Guangdong's Southern Tigers beat out Xinjiang's Flying Tigers last Sunday in a best-of-seven basketball championship that ended in five games. This battle of the tigers marks the 14th season for the CBA (China Basketball Association) and the 5th trophy to go to Guangdong. I felt obligated to watch at least a portion of the game since my home province was being represented but I walked away sorely disappointed. Not only did my team lose but I was surprised that a sport as popular as basketball here in China didn't feel more, well...popular.I also had a chance to watch an NBA playoff game last weekend, the Miami Heat vs the Atlanta Hawks. The difference between the viewing experience of those two games was incredible. One felt like a playoff game, the other felt like a high school basketball match. Here are just a few of the differences:
One Camera vs. 20 Cameras
I really don't have a clue how many cameras are used to film a single CBA game, but it can't be more than 3 or 4. Watching the game on TV I felt like I had bought tickets to the nosebleed section and I needed binoculars. Rarely was a close-up shot used and instant-replays were unheard of.
Commercials
I guess I don't realize how much my sports experience relies on commercials, but it does. Watching the Super Bowl here in China is absolutely boring without good commercials and the commercials that were shown during the CBA championship were laughable.
Post-Game Coverage
The post-game coverage for this recent game has been non-existent. Take, for instance, the CBA's own coverage on their website, which doesn't even have a picture to go with the 5-paragraph article. The picture I did find on one sports site here in China (see below) doesn't even show the players faces. It's hard to find this acceptable after getting used to the ESPN coverage I had back at home.
Nobody Seems to Care
"Xinjiang is in the CBA Finals?" my friend asked me. "Was" I said, "but they lost." Watching sports alone isn't nearly as fun as watching it with friends, but when nobody else knows that your team is playing, who are you supposed to watch it with?
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I guess it will take time before watching sports in China becomes more fashionable, but until then it will take getting used to for any person coming over from the land of ESPN. Just be glad that you were able to view the 2008 Olympics through the eyes of NBC instead of China's CCTV-5.
Extra Reading:
ChinaSportsReview: Unstoppable Guangdong Wins CBA Title
4 Comments:
But its extremely "fashionable" (if that can be said) to watch sports in China, everyone loves the NBA and European soccer, its just that nobody cares about the domestic basketball or soccer leagues.
Sports is overdone in North America. Thank God, the Chinese are that into sports.
@Anonymous...ha! Personally, I enjoyed using the word "fashionable" there. What I mean is that outside of the major cities, there aren't sports bars or tailgate parties. People don't usually gather to watch the big game or shout at the TV. International sports may be popular, but it takes a different measuring stick to judge that popularity here than it does back in the west.
@Andy, I assume you meant "aren't" that into sports. If that's true I completely understand your sentiment. Commercialism and superstar worship are a bit out of control in many countries, including those in North America. That said, I still felt like I was missing out on some of the excitement while watching the CBA finals.
If Dante had written Inferno today, there would be a special ring of hell where the punishment would be watching CBA games.
I had never considered the number of cameras before. That is very true. It's like members of a high school AV Club are in charge of the telecast.
If the CBA increases in popularity (and the players in skill) I'm sure the telecasts will improve to the point that watching them doesn't cause physical and mental anguish.
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