Can ASIAN Sports Stars DESTORY Stereotypes?

what's going on guys today we are going to be talking about Asian sports stars and their potential impact on society joining me today is Asian actor from New York Matt lur how's going and guess what bro I know you're a big foodie so I have a special video for you today we're at S&P restaurant and bakery the IHOP Denny's and budget version of Cheesecake Factory for Bangkok I I know I know you're a big hipster foodie so this is right up your wait don't know this I don't know what to expect I mean you just gave me a lot of thoughts I I really don't know I mean look at this there's like no theme by the way guys Matt was disgusted at the idea of coming here but we we talking about some sports I wanted to check it out yeah it's going to be good allart you guys we're in SMP right now a lot of people would think this was a dubious mistake of a choice to get the peeking duck off the Chinese New Year New Year menu but we got to play this ad from Beats by Dre and then talk about the significance for history on a onew Otani SS one in the air the other way back it goes gone what of a Kind player One of a Kind season OT starts the 50 boom look you got the three goats you got LeBron you got Messi and Otani is it significant for Asian men that one of these guys is clearly from Asia he's Asian you know whether he's Asian ameran or not I don't think you can make that demand but like there's an Asian guy and he's a goat I mean the fact that the three of them are seeing eye to eye and some could argue that sh is in a class of class of his own I think that speaks for itself how much does top teer Asian male athletes help Asian male perception cuz we're talking about you talking about Sun men obviously soccer not really to be honest popular in America but popular globally right well it helps a lot I mean you look at all these different ways it could help and obviously this being a like a fun Bros topic we want to know how do we cash in with this you know this soft power this this positive perception right I mean you guys did Jeremy ly effect and now we got the Otani effect like Jeremy Lynn people some people might downplay it being on how much he achieved but like showy atani when you're the Undisputed goat and you have American broadcasters constantly speaking no this is the best player I've ever seen his peer is saying I've never seen anything like it and they have no he hasn't even hit a 30 years old yet right and he's he's already being talked that like that that's that's that's really some Street Credit we've never seen before I would say it's like four or five waves okay in terms of like there's the blast zone so somebody like somebody like Otani somebody like jayin even like Yuki kaura being a two-way player right now but having some NBA real NBA action highlights it shows basically I think the first thing it's going to help is Asian athletes yeah I think Asian athletes that are overlooked in the high school or college system you know even xaven Lee from Princeton they're going to get more looks from coaches scouts or uh other like parents or media yeah right I'm saying that that would you agree with me that that's the most immediate impact absolutely because they they are instantly accepting it in a ways that we didn't with Jeremy Lynn I had a friend who went to Cornell and she said that her parents were sitting in the stand and Jeremy Lyn's parents were passing out literally head shots of his uh yearbook photo to everyone and that's how she knew about him like his own parents were hustling his name out there and xaven Lee how many years later is kind of starting from a different starting point that we're happy to see right he doesn't have to like um be doubted on the level I'm sure he has his own doubts because he's a feature player he's on TV and and you know Harvard games back then didn't get televised but I think Princeton is getting a little bit more play no I agree with you that xaven Lee is almost like Jeremy Lynn 2.0 cuz a lot of people think zavan Lee is a good college player but there's doubts about his ability to translate to the pro Jeremy Lynn was a dominant player at Harvard there was a lot of doubts about his ability to translate to the pros yeah right and it's funny that zavan Lee I want to say he has less skepticism than Jeremy had because of Jeremy but there it still is there yeah well I'm I'm happy to see that his regular season non-mar manness games are being hyped like Ruckers Princeton was a very hyped game you know KSA tomaga in Nebraska we had the Midwest in Nebraska people going nuts for this guy from Japan yeah shout out to toaga yeah if you don't know they're trying to work his way Steph Curry right right like he he was an electric player that just had people who do you just think about your average Nebraskan just going nuts for not even a a non football a nonf footb sport and they were just so thankful for what they gave for the program it's you just check out some tributes I think wave number two would be realistically um like Asian parents I think Asian parents are impacted obviously the wave number one is the scouts and stuff like that that are like overlooking Asian athletes like you said is aan Lee not as overlooked as Jeremy yeah he's on some draft boards right wave number two would almost be like affecting Asian parents which traditionally have emphasized doing well in school getting a good career stem subjects allowing their kids to at least dabble in sports or Elite training programs more so right so Asian American parents and Asian parents are always the