I arrived at the USA-China men’s basketball game hungry and looking for dinner. I figured I’d just grab something at the stadium, sample the local fare. That was a big mistake.

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Apparently, the Chinese are unaccustomed to selling concessions at sporting events. When they designed the arena, they didn’t even include concession stands in their plans. They added six alcoves around the concourse later at AEG and the NBA’s request. The alcoves were open, not closed, and equipped with a counter like a concession stand in the States, so BOCOG set up registers on top of folding tables and sold drinks and pre-packaged products.

The hot dogs they sold came on a stick and they looked more like Vienna Sausages than a Ball Park Frank. Buying one was an ordeal.

First, you waited in line, placed an order and paid the cashier. Then she gave you a receipt and pointed you to another line where you waited for your “hot dog” on a stick. That line I stood in was 10 deep and not moving.

“Another example of how China’s ass backward,” a guy fumed in front of me.

I wound up trashing my receipt and buying a package of Ritz crackers instead. It was a great meal. I guess the upside of the concessions in China for people attending the game was that beer was 8 yuan, or roughly $1. But I was looking for food, not a drink.

AEG And The NBA: Trailblazing Modern Sports Business In China

AEG and the NBA have a challenge on their hands in China. The market is totally unaccustomed to Western sports business practices, and they’re going to be selling a lot of firsts — hot food service from concession stands, beer that costs more than a dollar, all-inclusive suites, founding partnerships, a naming-rights partner.

It’s a lot to undertake in a market where all of those things are completely foreign. I’m sure the Chinese will pick up on them quickly, but it will take some time and patience on the part of AEG and the NBA.

Big-Name Business Ballers At Hoops Game

President George Bush and China President Hu Jintao may have gotten the most attention on TV during the USA-China basketball game, but there were a lot of other big names from the business and sports business worlds in the stands as well, including former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell.

Student Needing Cheap Ticket Equals Instant Celebrity

If you ever want to create a scene in China, just hold up a sign.

Nick Coelius, 21, found that out before the USA-China game. The UC-Berkeley student held up a cardboard sign that read, “Student needs tickets, please” and found himself surrounded by a crowd of 15 Chinese people on the sidewalk outside the arena. Some stared. Others took photos.

As the rain poured down on him and his sign crumbled, Coelius smiled. “I’m a minor celebrity,” he said. “It’s great.”

Chinese People Revere Cheerleaders

When people in the U.S. go to an NBA game, they talk and move about when the cheerleaders come out to dance during timeouts. Not in China.

During the USA-China basketball game, the Chinese spectators watched the cheerleaders with as much interest as they watched Dwyane Wade and Yao Ming. Hardly anyone spoke, and a lot of people took photos. Then, when the dancers finished, they applauded, as though they’d just seen a stunning opera performance at the Met.

Even weirder was the Olympic Dream Dancers’ routine to classical music. That’s right, a group of cheerleaders clad in halter tops and black spandex pants rolled basketballs down their arms and pirouetted across the court as classical music played.