Friday, November 15, the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns were battling it out. Before the game Benny Yee, our photographer and David Kim of Anheuser Busch and I had the privilege to attend a press conference for Yao Ming. I have never attended a Suns game ever much less a press conference, so this was a big deal for me.
In the press conference, we were able to ask him a few questions about himself. One question that I remember vividly was that he wanted to drive a Mercedes even though he’d never driven! Another was that he misses his mother’s cooking. And the other questions were about his performance and how he felt about it. He felt that he didn’t get enough pre-season training and had to start right away in this fast paced ball game which is different than the Chinese national team. I was pretty excited that I was able to attend this press conference and still could not believe I was here!
During the planning for Asian Pacific Night at the Phoenix Suns, I know that we had to do a lot of negotiating to be invited to this press conference. Thanks to Nelson Luis of the Houston Rockets and to the Phoenix Suns media for setting it up. Also thanks to Russell Terao, our liaison and coordinator from Phoenix Suns group sales for helping us. He told us what to expect and since none of us had ever had this opportunity, he guided us and gave me some pointers.
Afterwards to be able to be on the court watching Yao Ming practice, was another treat I did not expect.
I even had the chance to interpret for him and take pictures with him. This was a awesome event and I am so overwhelmed to be able to have had this experience. It was great! I would like to thank Asian Chamber of Commerce for this once in a lifetime opportunity. (Yung Chen, an ASU student, is an intern for Asian Chamber).
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