hyper competitive now they can split their time doing other competitive things not necessarily you know the report card but but I also think they're then the zavan Lee and Jeremy Lyn and Al there were so many females that were popping uh IV League athletes makes them also think well you know it's so many Asian kids like getting 4.0 perfect sat maybe my the start even if my kid doesn't go pro do the thing that will allow them to get to Ivy League will be the sports yeah uh they're almost thinking about it in a college portfolio resume Metro do you think it's a big difference the fact that it's a mainstream you know glamorous sport like basketball that's the case because I know for my case like my parents really enjoyed the fent that fencing you know helped College resumes my my sister fenc for UNC Chapel Hill to get in and she's technically a D1 athlete and all that stuff right but it says the D1 nobody knows sport like no one's basketball pays the bills for like you know those smaller sports like pit tracking field fencing those type of sports right right right well fencing is almost like to keep the college Elite in an old European sense yeah not a uh booster money generating I just I guess I would say I don't know I think it causes more acceptance for mainstream Sports yeah and that's actually one reason why I didn't really like fencing that much is because I just didn't feel like it was the the glamour was there no one's going to ever pay a ticket to watch it and does anyone care that I'm any good at this so that that that mattered and you know that's why I like gear towards tennis and maybe later basketball because those did have glamour even though I couldn't compete on the same level right I guess glass Zone number three from something like Otani or sun nin or like we said Yuki or whoever all these people people are doing good it's like I guess people believing in themselves more I think this one's a little bit more personal but like very people may be like I want to be the Jeremy Lyn I want to be the Otani I want to be the if you're undersized Yuki I want to be the whatever of what I do yeah yeah I think that could definitely work I mean we it doesn't you don't have to be that next level athlete but it helps even on the role player level like know UT watab he had a great relationship with KD because he was always openr and making open threes right we have it on the women's level there's a uh lee Han Shu and lieu these are two Chinese National big big woman I mean they they're they they're in the W yeah they they they they they get the they're not like scared of the moment the way that maybe past Generations might be yeah yeah I agree with you I agree with you I guess what I'm saying is like it's kind of weird to say but we have to be honest about human nature people often times look at phenotypes of people who remind them of themselves look at their success and they kind of set that as the cap are you saying it's they set that they it sets the sea are you saying it's kind of like the 4minute mile where it's like until I see someone do that that looks like me that grew up like me had to eat the same food as me had the same strict parents as me I'm not saying it's right to do that you everybody should take inspiration from anybody's story whether it's re remotely similar to your own or not but I'm just referring to the harsh reality of human nature yeah often times people won't do it unless somebody relatable and what's the most easiest way to be relatable you look like me you probably grew up like me you did that thing now I feel like I can do that thing I feel like even in a the bare floor ground level thing where your friends achieve certain things in school and they and you feel like wait hold on a second are they that much smarter than me and then you actually could do it because you literally see someone that you grow up with do it and that has a lot to do with that too SE settings SE even even from a pickup basketball level like remember the first time this is we're probably going back a long time but like first time you had like a really competitive five on five basketball game MH right did you didn't you that that's a very overwhelming feeling for someone who hasn't had like put on a uniform before but once you feel like you do it and you belong it goes well yeah yeah zone four this is starting to we're starting to get in a more interpersonal like uh I guess this is something you would study in like micro sociology I don't even I just invented a subject I I justly I mix microeconomics the sociology mic by the way if there's any some if there's ever someone that teaches a class on this it's the fun on their channel oh how how does being good at something convert into Social Capital I have a street PhD I have an informal PhD in microsociology I might be the top world's lead was the was the first class you guys taught the Geremy ly effect was there something like that yeah that's true ESPN posted it digital uh zone four this is wave four like Ripple four basically Blast Zone 4 this leads to pre-selection for guys so let's say for example the Bros treat you better especially if you're in a mixed race context maybe even less self-hating Bros if all your friends are Asian there's less self-hating ones because now there's more stuff in popular mainstream culture to be proud of you're talking about just other non-asian athletes seeing I'm just talking about like other guys at work or peers in school that just like sports okay just treating you with more respect because their favorite player is Asian or their favorite