Editor’s Note: Meet Junling Cui, our exclusive wOw Woman on the scene in Beijing. For the Olympics, wowOwow goes right to the source for an insider’s perspective on the news coming out of Beijing. Junling will be reporting from both the women’s perspective and from the point of view of a Chinese national, on all things Olympics — from the athletes’ stories to the social impact of the games.

Day Four

Pssst, this just in: China likes a winner (even if they’re not Chinese).

My American husband told me today that there has been some press and blog chatter about how impolite Chinese fans are being at these games. We’re cheering, evidently, too loudly, as our athletes win in weight lifting, gymnastics, diving, etc., and not cheering enough for their competitors — or even, occasionally, applauding when those competitors screw up.

Let me be the first to admit that this is China, not Japan. Just as a point of reference for those of you who may be dialing into China for the first time, we don’t do polite too well here. Not yet, anyway. Maybe it’ll get better in time — lots and lots of time — but for now, the mad scrum that most Chinese lines are (though “Chinese line” may be an oxymoron, because we hate to stand in line) is the reality. People pouring into subway cars before letting disembarking passengers out — that’s China. So now, we don’t do polite well. That’s first. Second, let me also break some news here by admitting that the Chinese are happy when we win, and not so happy when we lose. So sue us.

Having said that, let me also add this: China likes Michael Phelps; he’s becoming more popular by the day, as he chalks up win after win. One of my Beijing best friends, schoolteacher Miao Zheng, says she’s getting up in the morning and watching his races and cheering him on. "He doesn’t seem arrogant, and he’s obviously one of the greatest swimmers ever. He’s setting world record after world record. It’s exciting to watch." I canvassed a bunch of people today — friends and strangers alike here in Beijing, and all were very aware of Phelps and what he’s trying to do. And if he gets to the point where he’s going for his twelfth gold medal, the Chinese fans in the Water Cube will be cheering him on.
My theory about this is pretty simple: Most Chinese, like most Americans, love a winner. There’s a bandwagon effect that’s in play here with Phelps, and it’s taken hold. Would it be different if China had serious competitors in swimming — someone who was going head-to-head with Phelps? Of course it would! But for the most part, China picked all the sports the U.S. wasn’t very good at — and which we ARE good at — to compete in this Olympics. So we’re winning our medals, and you’re winning yours. But when it comes to an exceptional performance like Michael Phelps’s — which is way beyond what any Chinese competitor is doing — most of us are cheering with admiration, just like you. Seriously, the government might think this is the new cold war in terms of sports, but most of my friends don’t.