The US Super Bowl championship kicks off on Sunday night, with over 100 million people from the United States alone expected to tune in, but in countries like Great Britain, Mexico and China, more and more people are also paying attention.
US professional football is trying to establish a foothold in China, with the help of the first full-blooded Chinese football player to ever play in the US.
Just as in the US, TV announcers are practically breathless as they narrate highlights of a game in China. The country's professional China Arena Football League (CAFL) recently finished its first season.
China Arena Football League takes place in Shanghai, as the Beijing Lions defeated the Qingdao Clipper, 35-34, November 11, 2016. /CFP Photo
“It’s a very new sport there. A very new market, but it’s gaining traction. And it’s growing at a rapid pace, I would say,” Ed Wang, vice president of the CAFL, told CGTN.
Wang is the first full-blooded Chinese football player in the National Football League (NFL).
“A lot of people say Chinese people can’t play football because they’re too small or whatnot and I’m just trying to prove to them that I can,” Wang previously said.
Injuries cut Wang's career short in 2013, but now he’s promoting the six-team indoor league, where four Chinese and four foreign players per team take the field. Expansion within China and across Asia is on the horizon, with women’s US football being a possibility too.
Ed Wang talks to CGTN
Wang’s parents, former Olympic athletes, encouraged their son, who is two meters tall and weighs 145 kilograms, which is about 6 feet 5 inches, and almost 320 pounds. Wang says this is unusual in Chinese culture.
“The parents of most Chinese people, they don’t really push their kids to participate in sports. And when they do, it’s not really the physical sports,” said Wang.
That’s starting to change, whether it’s lacrosse, rugby or now US football.
“The sport hasn’t been there, so they haven’t had the exposure to it,” said Wang.
But Wang was amazed several years ago by how open athletes in China were to US football.
“We were teaching them just little things, and they were picking it up so fast. Just how smart they were and how they just soaked everything up. It was incredible,” said Wang.
The Beijing Lions defeat the Shanghai Skywalkers, 54-53, October 2, 2016. /CFP Photo
Ed Wang was a trailblazer of sorts. He got a lot of publicity for being the first Chinese player to set foot on a pro football field. He heard his share of race-related insults, which he always managed to shrug off.
“Once you get on the field, all that stuff doesn’t really matter anymore. It comes down to whether you can play football or not,” said Wang.
Cheerleaders dance on as the Beijing Lions game on with the Shanghai Skywalkers on October 2, 2016. /CFP Photo
“We can get to that too for sure, for sure,” said Wang.
In the meantime, Chinese fans will watch the Super Bowl. Wang says they have a clear favorite.
“100 percent the Patriots,” said Wang.
But the question remains: will China acquire a real taste for this imported pastime?
“We always say the more football, the more exposure in China right now, the better for everybody,” said Wang.
(Story by CGTN America)