player on their favorite team is as right it could be even small talk too I literally had a guy on the cruise like who literally is from the Deep South he had nothing to say to me other than wait a minute you know colum marawa and I'm like yeah he's oh yeah you kind of remind me of him like what's that mean and he's like well I don't know what sport is you from uh he won the PJ Tour golf yeah yeah yeah so like he literally had nothing to say until he watchs the whest sport possible but he see this Asian-American dominate win the PJ tour with his ABG girlfriend and then now he knew an Asian like otherwise this guy had nothing to say for this is like the most pre University of Alabama so this is a real incident right where a old rich white money guy from the south like good old boy or whatever like wearing boat shoes is talk connecting with you over Colin Mor how right he tried like he he this is you you could tell like when he said that I'm like how how am I what what did you say like did you guys have a conversation about coling more or were you like oh you just trying to be no I I I I I I respected that he tried you know we we talked about it and I know a little bit about every sport so I had something to say but I want I didn't want him to stop from doing it because this is a big step for someone like him right right right right right relative to where he's coming from I all right so zone five was now that the Bros more accept Asian guys even though whether I'm saying that we care or not right everybody lives different lives some people live in a corporate life where it's like I don't want to care but you have to care you know what I mean like if you're in a a white American corporation yeah you have to care how they perceive you because that's your career and your ability to have a career rise up the ladder or the pyramid or whatever but I'm saying zone five would be from like the Bros to the gals okay right like I'm saying transl like there's some sort of social pre-selection from the the men around you and maybe women uh see the everybody treats you with respect and wants to invite you out that just builds more reps and more opportunities and you're treated not this like sesow you're just like on equal footing with everybody else CU like women if they see in society that you're not treated with equal footing subconsciously guys don't like I'm just saying maybe that there's no like societal pre-selection yeah so there's her desires and her likes in a guy and maybe aligns with the Asian guy or this Asian guy she she would like him but it's not approved by the larger society the Bros don't accept it her brothers don't accept it her guy friends aren like uh what but now that that that that stigma is gone then she can just double she can lean into it yeah I think the fact that you know one of those Chads or you know Sports guys will introduce you know oh here's my friend Jason he's Asian he doesn't to say that but he happens to be Asian now they're in a totally different Social Circle totally different activities and then now they're exposing a new group of people that really have nothing to do as sports like what you say like white girls whatever American girls but now they're almost forced to have this experience and if that experience goes well there's probably more down the road so this is by the way I'm not just saying only like mixing with white people it could be like a Latino guy showing oh this guy's this guy's like Sun mean you know what I like cuz Latinos they car yeah football and soccer for Latinos and let's say on on the basketball court right that'll help you get the next invite to whatever whatever I mean it helps to see like John Morant like dapping up Yuki koraa and like being like doing the gritty with him his literally literally his face some Mass how much does it matter if the guy is like from Asia Asia like sh where he like barely speaks English or he's not like he's not an Anglo file himself or like an Anglo fanatic like he's just like here to play baseball I'm sure he likes America but he's like I'm here to play baseball yeah that's my job like I don't I'm not here to so so you're say same versus like Steven Quan shout out to Steven Quan because I I know him but like uh where it's like he's hyper relatable like third fourth gen half Japanese half Chinese dude play there's a lot of both in the MLB there's probably at least 20 uh of both like Asian baseball players from Asia versus Asian-American baseball players but more the super more of the Superstar guys are the guys from Asia right yeah that's true um that's why they pay them the big bucks but does that matter uh I think it matters a little bit I mean it definitely helps in both aspect you know the the honest truth is a lot of uh non- asian-americans they they won't really see a big difference between uh you know the different types of a you know East Asians or Southeast Asians but they might just view it all Asian Asian Asian and I think that that transitive property of Asians doing well does sometimes it's that simple right yeah I I would tell asian-americans that you know obviously everybody views it differently I would say find it in yourself to relate to the guys from Asia like cuz asian-americans is too small of a population if you can only relate to an Asian-American guy it's pretty limiting bro like like you they're just not going to get the stories and the teachings and the inspir ation yeah that otherwise would be available I would not recommend that to Asian-American guys but I know some people are raised on so how does that how does that