Before the Chinese delegation arrived at the Virgininia Academy in Ashburn, where the game was held, I had the opportunity to talk to several of the local NOVA players. They were all excited to play at the event, but seemed especially excited at the prospect of helping the Chinese players learn the game and all the players focused on the real goal—to have some fun.
Tom LaNeve, the regional market coordinator for the NFL flag football league, was contacted by the NFL about the opportunity to play with the group from China. As the NFL's local coordinator, he helps new area leagues form. LaNeve says he has known NOVA league president Steve D'Argenio for years and that Steve's league is one of the "best run" organizations around. When he contacted some of the area league presidents about the NFL reality show, he said Steve got back to him quickly and enthusiastically.
Steve, in turn, picked two teams and coaches from the league to participate. He chose the Saints from the junior division of 9-11 year-olds and the Patriots from the major division of 12-14-year olds, along with their coaches Tim Lasher and Shawn Gorman. The two groups warmed up and practiced their plays in the rain while they waited for the NFL's Chinese group to arrive.
When the bus with the group from China rolled up, the assembled crowd kept looking for the kids who would play to emerge from the bus. There were some young adults, but no kids in either age range. It turned out the "kids from China" were actually six celebrities from China who are helping the NFL reach out to Chinese viewers in an attempt to create a market for their football games. The celebrities consist of a five member band called May Day (one of whom is the reality show's host), an up and coming singer named Ding Dang, and Liu Yan who is a professional television and online show hostess.
While the celebrities appeared to be new to the concepts of football, they were extremely enthusiastic and seemed genuinely excited to come out and play. When I asked them who their favorite NFL team was, each and every one of them said the Patriots. It turns out that their first stop in their tour of U.S. football was New York, where they watched the Giants play the Patriots and the Patriots won in a come-from-behind victory.
While the Loudoun kids practiced, the six celebrities—four men and two women—donned Buccaneer jerseys and flags from the NOVA league, and lined up to learn the basics from Tom LaNeve. LaNeve had them practicing their stances and correct arm movements for each of the main positions, the correct way to run with the ball, and even had them shouting out the snap count.
These celebrities are participating in an "Amazing Race"-like reality show that will air over sixteen weeks. The show's title is a play on the phrase "Super Bowl" and translates in Chinese to "Super Star." The group has made stops all along the East coast, performing competitive football tasks against each other as part of the friendly competition that will hopefully teach viewers more about football. The stop in Ashburn, with the flag football game, is the final stop. The NFL hopes the reality show genre, which is wildly popular in China, combined with the celebrity participants, will help draw Chinese viewers into the football culture. The NFL has been trying for several years to spark interest in football in China, but has not succeeded so far. The show is being produced by the NFL for a Chinese television channel, CCTV (China Central Television), which is the major television broadcaster for mainland China and is essentially run by their government. Each of the reality show episodes will be followed by NFL highlights from the week of football in the U.S. The first episode is scheduled to air October 29, with the series running through the weekend of the Super Bowl. According to Stephanie Hsiao, an NFL marketing manager for NFL China, the NFL in the US will receive a copy of the show, but there are currently no plans for the show to be aired in the US or to be put on the internet. Steve, the head of the NOVA league, still holds out hope that the kids will get air time in the States, though, saying "the NFL is making this show, it belongs to them."
Once the Chinese players had learned the positions and basic movements from Tom, they divided the boys and celebrities into two teams and the game began. In true Flag Football form, there was no kickoff; the ball was started from the five yard line. The Chinese players sat out a couple of plays to better understand the flow of play, but it wasn't long before they were playing key positions like quarterback. And just like the NOVA players predicted, everyone had a great time.
The members of Mayday (not May Day) are from Taiwan, which is not essentially China, I supposed?