Welcome to the Far Eastern Conference

      What I found interesting about "Welcome to the Far Eastern Conference," was that it read almost like a work of fiction.  It didn't seem like it was about someone in real life or your average profile in a sports magazine.  It occurred to me about halfway through that I could probably just google the outcome of at least some of the events described.  The whole story seems very foreign to me, probably because of my lack of knowledge of sports, business and Chinese culture. 
     The voice that Tower gives to Marbury seems to be mostly observant over analytical, usually describing things that happened instead of analyzing Marbury's every move.  However, there is one quote that seems to really characterize Marbury:
"Rather, he gave the impression of someone desperate to forget all the haters back home and see only a world full of new friends.

And in Taiyuan, his friends were legion. At one point, I remarked that it must get irritating not to be able to take two steps without some stranger panting on his neck. "Nah," said Marbury. "You never know when the day's gonna come when people stop wanting your autograph." "

    I think that the voice in general can pretty much be summed up in one passage,

"it was really surprising to find oneself suddenly sickened with sympathy for an international sports celebrity with more money to his name than many American small towns."  Throughout the piece, Tower focuses on how Marbury has gone from such a negative life, even as a child to this whole new "world' in China.  He describes Marbury as a lab rat and outcast.  I think the overall tone is very cautiously optimistic and reflective and it really gets you to be on Marbury's side.