'Evil Empire': Two words from former US president Ronald Reagan that would later become a part of sport history

On March 8, 1983, in Orlando, Florida, former United States President Ronald Reagan gave a speech where he was first recorded to have said the phrase “evil empire”. At that time tensions between the US and the Soviet Union were at an all time high and it seemed that the Cold War would continue well on into the next millennium.

Fast forward to the present time and we find ourselves living in a much different world. However, that one phrase, over time, has become a popular term used in sport, primarily in the US. Major League Baseball powerhouse the New York Yankees have regularly been associated with the name. Even in some corners of the world some people claim that English Premier League side Manchester United are just as much an evil empire as the Yankees.

The New York Yankees are the most recognized team in the world that is graced with title of 'evil empire'

So, you might be asking yourself, what qualifies a team to be graced with the name? It is basically set on three criteria: one, the team is loaded with money; two, they are able to woo many of the top players onto their teams without even breaking a sweat (in this age of technology some teams probably just send an offer through text message); third, they always win.

Since the era of professionalism entered into Chinese sport, many of the current clubs have labored to bring in quality talent from abroad to enhance their teams chance of winning titles. However, as the Chinese economy has rapidly grown, many companies or individuals have found an interest in owning a professional franchise, or at least providing financial support. With this new money come increased interest in not only bringing in the best players and coaches, it also means that teams want to dominate the sport they are in, no matter it be in the country or internationally.

So, which sports teams in China could be flirting with having the title of ‘evil empire’ attached to them? Five come to mind and each have their own reasons.

If you think winning the CSL crown was enough for Evergrande, just wait to see what else they have in store

1) Guangzhou Evergrande FC
Reasons that make them a candidate for the ‘evil empire’ tag:

- Receives financial backing from the Evergrande Real Estate Group, one of the largest real estate developers in the country.

- Relegated to the second division, the team showed how much financial clout they had by signing Chinese internationals Gao Lin, Zheng Zhi and Sun Xiang. They made a domestic record-breaking transfer by signing Brazilian Muriqui.

- Upon being promoted as champions of the second division, the club spent more money by signing Brazilian Cleo and Argentine Dario Conca.

- Has vowed that they would not only dominate the China Super League, but they have ambitious plans to conquer Asia as well by becoming the first Chinese club to win the AFC Asian Champions League.

- They have money and they are not in the least afraid to spend it.

2) Guangdong Southern Tigers
Reasons that make them a candidate for the ‘evil empire’ tag:

-They are the reigning China Basketball Association champions

-On the verge of tying rival Bayi Rockets record of most CBA titles which stands at eight. They could possibly surpass it with the talent they have on the team. Speaking of talent…

-They have the best domestic players in the league accompanied by quality foreign imports. It almost seems like they have factory down there. One set of players go out and a new crop of younger players come in and keep the championship run going.

- They realize they do not have to be the best team, regular season-wise, but when the playoffs come around, they find a way annihilate their opponents (just ask the Xinjiang Flying Tigers about that).

- It is just simple, they win and fans from other teams hate it when another team in just that dominant.

3) Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Reasons that make them a candidate for the ‘evil empire’ tag:

- As with most other teams that have been blessed with the name, they have a lot of money and spend on hiring mercenaries.

- Because they have a lot of money they can virtually sign any players they want in hopes of finally clinching their first CBA championship (examples, Quincy Douby, Kenyon Martin).

- They have enough money to bring in two of China’s big men to capture the title (Mengke Bateer and Tang Zhengdong).

- They have thrown a pile of cash in front of China’s men’s basketball team coach Bob Donewald Jr. to help them get their championship.

Evergrande not only wants to dominate football, but volleyball is also in their plans for domestic sport domination

4) Guangdong Evergrande Women’s Volleyball Club
Reasons that make them a candidate for the ‘evil empire’ tag:

- Owned by the same group that operates the football club.

- Spends the money to sign top domestic and international volleyball players (Logan Tom, Feng Kun, Yang Hao, Jovana Brakocevic, etc.). in hopes of winning the women’s volleyball championship

- Has the coach that brought the Chinese women’s national volleyball squad back into prominence, (Jenny)Lang Ping, in hopes that her leadership will guide the club to many championships.

Shanghai Shenhua chairman, Zhu Jun

5) Shanghai Shenhua FC
Reasons that make them a candidate for the ‘evil empire’ tag:

- Two words, Zhu Jun (朱骏), the eccentric chairman of the East China based club is in the headlines more than the team. Most can remember is brief appearance on the pitch in an exhibition match against English Premier League side Liverpool FC. Zhu can almost be considered the George Steinbrenner of sport executives in China.

- Before the emergence of Evergrande, Shenhua was the most talked about and hated team in the China Super League. Now, they maybe getting that moniker back after signing Frenchman Nicolas Anelka. They seem close to signing French manager Jean Tigana and, if there still any money left, they might be going after another well-known footballer (no speculation coming from this post).

