Don Garber gave up an opportunity to work the Olympics in Los Angeles in order to take a job at NFL Properties. The move worked out all right. He went on to run NFL Europe and then get hired for his current job as commissioner of MLS in 1998. But Garber has had the Olympic bug ever since. He’s attended two Games since ’84 and is making it three this week in Beijing. Garber took some time to share his take on the 2008 Olympics with SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Tripp Mickle before the U.S.-Nigeria soccer match.

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How long are you here?
Garber: I’m here for the first week in Beijing, and my family and I are traveling around the rest of China for another week. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Xiling.

What have you seen?
Garber: I’ve attended badminton. I saw the (Michael) Phelps relay two days ago. Volleyball. Gymnastics tomorrow. Toured the Great Wall, which was a fantastic experience. Tiananmen Square today. It’s one of the most interesting and rapidly changing places in the world, and I wanted to get here and experience some of it.

What are your impressions to date?
Garber: I think it’s unbelievable, incredibly well organized. Logistics are just flawless. People are extremely friendly. Thousands of volunteers appear in seemingly limited security presence. It just really seems very smooth.

What have you noticed about the state of sport here?
Garber: One thing that strikes me is the NBA presence and the basketball presence here is significant. You see kids walking around with NBA jerseys and talking about the sport and the league more so than I had expected. It’s clearly the model without a doubt.

Have you picked up on any things that they did right?
Garber: It’s interesting. I had a tour guide at the (Great) Wall. She was educated here and has never been to the States. She commented about how the NBA had given away their television rights so many years ago and exposed the market to the game early on terrestrial television. Exposure is king in this market, and once you’ve exposed the brand, you can build on it. But that’s no secret. Everyone knows that’s what the NBA did.

Do you look at this marketplace and see business opportunities?
Garber: Without a doubt. (MLS President) Mark Abbott’s been out here a couple of times with Will Chang, who owns D.C. United. We’ve met with the CFA and CCTV and have been looking at ways to expand the presence of the league in China. First on television, but we also think there are some exhibition opportunities particularly with the success the Galaxy have had in Asia. We’re looking to get the champion of the Chinese league into the Pan Pacific Championship, and we’re making progress with those discussions. Like all American business and sports leagues, we believe that this is a market that represents great opportunity.

Have you bumped into anyone here you didn’t expect to see?
Garber: I bumped into Paul Tagliabue at the swimming match. It was just great to see him. It was a great surprise.