Yao Da Man! 2.26.03

You see him on the TV show, hear it on the radio. America loves Yao Ming, Houston Rockets' center. The NBA loves him too. He comes to an arena and it's like Jordan and New Year rolled into one 7 foot and 6 inch blue and red striped package. Take this bit from Lisa Olsen's NY Daily News article:

Other, lesser arenas felt the need to manufacture well-meaning yet oddly ignorant promotions when Yao came to town. Miami handed out fortune cookies, Orlando set up sushi stands. New York laid out a simple welcome mat woven from its lustrous past.

Fortune cookies are kind of... ignorant. Or silly and pandering. But sushi?! Is there even imported sushi in China? I don't think so... but then again, I don't eat sushi, so perhaps I wasn't paying attention. What, they couldn't get the discount coupons from Hunan Wok? Or get this assclown to entertain the crowd at half time?