play and I know how I feel and my how my feelings have processed over the past some odd years when you see the Olympics right when you see a Chinese athlete doing well oh as Chinese Americans yeah I'm still proud of it to me like cuz I'm like my genetics is more like them like you know what I'm saying and I know I Jud me I going get it people we had to be all those politics stuff yeah yeah no I would we I would root for the I I'll say I would root for the the Asian athletes not just the Chinese one over like uh like an American yeah in swimming I would right right so soes does that also matter where let's say let's we we talked about glamour sports right when we see you know an Asian an Asian table tennis player versus an Asian swimmer right we just had in the Olympics in Paris the 4X 100 m the the most coveted event us held the record since the ' 80s right they were undefeated all the time and this team of Chinese guys just broke the record led by pan panen Lee but that's cuz they were all hopped up on them Chinese steroids though I don't know I guesser was saying that sounded like a little I mean people are salty about it because the world is kind of like flattening out and stuff like that but I would say yeah like obviously I'm going to have a different perspective than a white American like they're going to be like Rah ra Pro America like enemy eyes you know it's going to be easier for them to do that than than me like I'm way more open-minded do you think it matters that like how cool these athletes look cuz people are some people are like yo but Ichiro looks way more fashionable than Shi does or like even like you know what I mean like you know how Yuki kawamura has kind of like got the sculpted face but then like casay tominaga has got the very like round Asian face does it matter like some I saw that comment on a video that I made about how uh hosi nikata was like maybe a little bit like sunor Min by all means good-looking guy cool guy but his style is a little bit more like I guess like basic stylish you know like just supports Tumi and like but then he's not like this Fashion Icon like Hoshi nikata was he's a little safer not as edgy no like how I guess what I'm saying is how much does that matter cuz show is very show I feel like show just wears like new balance and L lemon clothes yeah focus on basball ich was like trying to probably wear some Vape or something some sort of Yoji Yamoto like Samurai pants I think it's a good way to get you know publicity I mean people treat their fashion pretty seriously and you'll get more clicks right A lot of times on social media they're going to post like that walk-in right like it's their walk what sort of like Yoshi akiyama sexyama he was he was famous for being not only a good MMA fighter but he was probably even more famous for being good-looking right or being cool he was an Entertainer like he was a karaoke guy do you think but but I guess do you think it plays into it cuz a lot of kids you would say in a way that would rather be Ronaldo than Messi Messi is a more predictive magical soccer player than Ronaldo Ser Ronaldo looks like people would be oh man the physicality better looking I want to maybe Messi's a little bit awkward in interviews and stuff he has like a signature celebration the suie right and would you say that Ronaldo just has more like as a kid say Aura for sure yeah me Messi is just like um almost like um just understands the game more better but like I don't think people want to look like Messi or anything yeah well I think Laura matters that's the there's no question about it and like when we when we do get like an icon like a shohi that has both Aura ability marketability on all those things I feel I feel like Shi has Aura but it's like wholesome Aura it's not bad boy Aura whereas like Ichiro obviously was like a he was like a dster samurai he was like an imperialist Japanese guy to be honest but he was cool he was from time travel was happen boy baseball yeah yeah so I guess like how much do you think these ultimately you know just to wrap it up like how much do these shining examples cut Against The Stereotype like you know what I mean like these are things that uh a lot of people wouldn't imagine that the best player in baseball is uh you know at one point the uh the best player in baseball ever is Asian the shortest player in the NBA right now is juki kaura he's Asian because it used to be like oh the only way Asians could get in the NBA is if they're Yao Ming the tallest guy because you know height is such an advantage of basketball but now it's almost like doesn't that show that Yuki K rura is like one of the most skilled basketball players like alive on on Earth right now yeah I I think he might he really might be he might be up there he's up there first step explosiveness I mean pound-for-pound you you can't question that I like if basketball had weight classes Yuki Cura is a superstar yeah and there's a reason why he has that same like Manny Pacquiao type pound-for-pound energy where you know if this guy was a middleweight he would dominate right yeah I guess like what how much does It ultimately like impact you cuz you know we're talking about how it could like what does it do for you the first thing I think think it it kind of releases a weight off your shoulders like you don't have to feel like when you're playing basketball when you're doing just regular sports that you you're being doubted for all these things like you have this sort of confidence that we you could exist and that you're not being heavily scrutinized for and hopefully