketing their players (not to mention Nike, Adidas, etc.) to the extent that many Chinese will leave their nationalistic pride and loyalty at the doorstep in favor of their star-struck love for Kobe and Lebron (mostly Kobe).
I would not be terribly surprised if you saw a scaling back in all the NBA games other than Rockets/Nets/Lakers (now that they signed guard Sun Yue) because of this growing "problem". Is it truly a problem? I am not sure, as everybody is getting stinking rich anyway, but I think in order for Chinese basketball to take the next step, they will need to do a better job marketing their own players in China, or getting some stars that they can market better.
Somebody made a great point in response to my article about how Kobe is THE sports icon in China over Yao Ming and Liu Xiang, saying that if the olympics were in the US, you weren't going to find any American fans cheering for Yao Ming or Manu or Pau Gasol when facing the US, but in China the ovations were just as loud for the US team even when facing China.
So thanks a lot David Stern, Nike, and the amazing Redeem Team athletes for robbing me the chance to see them beat down teams in merciless revenge. If they don't show the Spain-US game on Saturday, I will be forced to do something about it, or maybe I will drag my hermit ass out to a bar to see it.
I will take over this Blog. The people want it. There will be an uprising. Just wait.
3 wins against Angola--Hi-larious.
And about the football games, the home team signs a contract with the TV stations to blackout other games during their broadcasts, to have a more captive market.
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