- You can be sure that there is never a dull moment at Hongkou. The chairman’s huge sale of players back in 2009 and his constant change in managers are just two examples. With the impending arrival of Anelka and others, this could make the dramtics that happen at Shenhua next season even more exciting.

Evil empires are what make sport exciting to watch and follow. They are the ones that get us out to the stadiums and arenas around the world just to show our disgust for them for two or three hours. They are the reasons why people call into sports radio shows and write on the internet. We just love to hate them. This is what could be a huge boost for the sports leagues in China and there are a number of teams that could fill that role very well.

Whether any team is up for the challenge of taking on that role is question we will just have to wait on.

Photos

Daily Contributor

Volleywood

Gzevergrandefc.com

China.org.cn

Guangdong Southern Tigers (广东宏远) beat Xinjiang Flying Tigers (新疆广汇) 106-95, notching their fifth CBA title in six years by 4-1 in the finals.

Xinjiang were ahead 32-23 after the first quarter but Guangdong bounced back to lead 50-48 at the half. The defending champion extended their lead to 10 points in the their quarter by 78-68. Xinjiang scored only 8 points in the fourth quarter, the lowest in the history of CBA finals.

The Southern Tigers set a new CBA record this season by winning 29 games in a row until Xinjiang managed to grab a victory in the 3rd game of the finals.

Previously:

• Struck by State-ownership, Shanghai Sharks Is Struggling without Sponsor
• The Battle Between Fenglu Club And CBA

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Shanghai Sharks (上海大鲨鱼), the CBA team that developed the country’s most famous player Yao Ming, is now struggling after Xiyang Group (西洋集团), their only sponsor, pulled back from its five-year sponsorship plan. The Liaoning-based fertilizer manufacturer has been supporting Shanghai basketball since 2007 with 15 million RMB ($ 2.2 mln USD) injection a year into both of its women’s and men’s teams. While the company pays all the bills, the club is co-owned by Shanghai Sports Bureau and Shanghai Media Group, a state-owned media company.

Last November, Cong Xuedi, head coach of Shanghai Women’s Basketball Team, secretively allowed five of their first-team players to play for East China Normal University(华东师范大学) in the 7th National University Games after the club turned down the university request to borrow their players, a common practice for almost all universities that participated in the Games. Xiyang Group decided to fire Cong for disobeying their authority. But the coach was saved by Shanghai Technical Sports Institute (STSI, 上海体育职业学院,) a school under Shanghai Sports Bureau, as they hoped the women’s team can perform better in this year’s National Games under the coaching of her.

“It’s agreed that we’re responsible for managing the club,” Wang Bo, Xiyang’s representitive in Shanghai, told press last November, “things have been running on the contrary so far. We’ve talked with STSI and may stop sponsoring the team should the coach is kept at her post.” They did. And so with the men’s team after the regular season ended this March. A lowest paid player that used to make 10,000 RMB ($ 1,500 USD) a month at the Sharks can now receive only about 1,500 RMB ($ 220 USD) from the local sports bureau. It’s reportedly that some of the players can’t even pay their mortgage. “The reason we quited is that we don’t have the club ownership and managing right,” Qiu Guangchun, vice president of Xiwang Group told a Shanghai paper, “they should know why we quited.”

“CBA is not a professional league,” said Yang Yi, deputy editor-in-chief of Titan Sports to China Sports Review, “You wound’t expect to have a team like Bayi Rockets (八一火箭) in a professional league[CSR: the Bayi Rockets are an army team and is the only team with no foreign players in CBA.] Teams in a pro league should first be privately-held. CBA belongs to the government and it’s at most a half-professional league. And at least four CBA teams belong to local sports bureaus.”

“Xiyang’s withdrawal has nothing to do with the economic crisis. Shanghai Sharks is governed by the local sports bureau. The team had been neglected [by the sports bueau guys] since Yao Ming left for NBA. The leaders at the bureau turned their focus to volleyball as they thought the basketball team had no chance of winning the title without Yao,” Yang noted, “It’s not because of Shanghai’s team was bad or had no promising young players. The sport just lost their attention there. And to the sports bureau leaders, a businessman has only the right to sponsor the team but not to make any decision.”

Xiyang left Shanghai. But they’re planning on a comeback in Anshan, Liaoning Province. The Anshan Xiyang Basketball Club (鞍山西洋男篮) was established in 2006 and has been playing in NBL, the secondary league to CBA, for two seasons. The team recruited some good players from Shanghai Sharks’ youth team in 2007 and Xiyang hoped it can be promoted into CBA one day. “Eighteen teams are already too many for CBA,” said Yang, “I don’t think there will be any addition to the league. Rather, the basketball association might consider to cut some teams off.”

Previously:

• The Battle Between Fenglu Club And The Chinese Basketball Association
• Former NBA Player Bonzi Wells Released by Shanxi Zhongyu Club
• CBA Players and the Myth about the Ages Of Chinese Women Gymnasts

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