Otherwise, it could really end up ticking off some people in China. Namely, the local press.
Like the reporter who asked Coach K what he had to do to kill his players’ superego, things are understandably going to get lost in translation during these Beijing Games. And in Dwyane Wade’s case, they’re going to get lost in pronunciation, too.
From the Sun-Sentinel:
To say “thank you” in Mandarin, you approximate saying, “Shay-shay.” It doesn’t hit the mark exactly, because it seems there’s an ‘i’ in there somewhere, like it’s “Shiay-Shiay.” But a Chinese reporter took exception to the way Dwyane Wade and his U.S. Olympic basketball teammates were pronouncing it.
“When you say it, it sounds like, ‘Sh–, sh–,’ ” the reporter told Wade.
“Excuse me?” he said.
She repeated the idea, then said, “You need to tell the other players on your team.”
Wade, ever the gentleman, waited until the reporter had left the area before doubling over in laughter. Let’s just be thankful that Shaq didn’t make the team; I’d hate to think of what his reaction may have been to the reporter’s stern warning.
