I agree that the trophies are interesting, what did Gong Ruina and Chen QQ recieve anyways? they looked cool though. About the cheerleaders when i first saw this at the WC i was shocked...and now here i mean personally im not a big fan of this and it does seem like americanization in a way. Other than that they are some great pictures, thanks for posting them yannie.
No, he isn't. For one, the guy in the picture is a Guangzhou Lo. Second, Kwun's child is a couple of months old. Third, Kwun's child is male.
woah, didn't quite anticipate an angry response. maybe i was too brief as to apperar curt and impolite. I apologize if my comments offended you, it was not my intention. however i still stand by them. i don't know which part of my post you deemed offensive. but i guess it would be the aspect regarding the cheerleaders and american culture. first off, I did not use any foul language in my post describing the cheerleaders/dancers or american sporting culture. secondly, neither did I personally degrade the ladies as human beings or ridicule their occupation. i believe they have a job to do and they do honest work to make a living. as a matter of fact, i respect them for that. what i don't agree with is the sexing up of sports, be it in tennis or badminton. as a die hard tennis fan in the traditionalist model, I am quite unhappy with the WTA's aggressive promotion of glamor and *** appeal in its advertising campaign. the day wimbledon, the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world decides to let skimpy cheerleaders run around the court is the day I would be a very sad person. but i digress... anyhow, what i like to see is a brief chinese ochestra performance instead for on court entertainment, although that is probably unrealistic. as for my comments about the american culture, I have no wish to condemn any culture or people from other parts in the world. Imho, there is no 'good' or 'bad' culture. an individual just feels more comfortable in one than the other. besides, there are always thoings to learn and appreciate from a foreign culture. what I'm against is the domination of a foreign culture in place of a local one. certainly, I don't hate the american people, there is enough anti-americanism in this world currently already. and perhaps I was being a little harsh when i used the word 'sick' in my description. maybe 'tired of' would be more politically correct. once again, i'm sorry if i offended anyone here.
according to a chinese report, Gong and Chen recieved special awards for contribution to the national badminton team. but i'm not certain, have to double check.
>> Third, Kwun's child is male. So if Kwun's baby is female, then he could watch China Open in GuongChou?
I am on the other side this time. I don't think introduce cheerleading dance will be as serious as "domination of a foreign culture". Of course, badminton itself is a sport, but with some bonus of entertainment is nothing wrong. Many ppl claims badminton is rather boring than a lot of other sports, if some music and dance can make it more TV-friendly, why not? If this can help to promote this sport, why not? If this can get rid of the image of "backyard sport" or "nerd sport", why not? Sure, the entertainment should just stay as a "supporting cast", as us sports fans should still focus on the sport 1st. However, I don't mind to get a bit entertainment going, especially during the break of a very tight heart beating match.
don't get me wrong, i agree, that in itself does not constitute domination. i'm simply using it as an example of how if unabated, would lead to an influx of other aspects of a foreign culture in place of local elements. maybe you might think i'm being over the top, but i've seen how china has changed considerably and can tell the difference even though i'm not from the mainland. fair enough. different form of entertainment for different people. i hope i didn't effectively hijack this thread. will shut up now.
I'm of the opinion that it cheapens the sport. What value does it add to badminton? Badminton fans will be badminton fans whether there are sexy cheerleaders or not. Non-badminton fans will not become badminton fans if there are sexy cheerleaders. Anyway, I don't think that this belongs to any culture in particular.
i dont think trying it out once hurts badminton. If the general audience dont like it i'm sure ibf wont repeat it. I think the 7 point or 21 point scoring system have a bigger impact on badminton than some cheerleading.
Bonus entertainment does not "cheapen the sport. We have cheerleaders in basketball, football, soccer, etc. Do you think the dances change any of the sports? To me, the cheerleading dances has the same intention as the "shoot for 1 millions dollars" or "special slam dunk competition", etc. All of such are the supporting cast in a event, to let the audience enjoy some different fun, while waiting during breaks.
