The Olympic Games is holy. Athletes from around the world, including myself, of course, dream to participate.

All of the Chinese people, the Asian people say, "Oh Yao Ming, you are all the Chinese, all of Asia's hopes." That's a lot of pressure. I'm just a basketball player.

Every sound in the gym is so fantastic. The screams of the fans, the whistle of the ref, the teammates calling to each other, the sounds of the ball touching the wooden floor, the sneakers touching the floor, and the sounds of the fight, the muscle and the sweat. Oh, and the last one-when the ball goes through the net. Don't laugh at my sensitivity and romanticism - those sounds really attract me.

The journalists are poking me all the time. It's impossible for me to stop even I want to.

I only want to play basketball, and play it well and be happy about it. But I realize that with being famous, comes a lot of demands.

It's always nice to start the season with a win.

When I was young, we were taught not to dunk. We were taght not to stand out from the rest of the team. It's different now.