The double heartbreak experience for Chinese fans at this year's Asian Games may be unmatched - witnessing both the men's and women's soccer losses, as well as the dramatic loss of the men's basketball team. While the men's soccer team's 0-2 loss to South Korea at the Asian Games was normal, the women's soccer team narrowly lost to Japan, whose average age is less than 22, in the semifinals, while the men's basketball team lost 76-77 in the semifinals against the Philippines II team. This undoubtedly brought great sadness to Chinese fans who follow all three teams at the same time. The men's soccer team did not qualify for the Elite 8, but performed reasonably well. The women's soccer team lost to the young and promising Japanese U-23 team in the semifinals, while the men's basketball team suffered a tough resistance from the Philippines' second team and eventually lost. Witnessing this scene, fans almost went mad with anger. The men's basketball team's loss was even more painful and unbearable.
The men's soccer team has endured 20 years of blame and ridicule. Fans expect little from them and struggle to muster interest in every game. When they lose, they look for jokes to ease the embarrassment and spit together for a hint of fun. However, the performance of the women's soccer team and the men's basketball team left the fans enraged. It's a hard emotion to quell, and the fans' accusations stem from their truest inner disappointment. Now they are even beginning to wonder if we are asking too much of our national soccer teams.
While the women's soccer team may have struggled with market factors, the attention and market value of the men's basketball team should not match such an accomplishment. What is even more difficult to understand is that the men's basketball team canceled the press conference after the game and then resumed it shortly after. You should know that the press conference of the Asian Games is different from that of the CBA, with not only domestic media but also numerous foreign media. Isn't this making a fool out of us? In contrast, the men's soccer team has never canceled a press conference, even though they have been subjected to chastisement. I can't help but question whether the men's basketball team is feeling aggrieved or dissatisfied. They are too capricious.
The excessive demands placed on the national soccer team are in fact the result of a comparison with the men's basketball team. Soccer is far more competitive than basketball, with more than 100 countries and regions around the world having soccer specialization, and a high degree of specialization in Asia. It is already a good achievement for Chinese soccer to be ranked in the top third of the more than 200 member associations. While there are only 30 or so professional basketball regions, and only 4 or 5 regions in Asia have professionalization, the status of men's basketball is actually lower than that of men's football.
The men's soccer team is like a high school student surrounded by college students, and we keep falling behind against them. China has doubled down on its investment in basketball in a bid to make the men's basketball team top notch, but its recent performance has been like being bullied by elementary school students. It is no exaggeration to say that the performance of men's basketball does not match the ratio of investment and attention. Although the performance of the men's soccer team is also unsatisfactory, the men's soccer team's advancement to the Elite Eight in this Asian Games is acceptable considering the immense pressure of soccer competition. However, the men's basketball team failed to even make it to the finals in Asia, a region with relatively little competitive pressure, which does warrant some deep thought.
