Dr. Stephen Mosher is a professor at Ithaca College and coordinates the Sport Studies Program in the Department of Sport Management & Media. Mosher has taught an Olympic course every Olympic year since ’88. Mosher arrived in Beijing on July 23 and will be departing on Saturday after a 16-day visit.

During his time in Beijing, he trained Ithaca students who are volunteers for the Olympic News Service and traveled and observed the city as it prepared to host the Games. Mosher took time to speak one last time with SBJ/SBD via e-mail before he leaves to come back to the U.S.

One of the many press areas

Can you elaborate on your tour of the Main Press Center (MPC) and International Broadcast Center (IBC)?

Mosher: The tour of the MPC/IBC was arranged for all of the professors from the U.S. colleges supplying ONS volunteer reporters. I was in a group of 14 others. Security was very tight. I had to surrender my passport in order to gain access to the area. The Main Press Center is housed in what will become the Beijing Convention Center. The building looks like any convention center in any big U.S. city. It is attached to the two main hotels. The most impressive part of the building is the main press room that has over 900 computer workstations. The interview areas are first rate. I saw the Australian tennis players being interviewed in one room and the entire U.S. men’s gymnastics team in the main room.

The International Broadcast Center is even more impressive. The need to control temperature to protect the electronics makes the building seem very cold. The NBC facility is enormous and contains everything and anything you could imagine needing. NBC even has its own commissary serving 24/7. They have their own Starbucks!
What is most impressive about both facilities is also, in my mind, the most depressing. It’s absolutely clear to me that one could stay in the hotel and the workplace and never even have to go outside. I’m sure many of the press will do so. They will never see anything of the real Beijing and China. Also, the fire hydrants in both buildings all had their brand name covered with an Olympic stick on. That’s how good the Chinese are at preventing ambush marketing. There’s also a Brand Protection Office in the MPC!

What U.S. sport is the most dominant in China right now? Why do you think this is?

Mosher: Without a doubt basketball is the overwhelming sport of choice for young people. The city seems populated with a never-ending series of boys, men and even some women wearing player jerseys. Since basketball is so cheap to play and easy to practice (one can do so alone) just about every kid in China tries it. The college students I talk to think the Chinese men’s team won’t medal. All they care about is the Dream Team. Not one person I asked could tell me the name of a single women’s basketball player for any team, including China. The NFL has absolutely zero influence among the young people I saw. Only one person had an NFL jersey (the New England Patriots). Australian Rules Football and rugby have a much greater presence. Baseball is also a blip on the radar.

You mentioned that the NBA has a dominant presence in China, and with rumors of NBA players going overseas to play for more money, do you think this is feasible? Do Asia and Europe have a legitimate threat against the NBA?

Mosher: I would suspect that more and more second-tier U.S.-born NBA prospects would sign with clubs in Asia and Europe. The money may not be as much, but the opportunity to live in another culture strikes many 20-year-olds as an adventure. I also think that the U.S. is an incredibly unfair culture to athletes of color. What I do see is that if the Chinese government wants to invest in training basketball players, China will dominate the sport in 20 years. When you have a nation four times larger and a much larger group of poor people, how can you not dominate?

The NBA continues to dominate 15- to 25-year-olds in China.

Mosher: Thanks to Barry Silberman for the shout-out. As I said above, the NBA dominates the 15-25 male demographic. It seems to be all they care about in U.S. culture, except for the fast food and hip hop music. I played some pick-up basketball this week with kids who can jump through the roof, love to pass, adopt NBA player signature moves … but they hate contact. Even at 58, I could box out just about anyone … and they even got out of my way when I drove to the hoop.

Once you are back in the U.S., what issues will you try to follow closely throughout the Games?

Mosher: I will follow my students’ experiences via cable TV or the Web. It would be cool to see these youngsters in their ONS bibs waiting for the chance to interview a fencer, water polo or handball player. After experiencing CCTV pre-coverage of the Olympic Games and issues of social justice, human rights and smog, I will be looking at U.S. coverage to see another perspective.

How will watching the Games on TV impact you since you have experienced the city, atmosphere and facilities in person? How do you think NBC's telecast of these Games will do?

Mosher: I think that there are enough human interest stories in the first week that NBC’s audience will build. Since swimming dominates the first week, the Michael Phelps story could be enormous. The Lopez Lemong (from Tully, N.Y., via Sudan) flagbearer story is nothing short of remarkable … it should dominate the first night!

Overall, I think that NBC sees the future and is putting more content on the Web and cable than on traditional prime-time TV. I think they will make their money back, but the days of blockbuster nights for 16 days are over. It’s one of the reasons why so many Olympic sponsors are hedging their bets for the next cycle.

What was your favorite activity you participated in while in Beijing?

Mosher: My favorite activity was riding the subway. There were just so many opportunities to watch closely to the little human dramas among boyfriend and girlfriend, parent and child, etc. I was really struck by just how much parents shower their kids with love and attention. The one-child-per-family rule results in doting parents who place all their dreams in one little person. I enjoyed trying to figure out who the secret police were. My second favorite activity was eating Chinese food. The variety is amazing. I also enjoyed tremendously watching how the ONS works and what it takes to get quotes up on their site for distribution to the print media. In less than 15 minutes after the interview is over, stories have been filed and quotes obtained. And at least four editors after the ONS volunteer gets the quotes begin to shape the story. Our IC students are in the trenches. 

What were your favorite and least favorite meals?

Mosher: Most favorite — traditional Chinese hot pot. … But all the food has been wonderful. Least favorite — I had to buy pizza one night for the students. The local beer is weak! I have managed to avoid McDonald's, KFC or Subway for my entire stay!

"Kung Fu Panda" is currently playing in Beijing theaters.

Mosher: The movie "Kung Fu Panda" is playing in theaters right now … after a long public discussion about letting it in, given its cultural assumptions about China. There have been a few minor silent protests.

What is your final impression of Beijing as a city, government and the Games?

Mosher: Beijing is big but clearly on the way to becoming one of the most significant cities in the world. The government makes decisions without much consideration of individuals. It is intent on bringing China to the front of the world’s economy. The Games seem to me to resemble a supernova about to collapse on its own weight. It is too big, too authoritarian, too in love with itself and its preposterous claim that it does sport the “right” way. If it does not adapt, the Olympic Movement is about to become a “was” in a world of “is.”