Baseball has Ichiro Suzuki, Basketball has Yao Ming, and now the National Football League is ready for their Asian Superstar.
When Japanese baseball star Ichiro Suzuki signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2001, Americans stood up and took notice for they believed they were watching a man who would change all of baseball. And indeed it seems they were right. Ichiro has been a fan favorite and top vote-getter from the American League for baseball’s annual All-Star Games. He is breaking records believed unbreakable and continues to amaze children and experts alike as see simply continues to improve.
The following year Houston Rockets management offered China’s Yao Ming a 4-year 18-million-dollar contract to play center position on their basketball team. Their investment paid off. Ming is a force on the basketball court and was the top vote-getter in balloting for the NBA’s All-Star Game.
Ten years ago the idea that a Chinese player could join the American football elite would have been unimaginable but now, with Ichiro playing the “All American Game” and Ming being the biggest thing since Michael Jordan in the relatively new game of Basketball --invented in 1891 by Canadian-born James Naismith, a physical education teacher working in Springfield Massachusset’s YMCA at the time – leading the way, National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has great hope that by cultivating the seeds of the game in Asia now that football “will be a sport with global participation for people of all backgrounds.” Tagliabue is not alone on his quest. Philadelphia Eagles tight end Chad Lewis is a tight ally, sharing the same dream and fighting to make it happen.
Two years ago Mr. Lewis was heading to Taiwan for two years of Mormon mission. He returned to the states speaking Mandarin and with a compelling desire to successfully spread the global reach of American football, the game he loves.
“When you get the ball and go out in a park and just throwing it around, it’s a lot of fun. And, when you realize how much fun it is to play the game it makes you want to play more, play better,” Lewis said.
“It’s not too far in the future before we see the Yao Ming of football,” Lewis continued, “there is no doubt about it. He probably won’t be a quarterback but a special teams player.
Tagliabue and Lewis agree that Zou Marketing, which handles NFL promotion in China, has done an excellent job establishing US flag football programs in Shanghai and Beijing and that “player development is the next big step.”
Commissioner Tagliabue said that he does not expect to live to see the day when his vision comes to pass. China is a unique country with unique issues that must first be overcome. “We need the grass roots to develop players and coaches. This is something that the United States cannot impose. It has to come from the bottom up. We are looking at a timeline of three, perhaps four decades.”
And, despite the timeline both Tagliabue and Lewis are confident that their efforts will someday be enjoyed by millions worldwide and will, perhaps one day, change the face of American football. Lewis concluded by saying, “You get some kamikaze guy flying down the field full speed on the kickoff team and slamming into American guys. He will be a rock star in China."
