According to ESPN, the ratings for the Yao vs. Yi game will dwarf that of the Super Bowl due to the Chinese population:
Patriots vs. Colts? That's nothing.
In China, Friday night's game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets is expected to draw TV ratings that would put even a Super Bowl to shame.
It's Yao Ming vs. Yi Jianlian, the nation's greatest player facing his highly touted rookie countryman for the first time.
"It's the two best basketball players in the country coming to play in the best basketball league in the world," said Wang Meng, a sports writer who covers the Rockets for Titan Sports, a Beijing-based newspaper. "It doesn't matter who wins. It's the best thing that can happen in China, because people will be excited either way."