My Father is My Super Fan

By Bao Chunlai

In most traditional Chinese families,parents often employ the good cop,bad cop strategy while raising a child.My family is no exception.But unlike many other families,the good cop in our house is my father while the bad cop my mother.

My childhood was often spent like this:A naughty and mischievous me having wreaked some havoc and got myself in trouble,a furious mother starting to look for a handy tool to punish me,and a flurried father putting himself between the mother and me,trying to talk her out of the idea while winking at me to run.I would take advantage of the chaos and run out of the house all the way to my grandmother’s to escape my mom’s rage.

Like father,like son

I was born when my father was already forty-five years old.Coming after my older brother and sister,I’m the youngest child and my father’s favorite.Although my father does not hold a high education degree,he likes reading,playing piano,and writing poems.I have always been closer to him than to my mom due to their character disparity.Otherthan being more protective and affectionate,my father has a kind of soft,sensitive,and charming temperament.

Bao Chunlai is a retired left-handed badminton player from China.He won the men’s singles championship in the fifth World Youth Championship in 2000,and has won the Thomas Cup four times and the Sudirman Cup twice with the Chinese team.鮑春來，前中國羽毛球運動員，曾獲得2000年第五屆世青賽羽毛球男單冠軍，隨中國羽毛球隊獲得四屆湯姆斯杯冠軍、兩屆蘇迪曼杯冠軍，他在2011年因傷選擇退役。

My father loves sports,especially basketball.He is also a well-known figure in his factory of several thousands of people for his superior ping-pong skills.

When I was a bit older,he began to play basketball with me on the court.Yet later when he found out that I liked pingpong more,he would hold my hands and teach me ping-pong skills on our dining table.My father was a patient teacher and never scolded me for my poor performance.When our parents went to work,my friends and I would put a row of bricks on the laundry table in the middle of our residential yard,turning it into a ping-pong table and play.There were a lot of unexpected situations while playing pingpong outdoors,for example,the wind blowing,the falling leaves flying,a bouncing ping-pong ball falling into the ditch,or simply disappearing without a trace.However,it was all in good fun.Since I inherited my dad’s athletic talent as well as his superb skills,I became a frequent winner among my friends.I still remember back then I walked with a proud swagger after winning.Children are simple-minded,yearning to win peers’ admiration.This is why I was so reluctant to leave the ping-pong table when I was selected by Coach Song as a badminton player.

Everything under his control

My father has always been a quietminded man in my memories who barely speaks loudly.Yet somehow he’s amazingly agile and capable.As a child,I could never figure out how he was so omniscient,as if every move of mine was in his perception and control.

When I first became a badminton player,I was enormously attracted to the video game rooms springing up in Changsha City at that time.As a result,whenever I went out,I would try to talk my father into giving me a bit more pocket money.According to our family rules then,my daily allowance was 20 cents.So I would say that I needed an popsicle or some food after my training session,so as to get 20 more cents.My father of course knew these little tricks.Yet instead of debunking my schemes,he went along with them and was expecting I would come around on my own,which I didn’t.Even though he had to find me in the middle of a fierce battle in the video game room,he was patient and gentle,trying to talk to me instead of simply punishing me.I was ashamed and could never forget his expectant eyes.

Despite the amateur sports school I attended,I still had the chance to play in other cities from time to time.I found the attraction of freedom irresistible as a kid raised in a strict family.The world outside appeared exciting and appealing,and I pictured myself free of parental supervision,playing billiards and eating at night markets freely...So you can imagine how unhappy I was when I found my father was still around all the time.Other parents might come visit occasionally,while my father traveled with our team almost every time.

Once,in order to escape from him,I didn’t go back to our hotel and instead ate out with my friends.Just as we were feasting triumphantly,my father showed up out of nowhere,sweating.It turned out that he had been anxiously looking for me on the streets for more than one hour.I lowered my head behind a messy table and could barely look him in his eyes.Yet instead of saying anything,he simply walked to the counter and paid our bill.

My super fan

As I got better and better at badminton,my father gradually abandoned all his enthusiasm in playing sports himself for focusing on me,and became my super fan.He began to collect any news reports about me when I got into spotlight.He has collected four or five books of newspaper clippings.He also began to locate information concerning my games,ranging from team groupings to my opponents’ strengths and weaknesses,after which he would phone me to discuss the details,help me analyze the game,and offer me encouragement and relaxation.In 2002,my father bought a video recorder and began recording badminton events and games,including any news related to badminton.In doing so,he hoped to learn more about badminton,so as to have a better communication with me.He would watch those videos meticulously to find out the advantages and disadvantages of me and other players for my reference.He kept this habit of video recording for seven or eight years until computers became prevalent.Only after then he stopped recording videos and managed to learn how to download things from the Internet.Now those video tapes full of good memories are still stored in our honor cabinet.

By spending all his free time studying badminton,my father actually knows the sport better than I do.Whenever he came up with some new thoughts,he would try to let me know.At first,I tossed my head in disdain;I had been playing badminton for so many years,and now he was trying to give me advice? As a result,I would argue with him regarding the strategies and tactics of badminton.Most of the time,he chose to keep silent and end the conversation,while I was pleased and smug with myself for winning the argument,thinking that I knew better than him.However,when I encountered the same issue later on the training court or in a competition,I came to realize that my father was totally right.My admiration for my father was immeasurable in heart,although I would not admit my mistakes to him in his presence,due to my dignity and face.

In the year 2007,I was in a slump.Whenever I competed with Lin Dan and Li Zongwei,the top players then,I would always lose.I nicknamed myself “Second Best.” It was also a difficult time for my father.Every time I went home,I would pretend to be happy and live with it.He noticed my emotions,yet instead of asking more,he just gently told me that the score was not the most important thing,as long as I played to my full potential.I was amazed at how well my father knew me,since it was also the voice echoing in my mind.