How far is it between NFL and China?

Hi, friend! If you are an American, when asked whether you know about NFL games, perhaps your instant reply is “Are you kidding? I love it! All American love it! But ,hey, I don’t know much about it. You know what? Ping-pong is the pride of our nation and football is your pride and joy. Don’t feel sorry for me, because I would like to start getting to know about NFL. Want to know why? Follow me.
NBA VS NFL
Remember the excitement from fans when Michael Jordan appeared on the NBA court? You can even hear the shouts of Chinese fans in their school canteens. NBA is very popular with Chinese people, especially among the teenagers and college students. They can easily tell you their favorite stars. Air Jordan has been a legend to the world, but stars like Kobe Bryant is also known to all NBA lovers in China. Just like you know Brett Favre.
However, NFL is a newcomer to China. NBA spends at least twenty years making its name in China. Now basketball becomes part of our daily life. People watch it on TV. They talk about it after class and work. They celebrate when their favorite team wins the game. When players like Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian were chosen by NBA, we knew basketball would never leave us .Our attention will always be given to NBA. Then what about football? Chinese footballers have let Chinese fans down all the time. Success in football games has been a dream of Chinese fans. how far is it from dream to success? There is always a long way to go. So another twenty years of American sports to be introduced into China?
NFL Being Introduced to Chinese people
Will NFL spends twenty years entering China like NBA? Or shorter? This is a difficult question to answer.
Chad Lewis, the former Tight End of Philadelphia Eagles, has come to China. Interesting enough, Lewis has a Chinese name as Lu Gaowei. When he speaks in his fluent Chinese in an interview by www.QQ.com, we find something different and we like this man. Dressed in his NFL jersey with number 89, Lu Gaowei seems amiable, lovely and very man. He talks and then more Chinese people get to know American footballdifferent from the football. We realize that another ball will hit China. NFL finally steps into our homeland.
Aroused by his spoken Chinese, I begin to listen to him carefully. I start to know who he really is, what his purpose is here in China, what the NFL is, what Touch Down is and want to know more about NFL.

Former Tighten End, Today’s Image Messenger
When asked his feeling towards the American football, he just repeats that it is fun and he loves it. When asked what NFL is to him, he tells Chinese people that the American football is a game that needs your being strong, smart and cooperative. When asked why he has number 89 for his jersey, he says “every number has its story.” The story about his number is relevant to his position in the team. When talking about Bird Nest, Lewis expresses his excitement for the visit to Beijing and looks forward to having an NFL game in Bird Nest. But he knows NFL has a long way to go before it is accepted by all China.
I’d like to thank Lewis for his introduction of NFL. Like ping-pong, which is our pride, American people take pride in football. So I think if we would like our ping-pong game to be exported and be accepted, then we are able to accept and learn about NFL. Especially when you watch the NFL games, you will find it fun to enjoy.
First Impression of NFL games
Just as Lu Gaowei suggests, NFL football games are loved by all-American. When he enters the court, he could hear the shouts of all fans of every team. His teammates are willing to work together to get the top-------the Super Bowl. They seem to be a family----with 11 brothers fighting for the glory and for fun. It seems all these men love football more than anything else. They are cool and adored. In fact they are not just human beings, they are fighters. When they fight against their rivals, they are men---strong, brave, smart, and sly. They remind people of fighters in the battles. For me, they are like ancient Chinese terracotta warriors. The difference is war brings violence and death and tragedy, while NFL game brings fun and good life for people including players and fans----One for joy and the other for good life. When the worldwide financial crisis didn’t beat NFL, we can believe that NFL could bring the world peace by its popularity among the world in the future. For sports will shorten the distance between you and me.

