From West to East: Sport's Emerging Superstars Are Not Americans

“When you mail Ichiro something from the States, you only have to use that name on the address and he gets it [in Japan]. He's that big,” enthused Ichiro Suzuki’s agent Tony Attanasio when talking of his prized client. Ichiro’s impact on the sport in Japan and the United States is monumental, his talent unquestionable.

“There's nobody like Ichiro in either league—now or ever. He exists strictly within his own world, playing a game 100-percent unfamiliar to everyone else. The game has known plenty of 'slap' hitters, but none who sacrifice so much natural ability for the sake of the art... Ichiro, a man of wondrous strength, puts on impressive power-hitting displays almost nightly in batting practice. And he'll go deep occasionally in games, looking very much like someone who could do it again, often... [but] the man lives for hits, little tiny ones, and the glory of standing atop the world in that category. Every spring, scouts or media types write him off, swearing that opposing pitchers have found the key, and they are embarrassingly wrong” said New York Times sportswriter Bruce Jenkins.

Consequently, Ichiro is the epitome of Japanese baseball; he is the pinup of the country and the Seattle Mariners’ franchise player. So important was Ichiro to Seattle’s plans that in 2007, he signed a five-year contract extension worth $90 million. Seattle’s superstar may be the highest-earning player on the roster; his appeal quickly allows the Mariners to find monetary return through merchandise sales.

After the New York Yankees, the Seattle Mariners are the most-followed MLB team in Japan.  The Mariners experienced an increase in coverage of almost 60 percent when Ichiro joined in 2001. Ichiro’s impact has allowed more Japanese stars to enter MLB. Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui allowed Yankees to attempt to break the Japanese market, as did Daisuke Matsusaka for the Boston Red Sox. Western sport has only recently looked at relatively untapped markets in the East to produce profitability and popularity.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was an important stage for the West to show its most popular sport, football, to the rest of world. But much more importantly the hosts Japan and South Korea were able to show their talents to the rest of the world. 2002 was truly the world’s first worldwide Cup. Having never been hosted by an Asian nation, the 2002 World Cup was groundbreaking. The impact of the event in South Korea is still seen today eight years on. All of the 10 stadiums created are still being used in Korea’s professional K-League.

Since 2002, the popularity of soccer in the Far East has grown exponentially, so much so that the English Premier League attempted to bring a 39th game to the rest of world. This idea was created for solely commercial gain. Despite the uproar it caused in England, the idea makes financial sense. Every year teams like Manchester United go to the Far East in an attempt to gain continued worldwide recognition. At the beginning of 2009/10 Manchester United played K-League side FC Seoul in front of 64,000 people at the Seoul National Stadium. United also toured Malaysia and China to help boost their profile.

Another factor to the growing success of soccer in South Korea is that their national team performed admirably at their home World Cup.  They managed to become the first Asian side to reach a World Cup semifinal. With home-team backing, the Korean team was urged on to their greatest ever success and worldwide fame. This recognition was much deserved after beating European powerhouses like Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

The World Cup was not just beneficial for the Korean Republic in a sporting sense. According to a poll of foreign CEOs, “before the World Cup about 60 percent of them had negative images of Korea such as territorial division, the Korean War, corruption, and social disorder.” However after the World Cup, the view of the Korean Republic had changed significantly. The magnificent opening ceremony and the jumbo video billboards on the street projected Korea's advanced IT industry to the world. An opinion poll among foreign buyers after the football festival showed that “72.5 percent of them considered the image of Korea had been significantly”. The 2002 World Cup revealed South Korea’s hugely dynamic potential and also promoted the country’s national image as a new capitalist power.

The impact also happened across the Sea of Japan, players like Hidetoshi Nakata and Junichi Inamoto became symbols of the Japanese half of the World Cup. Politically hosting the World Cup was a huge step for Japan, especially when considering the turbulent history Japan and the Korean Republic have led. From 1901 to 1945, Japan occupied Korea. The bitterness remained. This was not halted by the World Cup, but it at least created better relations between the two nations. The success of the event meant for warmer interactions and less political anxieties.

Furthermore, Japan became the world’s centre of attention, something the nation has long been striving for. The home of much of the world’s technology, her impact on the globe is great, and the World Cup was an example to prove it. Japan’s sporting heritage is illustrious. The impression of her sporting exports continue to impact on sport worldwide. Currently Major League Baseball has 21 Japanese players on the opening day rosters. These figures make Japan the 4th most represented nationality in the elite level of the sport. Baseball currently epitomises the American dream: Any man, whatever colour or creed, can make his living the game.  However, these figures say that Asians equate to just four percent of the total players playing MLB.

Nonetheless the talent in Japan’s premier professional leagues continues to be exported. “There is no way to stop this,” Japanese baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato said at a news conference Wednesday. “It’s only natural for talented, young Japanese players to want to play in the major leagues. Look at the ballparks in the United States, they are much better than those in Japan.” Kato also called for the greater internationalization of the sport, saying football does a much better job of reaching a global audience.

