Maybe it's just shortage of Celtics fans in China

Kobe Bryant, writes columnist Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post, “is bigger in China than the Great Wall” and Kiszla says it “might be the strangest foreign love affair with a U.S. pop icon since the French decided Jerry Lewis was a comic genius.” Kiszla, writing from Beijing, lists the particulars: At the Opening Ceremonies, when hundreds of U.S. athletes marched into the Bird's Nest stadium, Chinese spectators had eyes only for Bryant. “The crowd was chanting 'Ko-be, Ko-be' and I wanted to get next to him, so I would be on TV,” U.S. track star Tyson Gay told Kiszla. Gawkers wearing replica Bryant jerseys have stood in a downpour as heavy as a waterfall hoping to catch a glimpse of the Lakers star stepping off the U.S. team bus. President Bush drew respectful applause at a U.S. women's basketball game, but Bryant's arrival at... [read full story]