It's the biggest wedding of the summer - 2.26-meter-tall Yao
Ming and his 1.90m fiance Ye Li.
The pair is planning on wedding soon, and China's Internet
hordes are already planning their future.
"Yao Ming and Ye Li are both national basketball heroes. Their
wedding ceremony is a red-letter day for all of us. Please show it
live and it will allow all of us to share the exciting moment and
inspire more young basketball players," said one netizen on
Sina.com.
Since the wedding was revealed by Houston Rockets manager Daryl
Morey last week, rumors have spread that CCTV will broadcast the
wedding ceremony during the Mid-Autumn Day Gala and another
national sport icon, 110m hurdles world record holder Liu Xiang,
will act as master-of-ceremony.
Although both Liu and the Gala director have denied the
speculation, talk is showing no signs of slowing down ahead of the
planned August ceremony.
According to Titan Sports, Yao, who has kept his love life away
from the media, will marry Ye in a private family ceremony in
Shanghai, where they were born and began dating.
"This is a match based on pure love," the paper observed.
The two were seen walking hand-in-hand at the closing ceremony
of the 2004 Athens Olympics, when their courtship first became
public.
"I suggest all the guests who are admitted to join the ceremony
should stand at least 2 meters. I am sure it will be a new Guinness
World Record," wrote one netizen on the BBS of Tsinghua
University.
Another suggested Yao and Yi should play basketball during the
ceremony.
"Let's see if Ye is able to beat Yao on the court. Of course,
anyone who wants to attend the ceremony and witness the giant hoop
competition will have to pay for admission."
But some are already thinking past the wedding, and the impact
the couple's children could have on the national team.
"I hope they will give birth to at least five children. Then we
will have a strong basketball team," a fan from Beijing commented
on Sohu.com.
(China Daily June 29, 2007)