Patriots Not Welcome!...in China?

你们好!
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For the last two years, I have dedicated a large portion of this blog to showing how Western Culture appears, both subtly and overtly, in China, but rarely discuss when I notice parts of China appearing in the West. The obvious reason for this is "I live in China" and witness the spread and acceptance/denial of Western customs and ideologies first-hand. In a few short months, I hope to flip my observations of these cultural invasions ("invasion" is a strong word), noticing how parts of China are slowly leaking to the West.
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This is all in regards to a recent blog by one of my favorite sports journalists, Tim Graham, of ESPN. I have missed two complete Buffalo Bills seasons while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in China. Tim Graham blogs about the NFL's AFC East Division, and being from Buffalo, he seems to give the Bills a little more of the spotlight, and more importantly, understands the hatred Bills fans feel towards (but not exclusively - there are plenty of people and teams for the Bills to hate throughout the team's troubled history) the New England Patriots, their division rival. What Tim Graham may not understand is how one his recent blog entries might influence those Chinese who have yet to decide whether to embrace American football or reject it for a less violent and confrontational sport like, let's say, fly fishing (FYI: American football can be translated two different ways in Chinese: the literal "American football"美国足球 Měiguó zúqiú, or the much more creative,橄榄球gǎnlǎnqiu, or "Olive Ball"). This entry doesn't even need to be read to be understood. A picture is worth a thousand words:

This is not a product of Photoshop either. That's "His Holiness," or how the Chinese media/education system portrays him, "His Terrorist," the Dalai Lama...wearing a New England Patriots hat!

If this isn't a photo-op, and the D.L. is, in fact, a Pats fan, then I might have to admit that the CCP and I have found some common ground to denounce the D.L. This picture just doesn't make sense to me. If anything, the His Holiness should be a Bills fan. We are the underdog, have a loyal tribe of die-hard followers, and if someone tried to sell our turf (Say No to Toronto!), we would fight to the death...forever. C'mon dude, use that righteous mind of yours! Make the connection!

The NFL has been trying to plug American football into the one of the largest markets in the world, but have been less than successful. I don't think this picture will help sell any Tom Brady jerseys! Good!

Let's Go Buffalo! I'm getting my popcorn ready...

I love and miss you all,

Phil

蓝麦飞