Basketball mania inspires 'Me Gen'

Gu Yifan woke in front of his anxious parents and a cast of doctors at Beijing's Chaoyang Hospital.

The 16-year-old was too sick to walk or even sit up after a fever plunged him into a 24-hour coma.

But he managed to squeeze a few words out of his lips.

"Did the Cavs beat the Spurs in Game four?" Gu asked his mother, referring to the 2007 NBA Finals in which San Antonio Spurs swept Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 to win the best-of-seven title.

God smacked, his mother quickly phoned relatives for the game result.

Like table tennis in the 1980s, basketball has scaled the summit of Chinese sports to enthrall youngsters like Gu.

"Basketball is the most fundamental thing in my life," he said after making a return to the court for the NBA Fit Camp in Beijing last week.

"There was a time I felt lost and was tired of everything around me, but basketball brought me a lot of fun and something to believe in.

"That's really, really important for me."

Feeling lost and bored, however, is a predicament most Chinese teenagers face during their school years, especially those derided as the "Me Generation" after being born into the post 1980 one-child era.

This generation are the nuts of individualism and are criticized "less motivated".

But the hoop sport, spurred by the NBA's overwhelming popularity in China, has helped.

"I know how people think of me and my generation - we are lazy, lack self-discipline and are unable to shoulder responsibility," Gu, a senior school student of the Beijing No 25 middle school, said.

"I admit I used to be a boy like that but it was before I found basketball.

"When I step onto a court, I know I need to stay focused and to lead my team to victory by relying on teamwork. Win or lose, the ball shows me the direction of my life."

Gu was once overweight and struggling academically, but the first touch of a basketball at age 10 turned his life around.

He entered a number of 3-on-3 competitions in Beijing and entered Shishahai Amateur Physical School, where he found himself losing weight but gaining enjoyment.

At the Fit Camp, Gu had the pleasure of becoming lucky to play against NBA legends Glen Rice and BJ Armstrong.

"It is a highlight of my life, it is a dream come true," he said after losing 9-4 in a two-on-two game against the former NBA players.

"I also have a dream to win a three-on-three championship in Beijing and if I am lucky enough, hopefully, I can make the pro teams someday."

Boys like Gu have big dreams to change since Houston Rockets center Yao Ming widened the pathway to the best basketball competition in the world.

Emulating the look of NBA stars in loose pants and a big T-shirt, Gu said he would soon visit his dream city of New York.

"I don't really know where the Statue of Liberty is located, but I am set to visit the Rucker Park (a street ball court in Harlem neighborhood in NYC where the NBA sensations like Wilt Chamberlain, Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson played).

"I want to walk on the fifth avenue as well," he enthused.

"I am not going to buy luxurious brands, I want to take a look at the Sean John franchise. I want to try the favorite jeans of Kobe Bryant."

Ever since the first NBA game was broadcast in China in 1987, basketball has rapidly become the country's most popular sport.

A whopping 83 percent of people aged 15-24 now say they are NBA fans.

China is home to an estimated 300 million basketball fans, an impressive statistic given 20 years ago the sport was not widely played.

NBA China managing director Mark Fisher said the league's target is to influence kids as much as possible.

"We try hard not only to stage a basketball game but also to be a part of the community here in China as we do that," said Fisher, whose staff organize more than 100 promotional events in China this year.

"It is important for us to use basketball and the popularity of NBA to benefit kids in our community, and tell them how to improve their lives, especially young people, in the places we operate.

"I think basketball is a great tool to give them a sense of healthy lifestyle and get a chance to get people together, build team work and confidence."

(China Daily 08/17/2007 page22)