BEIJING — China is madly in love with basketball. With one-fifth of the world's population, that's a lot of love.
Yao Ming knows how it feels. He is treated like a 7-6 god whenever he comes home. Soon his likeness may replace Mao's on the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
On Sunday night, the U.S. team felt the love of Chinese fans in its Olympic opener, a 101-70 trampling of its host that was billed as the most-watched basketball game in history.
It was a respectful rout. The NBA stars made sure the Chinese did not lose face by complimenting them afterward.
"They've got some big guys who can really play," Jason Kidd said. "The future is bright when you have Yao to build around. It's just a matter of time."
It's just a matter of time. That's a refrain in China references. It's just a matter of time before China surpasses the U.S. economically. It's just a matter of time before China surpasses the U.S. athletically. Feisty point guard Liu Wei was Allen Iverson without the tattoos.
Inside the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium, spectators (including George W. Bush and George H. Bush) anticipated the significance and symbolism of the game. They lacked the sustained hysteria of an NCAA Tournament or NBA playoff game. Chinese fans tend to cheer and clap in an orderly, unified manner. But it was fun to see the giddy looks on their faces when Yao nailed a three-pointer or Kobe Bryant dunked
"The last time I dunked five times in a game I was 17," Bryant said. "That was due to the energy of the atmosphere. It was such a proud moment for this country."
Yao is MVP of the Chinese Communist Party at these Olympics. He is a creation of the system, an example of how state planning can succeed. His tall parents were encouraged to marry with the hope that their one child would grow to be an athlete. It worked. Yao is so tall he makes Shaquille O'Neal seem petite.
He is a magnet for attention. During Opening Ceremonies, he carried China's flag, then joined his teammates in the infield. Athletes from different countries pushed through the crowd on each other's shoulders just so they could snap a picture next to Yao. He posed patiently. He has been tireless promoting the Olympics, even running a leg of the Torch Relay.
"He has the whole country to carry," Kidd said. "That is a heavy load."
Yao, the Houston Rockets center, earned $55 million last year but gave almost half back to the sports ministry and remains a man of the people. He is an example to his 1.3 billion countrymen of how a Chinese man can make it in the U.S.
"We adore Yao because he is very gentle, very loyal," said fan Liu Shenshen of Beijing. "And he is very big."
Everything about China is big. That is why the NBA can't stop salivating. To David Stern, who has been the most visionary of all American sports league commissioners, China represents a vast windfall. Basketball was introduced in China in 1895, when the YMCA opened a branch. But it didn't take off until the NBA began its marketing pitch. The NBA first set up an office here in 1988. Now it has 100 employees based in China and 450 million Chinese fans.
Stern's hope would be to absorb the Chinese Basketball League into the NBA, make China the model, and someday have franchises playing all over the planet, meeting in a true world championship. The Shanghai Dragons vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in a corporate bonanza.
"In the NBA, you're lucky to fill an arena with 20,000 people," Dwyane Wade said. "This one game attracted one billion viewers. That is mind-boggling."
At local parks, basketball courts stand next to ping pong tables - and people wait in line to play pick-up games. A temporary court was even set up inside the gates of the Forbidden City so security guards could take an exercise break. They got game!
China, a nation of smokers, is quickly becoming fitness-conscious, and building more courts is a major priority. Indoor gyms are open and busy 24 hours a day. NBA replica jerseys are expensive, must-have fashion statements.
The Chinese are thrilled to have LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in their midst for two weeks. They know their own team will be lucky to finish in the top eight, so they are cheering for the U.S. "Redeem Team" to win the gold medal.
There were no Spike Lee-type hecklers in evidence Sunday night. But they'll learn.