On Oct. 15, 2014 the Orlando Magic hosted an exhibition game "drastically different from any other preseason matchup in Amway Center history," according to Josh Robbins of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. The majority of the 9,308 people inside the arena that night "rooted for the Magic's opponent, Flamengo, a team from Brazil's top professional league." The fans "wore red-and-black Flamengo jerseys," and "waved red-and-black Flamengo flags." The atmosphere "made a profound impression" on Magic and NBA execs. It confirmed their "longstanding opinion" that Brazil, a country of almost 205 million people, "has immense potential as a basketball market." The next several days "will demonstrate how serious the Magic and the NBA are about tapping into the Brazilian market." Wednesday morning, a Magic traveling party of almost 180 people -- "including players, basketball support specialists, team executives, game-night entertainment staff and longtime team employees" -- landed in Rio de Janeiro. The trip offers the Magic and the NBA "a chance to make deeper business inroads in Brazil." Magic CEO Alex Martins said, "It's one thing to say that you send a couple of salespeople down into a market to develop a relationship. But when you actually bring the team, I think that proves to the local marketplace that you're serious about developing a relationship there." The Brazilian market already is an "important component of the Magic's tourism ticket-sales efforts." Last January and February, prime summer-vacation months for Brazilians, the Magic played "several regular season games that drew more than 2,000 ticket-buying fans from Brazil and one game that drew about 3,000 fans from Brazil." In a "pure basketball sense," the Magic "would be better off if they played an NBA team in Brazil instead of a Brazilian team." In a "business sense, however," facing a Brazilian team "should enhance the Magic's profile in the country, partly because the Magic won't have to share the spotlight with another NBA team." The exhibition game against Flamengo "will be televised throughout Brazil and Latin America" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/14).
