BEIJING – The presidents of two countries occupied the choice seats Sunday night to witness what is probably the most-watched event of the Olympics outside the opening ceremonies.
Separated 10 seats apart at the Beijing Wuke song basketball stadium were Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and US President George W. Bush. The former is president of the only country where basketball is the no. 1 sport, while the latter is president of a country that developed basketball into a rich, high profile sport.
Bush, who was with his father, former President George Bush, and wife Laura, was of course cheering for Team USA, which stormed out of a close first quarter contest to win, 101-70, in their group elimination round match in basketball competitions.
Surveys here revealed the US-China basketball game was watched by over three billion audiences all over the world, half of that, of course, from China which has a population of 1.3 billion.
The President was there throughout like a passive onlooker, probably aware a clap for one team might be misconstrued by either of the superpowers, but First Gentleman Mike Arroyo had his loudest cheers for Kobe Bryant and LeBron James who turned the duel into a slam dunking competition in the third quarter.
“I can’t say which team the President was rooting for,” was the cautious reply of Philippine chef de mission Monico Puentevella, who had been with the President during her visit to the Athletes Village.
Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets star who is the most popular sports celebrity in China, produced one of the best games in Olympic history after Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao paid an unprecedented visit to the national team before the Games and expressed his personal concern over Yao’s foot injury.
“Everyone is proud. I felt great with all the flags and cheerings. It’s a great game, great atmosphere,” said Yao, who popularized what used to be a minority sport in a country where football is no. 1.
“It’s an emotional game, especially to China as they played in front of their people. This is a game full of meanings. We’re excited with so many people giving extra attention to the game,” said US player Chris Bosch.
The way the US has been playing, it was a tribute to China that it was able to lead the gold-medal favorite, even if briefly in the first quarter..
Both teams received a standing ovation when they left the court.