that doesn't affect your abilities right there is a short Asian guy doing ripping up well he's not ripping it up but like who's being highly competitive in the highest tier League of basketball in the world Yuki call him were you know what I mean like I'm saying I love Yuki I'm by the way you know I'm a basketball guy guys obviously you know I didn't know who call more I me I didn't see you gushing about him like e and Leen you know you're you're e Leen is actually from the same Hometown that I'm from too but like he I'll tell you this e Leen his basketball IQ and just his life IQ in general about like four out of 10 maybe three out of 10 he's not that high to be I don't even think he liked basketball that much no I don't think so I think he just did it cuz he was tall by the way for for younger guys he's a six overall pick from like the mid-2000s draft I mean and a Manny Pacquiao by the way too I I would say this man at the end of the day I just feel like having role models that look like you accomplish things in fields that you guys aren't supposed to be good at or probability wise people would bet against you or bet against people who look like you it just opens up a door mhm it opens a door in your mind and they open up a door to your point like for conversations in rooms that you otherwise had no opening line to relate to each other with but then there's just more doors after that so we just I guess what I'm saying is it doesn't do everything it doesn't open 10 doors but it certainly opens a door that almost seemed like without those these crazy figures Otani Sun mid Pacquiao etc etc those doors would not be open right as someone as you know you work in entertainment and you meet all these different people you know that these door openings these introductions these just one step in the positive direction really do change your life or your career for that matter so there's no reason to expect why this would be any different yes yes yes four people who are forward progression minded door openers sometimes that door you're not in control of opening that door not but maybe to your point that you just said if you're not a door opener you're like a quite a passive person in society one more door out of 10 being open for you what does it really do cuz you're not trying to unlock the next door cuz the the next door after the one that Otani or whoever opens for you that could be up to you personally yeah I I think there's the societal doors that you're not in control of opening and then there's other doors where it's like yeah it's more on your own personal stats or your ability to like come with something fory sure and the beauty of these type of doors is that there's not a direct cor there's not a direct result that you can expect it's very abstract you could be it could be the world it could be something small you have no idea it's not like a you know corporate promotion where you're like oh there's a 20% increase in your salary okay after you've been here for 2 years like that's that's very standardized this we're talking about unstandardized benefits like who who knew this kind of stuff would have happened societal things in the way we view other tribes subconsciously are overly over verly consciously they're very difficult to quantify yeah and there's it's crazy how life works I mean Roki suzaki funny enough he he lost the parent from the tsunamis back in 2012 he easily could have passed away during these tsunamis now he's joining you know shoh and Yamamoto the biggest team in the world life could have just changed that quickly but he's joining now a super team and hopefully this if they win a couple more chips this team could be remembered for decades if this is about our future Generations really remembering what kind of impact and where where was the the uh the Start The Fire Start of the Tinder Box that really started this all so so like we have no who knew this would have happened right like UD darish UD darish really could have been the the um you know the the half Japanese pitcher from like when he got drafted like 10 years ago right like he he was sh before sh also 65 unicorn yeah just like not he was a model 65 could do everything very marketable but he played for like the Rangers the the Cubs now the Padre's like there's he could have been sh but he didn't have maybe he came at the wrong time right what if they what if the two team maybe maybe maybe the Astro was ruin his career by with a with a chest tapping who knows and he could have won for the Dodgers too like shout out to japangeles Dodgers man I know they got the Tokyo super team out there so anyway guys let us know what you guys think in the comment section below let us know what you guys thought of our comments on all the different sports stars did we leave anybody out I'm sorry I know somebody always gets out and like we know cow Mo a big impact on David David here so we I'm actually curious leave a comment on like you know an athlete you watch and how it changed how it made you wake up differently the next day yeah I you know to be honest the K the K MOA thing it does mean something to me but I actually always consider Tiger Woods Asian to me he's more Asian than he is black no yeah genetically and also I would say argue the way he like sort of Acts too but maybe I don't know it's 5050 but yeah anyway guys let us know what you guys think in the comment section below um we're just talking you can agree disagree but make sure you leave a comment and share this with your friends uh thanks for joining us on this episode of uh Sports Talk thanks Dave [Music]