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| On the road
Pine and Yao's friendship quickly grew. As Yao's playing time and recognition increased, Pine would help Yao with errands since it was impossible for Yao to go out without creating a stir. On road trips, they both ended up spending most of their free time in the hotel watching movies and surfing the Internet on their laptops. Like many NBA players do, they even toted a Microsoft XBox on the road to plug into their hotel television set, but soon gave it up because of the hassle of lugging it around. Instead, their laptops became even a bigger part of their lives. No word if Yao uses the smaller or larger-sized Apple Powerbook, as featured in the Apple commercial with star Verne Troyer, who played Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies.
One of the most intriguing things we wanted to know about Pine was his dramatic shift from a normal lifestyle to the jet-set life of the NBA. Pine didn't think too much about it, nor was he in awe of it. He felt it was simply a progression of his life that was just meant to be. Pine didn't even take many photographs as you would expect, although in retrospect he wishes he had. He acknowledges it was nice staying in 5-star hotels and receiving a generous meal per diem. But the work that came along with it occurred at a cost. His life was extremely hectic with very little time for normal activities. Pine recounted the typical schedule after a home game, followed by a road game the next night (these "back-to-backs" occurred 21 times this past season):
Pine's primary objective this off-season is to get back in shape after witnessing up-close the world-class conditioning of NBA players. "It definitely inspires you. You have no excuse [not to work out]." When he needs advice, Pine also has a nice resource with whom he can consult: the Rockets strength and conditioning coach. The job During the game, Pine's main responsibility is to make himself available to translate for Yao whenever called upon. Pine believes the average basketball fan, or even above-average fan, would be challenged to understand the X's and O's of the game discussed in the huddle. Pine says that although Yao did not grow up around the American game, he understands many of the basketball principles taught in practice and referenced during timeouts. Yao's understanding of the fundamentals made Pine's job a bit easier. And contrary to what some people may have thought when Pine was hired, Yao is not helpless when it comes to English. He is a bright and articulate individual who has picked up on the English language very quickly. Yao likes to use Pine most when dealing with the media. Being a huge basketball fan helps Pine do a good job, but he has another passion that makes him qualified for the position. "I love translation. That's what I enjoy about the job most," Pine says. He finds the mental exercise very challenging, and recognizes he may appear tense and focused while doing it. But it's thrilling to him. He says the most intense moment during the season occurred immediately after the first "Yao vs. Shaq" game against the Lakers on January 17th. ESPN wanted to do a live interview with Steve Francis and Yao, with Pine providing translation for Yao. Although he was confident, the thought of messing up on national television was in the back of Pine's mind. Needless to say, Pine pulled it off without a hitch. Dealing with the media Living most of his life on the East Coast, Pine described the media in Houston as being "nice" compared to what Yao would have faced if he played in New York. He also believes that if Yao had played in the San Francisco Bay Area for the Golden State Warriors in his rookie season, "It would have been too much [for Yao]." Yao would have had to deal with many more Chinese media members, given the heavy concentration of Chinese-Americans in the area. It also would have been even more difficult for him to move about among the public. After playing Golden State on March 21st, Yao had his own post-game news conference, which is typical for most road games because of the tremendous amount of interview requests he receives. Several Chinese-American media members were present and asked Yao lengthy questions in Chinese at a very high rate of speed. Not wanting to slight the non-Chinese speaking members of the media, Pine translated these very long questions to English, which appeared to be an even more intense effort. It helped that earlier in the season Pine discovered jotting notes as the question is being asked (and answered) was an effective tool. Pine used it extensively during this particular session. Combine the focus and intensity he shows when interpreting along with the scribbling, and Pine becomes almost as compelling to watch in action as Yao is on the court. Surprisingly, it is serious business during these press conferences, no doubt fueled by its observers sensing the brain activity going on in Pine's head. We asked if Pine thought that Chinese-speaking reporters intentionally tried to trip him up by asking lengthy or complex questions in Chinese, but he didn't believe so. He thought they were all very nice and complimentary of his work. One time a Chinese-speaking media member decided to translate a question posed by another reporter in English to Yao, but Pine told this reporter that it was not necessary for him to do such translation--Pine had it covered. Click here for page 3 of the Colin Pine interview |