Indianapolis Region Economic Development Blog

I'm 6 feet tall, and when I was in China a few weeks ago, I was easily one of the tallest people on the street. 

Well, that is definitely not the case on this trip.  Guess that's what happens when you travel with an NBA basketball team.

I'm with the Indiana Pacers on their trip to Taipei and Beijing this week, and even though we've only been in Taiwan for a few hours as I write this, it's already been quite some trip.  For starters, these guys are total rock stars here, and make no mistake, Larry Bird is the lead singer as far as the fans go.  From the moment we got off the plane until we checked into the hotel, the cameras, media and fans have been everywhere, seeking autographs and photographs.

We could probably use a seismic graph as well, given the level of excitement here.  This is the first NBA game ever played in Taiwan.  Hard to believe, given the number of jerseys and other pieces of Pacers memorabilia the fans had at the hotel.  They're really into it.  I feel kind of bad, actually, as I walk through the lobby.  I think I'm just tall enough that from a distance, the fans think I might be somebody; then I get closer, and of course it's disappointing for them, and frankly, a bit embarrassing for me, when they realize their mistake and turn away.  Maybe I'll start wearing a custom-designed T-shirt that saves us both the humiliation:  "Nope: too slow, no range, can't drive to my left, no vertical leap . . . ." 

Someone asked me why I wanted to travel 16,000 to see two exhibition games.  Are you kidding me?  If I took the Indy Partnership's cumulative budget for the next ten years, I couldn't buy the great publicity these two games are going to have for our region in these two key emerging markets.  One of the things I learned on my trip to Shanghai and Hangzhou last month is that most Chinese business people have no idea where Indiana is -- and in all fairness, most Hoosiers couldn't find Hangzhou or Zhejiang Province on a map, either.  So these games, and the publicity leading up to them, will give Chinese viewers a much better sense of our community.  Although I have to tell you this:  they may not know where Indiana is, but they know that Reggie Miller played for us, and that Larry Bird is with the team now.  If you go to our Chinese language website -- www.indypartnership.com.cn -- you'll now understand why Reggie is in our marketing materials. 

I'm told that at least 50 million Chinese are expected to watch the TV broadcast of the game in Beijing next Sunday (I don't have the estimates for the game here in Taiwan).   To put that in context:  the only sporting event that gets a larger audience than that in the United States is the Super Bowl.  Monday Night Football averages about 12 million viewers.

On top of the PR from the game, the NBA is hosting a VIP reception in each city the night before the game, with the invitation list including top government and business leaders.  I'll be there, with hundreds of Chinese-language business cards in my pocket, hoping to begin conversations and relationships that lead to new business opportunities in our region.  

So the Taipei reception is tomorrow night.  We'll be doing some tours and other events around the city during the day, with the Pacers as the main act and the rest of us bringing up the entourage.  It's tip-off time for Indiana, in more ways than one.