I scrambled to watch the China/USA game but slept through it since that's what I do (in all fairness I couldn't find the gametime anywhere, thanks NBC).  Pictures didn't do the game any justice as I heard afterwords that China played valiantly. 

I have to admit given the US team's past problems and being on China's turf I was a teeny bit nervous, but more amped up to kick some China ass.  Heck, after that opening ceremony I think I could have been fired up enough to be an effective Chinese guard (certainly more effective than they were versus Spain in the second half).

But I digress....

I have to admit that despite all of the reasons not to like China (human rights, communism, and potential rivalry with the U.S.) that I've been rooting for them ever since that game. 

Why you ask?  (I knew you would).  The reason is simple.  Yao Ming.  And while there are many storylines for this basketball tournament that are compelling and friggin' awesome, his is the most compelling.  Starting with the $300 Million Dollar opening ceremony where he stood front and center with the flag (and an entire country on his back), Yao has been the ultimate competitor and shown all of us a thing or two about loyalty to his homeland.  You see, he's just come off a knee injury that would have left so-called superstars from the USA that I'll leave nameless on the shelf.  But for Yao, this moment, and his country's moment, is bigger than himself.  This entire Olympics has been a coming-out party for the Chinese, and I it seems like the world is truly impressed.  At the center of it are China's gold medals and spectacular showcasing of this Olympiad, but literally and figuratively at the center of it is all 7'6" of Yao Ming, his hurt knee, his on the court rehab, and the emotion he is playing with that is literally "willing" his team to be competitive, when frankly they should not be.

Point in case, China's guards.  I'm pretty certain that in my prime I could have covered them.  That's not bad for the 24,534th ranked guard in the United States (remember, in my prime).  They're small, slow, bad shooters, bad decision makers, and bad defenders.  China has some talent at the 3 spot being shared by (don't want to see any updated scores online so rather than looking up the correct spelling I'll go with...) Ziu Ziu and some other guy who's played most of their games (how's that for analysis).  Then you have Yao and Yi rounding out the 5 and the 4, respectively.

It's Yi though that brought me to my feet for this most recent victory over Germany and Dirk (The Loser) Nowitzki.  Yi, frankly, has played like crap throughout the whole tournament.  This guy reminds me of one of my buddies (whattup Danny) in terms of body type, length, athleticism, skill-set, etc.  However, my buddy wouldn't stand around the court like it's his first time there.  So am I saying that my buddy should play for China, no, well, maybe, but more importantly I am saying that Yi single-handedly lost them their matchup against Spain because he couldn't guard Pao Gasol, who is neither quicker or stronger than him, just more crafty.  Yi looked like a deer in headlights on D, and even worse on offense as he picked up his dribble every time somebody looked in his general direction, which was a disaster since the guards couldn't shake the pressure from Spain to save their lives.  You see, Yi needed to step up both offensively and defensively, and while having the skills to do it, he either didn't have the focus or the courage to do it.  China lost in a heartbreaker which for most teams would have crushed their spirit.

Enter Yao Ming, and the China home court advantage.  In their game against Angola they bounced back, with Yao asserting himself as the team's physical and emotional leader.  Against Germany in a must win game, he picked up Yi Jianlian who performed like the top pick everyone expected him to be.  Yao was diving for loose balls, sprinting on the fast break, tugging his shorts from being distant from his ideal playing condition, and chest-bumping teammates after hustle plays.  Yi was all over the court on offense and defense, which had he done that against Spain we would be talking about the upset for years. 

In short, I became a Yao Ming fan for life.  He embodies everything that is great about basketball, the love for the game mixed with the edge that one gets when playing in the NBA.  It's almost as if you can hear the sweet sound of basketball ebonics coming out of his mouth but also tempered with 5,000 years of culture and self-respect.  He put his career on the line by coming back too fast, for his country, and if you're a Houston Rockets fan you might find that disconcerting, but outside of a career ending injury you can bet that your franchise center just grew exponentially overnight, as have the rest of the NBA players playing on this stage.  I haven't seen anything like this in my life, that is a competitive International tournament showcasing players playing for more than money, for national pride, and that is something we've not seen from the top of our basketball food chain, ever.

Tonight, I became a China fan, and for an American whose rooting against China in these games, it showed me how much the Olympics have transcended life this time around, and truly gives me hope that China's hospitality doesn't stop at the Olympic gates, and that a potential threat is truly a potential ally.

GO USA!