Huge sporting exports like Ichiro are not just confined to Japan. In basketball, Yao Ming has become an international sensation. The 7'6" Chinese center was drafted into the NBA in 2002, and has since become a China’s most recognizable athlete. Because of his success and ability, he earned $51 million in sponsorship in 2008. Companies like Apple, McDonalds, and Coca-Cola have used Ming to promote themselves in China. For these companies it is imperative to have a link into the most populous country in the world; Ming provides that link with his talent and popularity. 

Yao Ming’s importance to these Western companies epitomizes the reasons the capitalist West continues to strive for success in the new markets.  With superstars like Ichiro and Yao Ming expatriated into Western sport, the talent in the home countries will drop. In Chinese basketball’s pre-eminent league, the CBA, only three other players have made it to the NBA. One wonders whether this is because of talented being released too quickly and not being allowed to develop.

Subsequently, with the West draining resources, it has become a main objective to be successful internationally. Similarly to the Japan and South Korea FIFA World Cup, China managed to find itself at the centre of the world’s attention.  The Beijing Olympics of 2008 were an immense triumph. The Games were an opportunity for China to show off. The flair in which they did created the largest television audience in Olympic history. The home Olympics also gave the Chinese the chance their sporting dominance. China topped the medal table with 51 gold medals; their feats were widely celebrated nationwide. The nationalistic fervour the games created meant the games were a success.

Chinese sport is now the start of what could be a ‘new world order’. Since the professionalization of soccer in 1994, many other sports in China have gone pro. These included basketball, volleyball, and table tennis (table tennis is incidentally the largest recreational sport in China with approximately 300 million players). The professionalization of said sports had led to a sporting rise in talent and funding in the last two decades. This talent was obviously shown at the Beijing Olympics. Although not yet fully developed, these professional leagues should lead to a stronger China in a whole variety of different sports. The rest of the world should fear China’s sporting prowess. 

One man who can match Yao Ming and Ichiro in terms of popularity is the Indian cricketing sensation Sachin Tendulkar. The diminutive Tendulkar (5'5") is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers in history. The “Little Master” is the leading run scorer in both Test and One Day International cricket. In 1989, aged just 16, Tendulkar was picked to play Test cricket (the ultimate honour for any cricketer) for India. More than two decades later, Tendulkar continues to produce at highest level. His popularity and support is undeniable. The oft-said phrase by his fans is “Cricket is my religion, Sachin is my God.” Former Australian batsmen Matthew Hayden said, “I have seen God and he bats number 4 for India.”

Tendulkar remains the most famous man in India, the world’s second-largest country. His talents may have slightly dropped after more than 20, years at the top of his game, but Tendulkar remains the most worshipped man in cricket. The greatest player of all time Sir Don Bradman, said “I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...his compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel.”

With big names increasing the exposure of Asian sport, it continues to grow enormously. After success at Beijing and Seoul Olympics and the FIFA World, Delhi has followed their lead by hosting 2010 Commonwealth Games. It makes sense to expect that Asian sport will continue to grow and become dominant as funding in populous countries like India, China, and Japan increases. The Beijing Olympics cost the Chinese government $20 billion to host. One wonders whether the cost will be recuperated in future. Were the 51 gold medals worth the $20 billion cost?  The Delhi Commonwealth Games price has been estimated at $1.75 billion, making it the most expensive Commonwealth games ever.

Equally, the West knows and has known for a long while the importance of sport as a vehicle to show off their prowess and dominance. London will be hosting its first Olympic games in 60 years in 2012. London, in comparison to Beijing, intends to spend $8.3 billion on their games. Will the smaller cost create a lesser Olympics to 2008?  Despite the undoubted success of Beijing, which has upped the bar, London will believe they have the ability to match the 2008 games with a uniquely British Olympic games.

Despite the growing prominence of Asian sport, the West still remains the rich dominant force in sport. Simple examples of this are David Beckham (the quarter of a billion dollar man) who signed for the LA Galaxy and in 2007 became Major League Soccer’s signature player, or Alex Rodriguez, who currently earns $275 million from the New York Yankees. 

Also the Western superpowers still tend to be more successful in terms of their results. This is probably because of the excess money available in the richer nations that can be spent on sport. Therefore it stands to reason that as China becomes greater superpower then China’s success in sport as in other walks of life will continue to grow quickly. Currently America’s riches are shown through their success in sport. The USA is at the top of the all-time combined Olympic medal table, with 2,549 medals. This is nearly double their nearest rival, the Soviet Union/Russian Federation who have 1,612 medals. Except for the Soviet Union, six of the top seven nations on the all-time medal table are Western nations.

The new powers of Japan, China, and India have a lot of work to do to attempt to match the likes of the United States, Great Britain, or Germany. But with the fervour shown towards Ichiro Suzuki, Yao Ming, and Sachin Tendulkar, the dedication and desire is definitely there. As these countries continue to grow economically, new world superpowers will be born. The next batch of superstars will not be Americans or Western Europeans. The next superstar may be from Shanghai, Tokyo, or Calcutta.