Colin Pine will never be mistaken for Yao Ming. Pine never will be 7'6" 310 pounds or Chinese. He never will be an international superstar. One gets the feeling, however, that Pine is comfortable existing in the background, in the shadow of giants, putting his 5'10" frame, blond hair, and typical American looks to use for other more public personalities.

 

Yin and Yang

 

Many may know him from the popular 2002 film Year of the Yao, a documentary that chronicled Yao's arrival in both America and the NBA. It's Pine who frantically zooms around the movie screen, a 28-year-old having assumed the immense responsibility of assimilating China's Yao into America's NBA. Acting as an interpreter from 2002-05, Pine had unparalleled access to Yao Ming, watching his maturation from a 22-year-old Shanghai Sharks player to a 26-year-old NBA powerhouse. In many ways, Pine's understated and demure approach acted as perfect yin to Yao's front-and-center physical yang. This is the story of two unlikely friends.

 

Having graduated from James Madison University in Virginia USA (1996), Pine auspiciously took his English major to Taipei, to learn Mandarin. He enrolled in the International Chinese Language Program at Taiwan University after several years at a trading company.

 

"I studied Spanish at (James Madison)," said Pine, "without ever actually learning to say anything." Mandarin, however, was a completely different beast. After only three years in Taiwan, Pine was translating Chinese newspaper articles for the US State Department. It was then, in 2001, that the name Yao Ming changed everything in Pine's life.

 

"I was looking for personality, technical skill, and a firsthand knowledge of China," said Erik Zhang, member of Team Yao, on the selection process for an interpreter. "I was looking for someone who wouldn't melt under public scrutiny or go to a bar every night and someone whose age gap wasn't too great from Yao." 

 

"Initially, we had a little concern because he can be a nervous person," Zhang said. "But then we realized part of that is because of his desire to perform on the job." Ultimately, it was an over-the-phone performance by Pine that won the confidence of Zhang. Pine did an English-to-Chinese translation of an ESPN article on Yao, and then translated a non-sports Chinese newspaper article into English. Out of nearly 60 candidates, Pine was selected. That's when the adventure began.

 

"He spoke very basic English and wasn't very comfortable," said Pine, referring to Yao's initial months in both America and the NBA. That "uncomfortable" feeling, however, could very well describe Pine's initial experience as well.

 

A daunting experience

 

"The first time you have to translate in front of 50 journalists, knowing that what comes out of your mouth is going to print, is a pretty daunting experience," Pine said in a recent interview with China Daily. "After a while, however, it almost becomes mundane. Almost."

 

"I would have to say that Yao made it easier for me because of his poise," said Pine.

 

What didn't make it easy was the very public profile of both Yao and Pine, and the great responsibility both of them carried. But as Pine has attested to in several interviews, it's one's ability to adapt that defines success or invokes failure.

 

"I adapt to new circumstances very well," said Pine, who in 2006 still spoke like a metaphysical mouth-piece of Yao Ming's inner thoughts. For just as Pine had to adapt, so did Yao. This reality, arguably above everything else, explains the strong bond between these two men.

 

"It's all about feeling comfortable in one's environment," said Pine, again channeling Yao. "If you can't adapt, you're not going to be a happy and successful person."

 

Fortunately for both Yao and Pine, both soon adapted to the NBA, and both have wild success because of it. Asked if he has any regrets about his experience with Yao, or anything he would do differently, Pine responds with mellow humor.

 

"I wish I had some time to do some other things (than NBA related business)," said Pine, "like learn to play the glockenspiel or write a novel about the underground culture of Houston."

 

Working for Team Yao "afforded a lot of down time," said Pine, and although he did a lot of reading to pass time, he notes that he should have used his free time "more wisely". Refreshingly absent in his "Do Different List" is anything involving his direct experience interpreting for Yao. With that experience, apparently, Pine has no regrets.

 

It is shocking, however, that Pine complains of an abundance of free time during his Team Yao employment. In addition to interpreting between Yao, the media, the Houston Rockets, and the world, Pine also was a 24/7 live-in guest of Yao's, responsible for sorting Yao's bills, teaching him to drive, running various errands, and helping Yao understand American culture, among other things.

 

One wonders whether Pine folded Yao's boxer briefs out of the dryer as well, having seemingly assumed every other daily task.

 

'Not soft at all'

 

But nearly five years after befriending Yao Ming, Pine is still very much a fan of the big man. Even in 2007, Pine defends Yao against critical nay-sayers with an earnestness that is both sincere and a bit frustrated. When questioned on the popular putdown that Yao is a "soft player", lacking the tenacity required of NBA giants, Pine is strong in his defense.

 

"I wholly disagree with that assessment," said Pine emphatically. "He is not soft at all. One has to account that Yao was in a new environment (in 2002), and that he arrived in the middle of the season."

 

And yet despite putting up MVP-caliber numbers of 25.9 ppg, 9.4 reb, and 2.2 blocks in this 2006-07 season, Yao's detractors still accuse him of being a "gentle giant". Most surprisingly, this accusation comes from arguably Yao's greatest fan, coach Jeff Van Gundy.

 

"He is hyper-sensitive to the supposed 'how well we did without him'," Van Gundy said, referring to Yao's three-month injury and the Houston Rocket's improved play during his absence. "He has thought far too much about that, instead of being a more arrogant self-centered player where you only think about yourself. Because that would serve him best." If being a "hard player" means being "arrogant" and "self-centered" perhaps it's in Yao's interest to continue employing a "hip to be square" mentality.

 

So what has allowed Yao to weather the criticism? Better performances, better language proficiency and maturity, said Pine.

 

"His personality is coming out the more confident he is at speaking (English)," said Pine, a confidence he believes can be attributed to Yao's better play. His "great work ethic" and basketball improvement also have allowed Yao to relax, proving with his on-court numbers what critics try to disprove with their off-court criticisms. This combination of hard work and cultural assimilation undoubtedly feeds Yao's confidence, and subsequently his performance on the basketball court, said Pine. It also, naturally, lessens the sting of criticism.

 

While Yao has grown a lot since 2002, it's only natural that Pine would mature step-in-step. "I would say the most important thing I learned was how to deal with pressure," said Pine of his experience. Being the mouthpiece of the world's most popular Chinese person is a weighty responsibility, Pine learned. The confidence and stamina acquired from 2002-05's Team Yao experience has aided Colin Pine in 2007.

 

Pine currently lives in Beijing. He has been here for a year and a half. "The word 'permanent' has an awful finality to it," said Pine, "but yes, I'm in Beijing full time." So for the moment at least, Pine remains working in Beijing, a full 15 time-zones ahead of Houston and his friend Yao Ming. But while Pine is no longer employed by Team Yao Yao can speak English well enough now to not use an interpreter Pine nevertheless continues to advance the game of basketball here in China. He may not have Da Shan fame, but surely being the "Number Two" to China's Yao Ming experience has embedded Pine in the hearts of the Chinese. Having moved immediately to Beijing from Houston, that feeling of appreciation and respect is no doubt reciprocal in Pine's mind.

 

Pine now works with the NBA in China as the senior manager of government and community relations.

 

"Basically, since July 2005, I interact with relevant government organizations (Beijing Administration of Sport, for instance), and work on our community outreach projects," said Pine.

 

"I keep in touch occasionally with Yao," said Pine. "We exchange e-mails every so often, and whenever we're in the same city we try to get together and catch up." But now it will be Yao coming home to China to meet up with Pine, as opposed to their initial United States rendezvous.

 

"He's a pretty funny guy," said Pine of Yao Ming. He has a "dry sense of humor. He'll surprise you."

 

(China Daily March 30, 2007)