A few days ago, we met up with Ed Wang, the NFL's first player of full Chinese descent in Shanghai. He is now in Beijing to promote the game there by conducting clinics in schools.
Can Ed Wang help the NFL break into the Chinese market?
Pencil This In: January 4 - 8
Yeah, we're a little sad to be done with the holidays too. Luckily, this week is filled with fun things to get us out of our post-New Years funk. Football, baked goods, trivia nights and improv... looks like Shanghai has recovered from a week of rest and is ready to rumble once again.
NFL China: Lost and found in translation
From Shanghai Scrap comes a very interesting article about the NFL's attempts to break into China. Most Americans don't understand that the entire rest of the world doesn't understand something as quintessentially American as football. But if you think about it, how would you translate something as esoteric as the "Wildcat" offense to a Chinese audience? These are the sort of questions that NFL China has to grapple with in their attempts to build up public interest in the sport on the mainland.
Mayday for the NFL in China
What do the NFL, small Chinese children, and a Taiwanese rock band have in common? Absolutely nothing, until the NFL decided to embark on its latest effort to make professional American football popular in China.
Michigan-Ohio State game on Sunday!
As most American Football fans know, and ESPECIALLY University of Michigan fans (GO BLUE!) there's a huge game this weekend when #1 ranked Ohio State takes on #2 Michigan in Columbus. Back in Americaland, they're calling it the came of the decade. It's. Gonna. Be. AWESOME.
Chili: It's a stew, not a country
While Shanghaiist’s mind is usually consumed with cocktails, food, and finding a costume for the AWESOME Shanghaiist Halloween Party, our mouth started watering immediately upon seeing this email from Ken Walker, the man behind Bubba’s Bar-B-Que & Saloon in Hongqiao:
What are you doing Monday morning?
If you have a real job, you'll likely be working. But if you're like Shanghaiist -- and you're also American -- you may be watching some good, old fashioned ganlanqiu ... American football ... the National Football League conference championships ... the two games that determine the contestants in Super Bowl XL (40, not "extra large"). The Pittsburgh Steelers play at the Denver Broncos in the American Football Conference championship at 4 a.m. And with a somewhat more bearable 7:30 a.m. kickoff, the National Football Conference championship pits the Carolina Panthers on the road against the Seattle Seahawks.