Falcon Draft Pick Kerry Meier Carries on Brother Dylan's Memory

The Atlanta Falcons didn't know it, but they drafted two players with one pick on Saturday. Kerry Meier will bring his brother with him to the NFL.
Not literally. Dylan Meier was buried Monday, two days after Kerry was taken in the fifth round.
Barely a week had passed since Dylan fell to his death on a hiking trip. The last person to see him before he slipped off the rock was Kerry.
"It's so hard to grasp right now," he said. "It's a surreal experience and something I still don't really feel it happened."
Most of Kansas feels the same way. At least the part that knows football and the Meiers.
They've been called the First Family of Kansas football. Dennis and Valerie Meier produced four boys any coach would love to call his own.
Now the third one, the one who traveled the world looking for new friends and adventure, is being laid to rest in a small Kansas town.
"There isn't a church or any place big enough to accommodate the crowd," Merle Clark said.
He was Dylan's high school coach and gave one of the eulogies Monday. The service was held at Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium, which seats 1,600 people. It's the biggest indoor venue around Pittsburg, Kansas.
As always, mourners tried to make sense of the death. How could a guy who dodged Big 12 conference linebackers, who ran with the bulls in Pamplona, who skydived in the Alps ...
How could he slip off a rock where hikers stop and stare all the time?
Then there is the why. Why did it happen to a 26-year-old who loved life so much?
"He was bright, handsome and athletic. He had it all," Clark said. "He was just out in the country, living life, seeing the beauty of the world. In a sad, ironic way it's fitting."
Dylan MeierDylan (pictured right) was Clark's first quarterback after he became head coach at Pittsburg High. The Meier legacy had already been established. The oldest brother, Shad, played tight end at Kansas State and then six years in the NFL.
Adam was a safety at hometown Pittsburg State, the only university in America with a gorilla for a mascot. Clark said Dylan was the hardest worker of them all.
He'd cajole teammates into staying after practice to catch passes. When that didn't work, he'd stay by himself and throw at the tires by the field.
Dylan suffered a concussion in the state championship game, but he came off the bench and almost led Pittsburg to the win. He fought back from shoulder surgery. He was the team captain as a junior and senior. He was voted the Most Inspirational Player.
You get the idea.
"He was the epitome of what you'd want in a young man," Clark said.
Dylan followed Shad to Kansas State. He became the starting quarterback but reinjured his throwing shoulder. He returned, eventually losing his job to Josh Freeman.
Freeman was a hotshot who would become the No. 1 pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs. Dylan graciously accepted his fate. As good as he was, he knew the NFL was one trip he wouldn't make.
He did the next best thing. He went to NFL Europe for three years. The football was fun, but small-town boy relished places like Barcelona, Frankfurt and London.
"I need to be out enjoying life," he told Clark.
The football portion ended when he hurt his shoulder a third time. The next thing anyone knew, Dylan was in New Zealand. He worked in vineyards for room and board.
"He just did it for the experience," Clark said. "The opportunity to live life."
With his long blond hair, blue eyes and insatiable curiosity, he had no problem making friends. But wherever he went, Dylan always kept up with his younger brother.
Kerry was a lot like Dylan. A good athlete, Kerry Meierthough not a superstar. He played quarterback at Pittsburg High. But Kerry didn't want to be known as the "Little Meier."
He went to Kansas instead of Kansas State. What was sacrilegious to fans was all right by Dylan.
"You couldn't ask for a better guy," Kerry said. "He was very protective of me and looked out for me in every way possible."
Dylan's quarterback dreams were done in by shoulder problems. Kerry's started to wane after doctors at Kansas discovered he had a serious heart condition. He sat out a year after undergoing surgery.
He started eight games as a sophomore, but eventually lost his job. Being a Meier, he turned himself into an all-conference wide receiver. Kerry set a school record with 97 catches last year. All of which had the entire Meier family anticipating the past weekend.
Dylan was home before his next excursion. He had signed up to teach English for a year in Seoul, South Korea. Never mind that he didn't speak a word of Korean. Dylan knew he'd get by.
Everybody except Shad decided to take a quick vacation to the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas. They stopped on a remote trail, a mile from the nearest road. Dylan climbed a rock to get a better view of the gorge and countryside below.
Dylan sat there taking it all in. It wasn't wet. The sandstone rock didn't crumble. He just stood up and lost his footing.
Kerry and Adam were close by, but they weren't close enough to grab him. Dylan fell 94 feet.
A nature photographer who lives in the park was the first to find him. Tim Ernst said Dylan was lying on his side, almost as if he'd fallen asleep.
"The entire scene, it was peaceful, tranquil," he wrote on his blog. "It was almost the kind of scene you felt, well, you really felt you were disturbing the world by being there. Very quiet. Very still. No sound, no wind. Which is really rare out there."
The brothers eventually made it down the gorge and identified Dylan. The last thing Kerry had on his mind was the NFL Draft.
"He pushed me through a lot of tough times growing up," Kerry said. "And he's always been right there for me, carrying me along."
When the phone rang Saturday, he knew it would be his turn to carry Dylan.
"I just want to continue my career in honor of him," Kerry said.
It sounds like a coping mechanism, and maybe that's all it is. Fifth-round picks are no sure bets. When analysts grade the draft, they don't give bonus points for heartache.
But what a person believes, a person believes. Kerry will show up in Atlanta believing he has a higher purpose.
For all the living he packed into his short life, Dylan never had an NFL adventure. Now his little brother wants to give him one.

Titans agree to three-year, $17M contract with DT Brown

NASHVILLE, Tenn. --happy news...The Tennessee Titans and defensive tackle Tony Brown agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $17 million Thursday to keep the restricted free agent with the team.
The Titans had tendered Brown at a first-round level worth $2.61 million, and team officials and the lineman's agent had been working on a long-term deal since February. They finalized the details of a deal that will pay Brown $7.5 million in 2010, and agent Martin Magid said his client was on his way to sign it.
Brown also has played for the Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers in five NFL seasons, but he missed out on unrestricted free agency with the collective bargaining agreement in its final year. That forces players to have six full seasons instead of four to become unrestricted free agents and be able to sign with any team.
Magid said he conceded to a three-year deal and believes Brown will receive another NFL contract in his career. Tennessee is a good fit now for Brown, who played college football at Memphis.
"I don't think that was the ultimate factor. As a restricted guy, you've got some handcuffs on you," Magid said. "We worked hard to get it done, myself and the Titans. They've been very cordial through it, and you agree to disagree. At the end of the day, we came to a conclusion, and Tony's pretty happy."
The Titans originally picked up Brown in October 2006 to fill in during Albert Haynesworth's five-game suspension. The next year, Brown received an extension that kept him on the roster through 2009.
Brown started 15 games last season and had five sacks and a team-high 25 quarterback pressures.He was a Pro Bowl alternate.