The annual Mid-Autumn Festival, a Chinese harvest festival, came all the way to Philadelphia this year, with the Philadelphia 76ers partnering with the Temple University International Affairs office for the team’s first trip to China.
The 76ers and Temple plan to promote each other overseas, where the basketball team will play two preseason games. As part of the NBA China Games 2018, the Philadelphia 76ers will face the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, Oct. 5 in Shanghai and again on Monday, Oct. 8 in Shenzhen, China.
“We could not be more thrilled to embark on this journey than with Temple University,” said Chad Biggs, the senior vice president of corporate partnerships and activation for the 76ers. “Our shared commitment with China will certainly help both of our organizations strengthen their ties and extend their reach in the country.”
Temple and the 76ers hosted a joint media luncheon on Monday at the 76ers training complex in Camden, New Jersey, at which they officially announced their partnership amidst a Chinese food buffet that included mooncakes.
About 40 people attended the event, including Temple faculty members like Provost JoAnne Epps and representatives from Governor Tom Wolf’s office.
The partnership will continue until Feb. 5, when Temple will host the 76ers’ annual Chinese New Year Celebration Game. The university also hosted this event in February 2016, when the 76ers took on the Los Angeles Clippers.
But Biggs said international games are just one piece of the partnership.
“The relationships and the experience [Temple has] in the market having done business there since 1979, they can help us and we can help them,” he added. “We expect this to be a long-term relationship and we’re looking forward to it.”
Temple began making its mark in China in the late 1970s, when it became one of the earliest U.S. universities to establish a presence there. Hai-Lung Dai, the senior vice provost for academic affairs at Temple, said the university has many meaningful relations with Chinese institutions.
“We have 1,400 students from China at Temple,” Dai said. “That means one in every 28 students is from China.”
While Temple already had connections with Chinese institutions, senior sports and recreation management major Allen Qi played a critical role in establishing this partnership. Qi started working as a digital content associate for the 76ers in December, and is now helping to connect the team to Chinese institutions.
Qi said he is the only Mandarin-speaking employee in the company and helps the 76ers establish partnerships with Chinese organizations.
“I have to bridge all three partners, China, Temple, and the Sixers, together,” he added.
In China, basketball has spiked in popularity over the last year, with more than 700 million viewers watching televised NBA games. Given these trends, both the 76ers and Temple’s International Affairs office are looking to broaden their presence in the Chinese market.
For 76ers forward Robert Covington, the cultural partnership will benefit everyone involved.
“Having an opportunity to go [to China] is a blessing because you never know the impact you can have,” Covington said. “Basketball is so prevalent over there, so…they’ll give us an experience and we’ll give them the best experience of their lives as well.”
天普大学与费城七十六人队建立国际化合作
天普大学与费城七十六人队建立国际化合作
翻译： 陈隽冉
费城不仅迎来了一年一度的中秋节，中国庆祝丰收的节日，同时迎来费城76人与天普大学国际事务办公室合作的首次访问中国。
76人队和天普大学计划在海外，球队将参加两场季前赛的地方，互相推广。作为2018NBA中国赛的一部分，费城76人将于10月5日星期五在上海与10月8日星期一在深圳面对达拉斯小牛队。
“没有比我们比与天普大学开始这一旅程更激动人心的事了，”76人队的企业合作伙伴关系和激活高级副总裁查德比格斯说， “我们与中国的共同承诺无疑将有助于我们两个组织加强联系并扩大在中国的影响力。”
本周一天普大学和76人队在新泽西州卡姆登的76人训练中心举行了一次联合媒体午餐会。在中秋节传统食品月饼的陪伴下，他们正式宣布了建立合作伙伴关系。
大约40人参加了此次活动，其中包括天普大学教务长JoAnne Epps和州长Tom Wolf办公室的代表。
合作关系将持续到2月5日，届时Temple将举办76人年度中国新年庆典比赛。大学曾于2016年2月举办了此次活动，当时76人队战胜了洛杉矶快船队。
但比格斯表示，国际比赛只是合作的一部分。
“自1979年以来，（天普在）已经用市场的关系和经验在那里开展业务，他们可以帮助我们，我们也可以帮助他们，”他补充说。 “我们希望这是一种长期关系，我们也很期待这次合作。”
20世纪70年代末，天普大学开始在中国成名，当时它成为最早在美国建立存在的大学之一。 天普的高级副教务长戴海龙表示，大学与中国机构有很多有意义的关系。
“我们天普有1400名来自中国的学生，”戴说。 “这意味着每28名学生中就有一名来自中国。”
虽然天普已经与中国机构有许多联系，但体育和娱乐管理专业的大四学生Allen Qi在建立这种伙伴关系方面发挥了关键作用。 Qi于去年12月开始为76人队担任数据内容助理，目前正在帮助团队与中国机构建立联系。
Qi说，他是公司唯一讲中文普通话的员工，工作是帮助76人与中国组织建立合作关系。
“我必须将所有三个伙伴，中国，天普大学和76人队连在一起，”他补充说。
在中国，篮球迷的数量在过去一年中飙升，超过7亿观众观看电视转播的NBA比赛。鉴于这些趋势，76人和天普的国际事务办公室都希望扩大他们在中国市场的影响力。
对于76人队前锋罗伯特·科文顿来说，文化伙伴关系将使所有参与者受益。
“有这样的机会去[中国]是一种幸运，因为你永远不会知道你可以有多大的影响力，”科文顿说。 “篮球在那里非常普遍，所以…他们会给我们一次经历，我们也会给他们人生中最好的一次体验。”
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