More Than an Injury

Will it be cuff-links for Yao?

Yao is having surgery to repair his injured foot and will most likely miss the entire upcoming season with a small chance his career might be finished as well. I can't believe how fast things can turn for the worse in life. The Rockets seemed to have it all a few years back. Drafting Yao out of China with the 1st pick in the 2002 draft and pairing him with T-Mac for the 04-05 season. It seemed like the Rockets had the big inside presence and the outside scoring that would lead them to the NBA Finals.

After years of first round exits and disappointing results, people kept saying, "Next year, next year." Well, that never materialized and now, for the 09-10 season, the Rockets will have both big studs, that were suppose to take them to the promise land, sitting on the bench with no contribution except for some charity events.

I have always been a fan of Yao and even bigger supporter of T-Mac but I am finally going to give up on both of them. I will still proudly wear my T-Mac jersey and will most likely find myself buying a Yao jersey the next time I'm in New York visiting the NBA Store but honestly, I'm sad.

Watching your favourite athlete fall apart isn't something I wish upon any sports fan. I understand that all athletes, as age takes it's cruel toll, will slowly fade from superstar form but with T-Mac and Yao it was different. Both players seemed to have such potential, which they never found. I was itching for an NBA Championship for the two and the Rockets but it never happened. Watching T-Mac and Yao fall short every year took a toll on me.

All those years I watched and cheered on the two from start to finish I never thought about the possibility that they would never set foot on the court together ever again.