4th and 9 in Shanghai?

Byline: The Register-Guard

Ping-pong diplomacy it ain't. But a University of Oregon athletic department proposal to play a football game in China to open the 2009 season is still an intriguing - and, yes, fun - idea that's worth exploring.

No one should pretend for a Beijing second that the university's bottom line motivation has anything to do with exposing UO athletes and students to Chinese culture - or Chinese fans to an American college experience that includes cleated behemoths, pyramid-building cheerleaders, high-stepping trombonists and the endless intricacies of instant replay (helpful hint for UO Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny - don't invite Oklahoma on this trip).

Ultimately, this is all about marketing the "O." It's international branding, pure and simple. Going to China would be an unprecedented, headline- and magazine-cover-grabbing move by an athletic department that has become famous - and, at times, infamous - for such moves.

After all, this is the same institution that six years ago plastered a skyscraper with a billboard of quarterback Joey Harrington to promote his Heisman candidacy. That built a locker room at Autzen Stadium that includes flat-screen TVs, video game hookups for players and furnishings fit for the Tour of Homes.

Of course, there's cutting-edge marketing and there's over-the-edge marketing. A China trek for the UO football team probably would fit the former category, since it would involve an actual athletic endeavor and give the UO an opportunity to spread the gospel about its athletic - and maybe even its academic - programs from an international pulpit.

Finding corporate sponsors to cover the entire tab would be a prerequisite. Absolutely no one would be surprised if Nike co-founder Phil Knight doesn't seize this opportunity to gain international exposure for his alma mater and a football team that has become synonymous with the swoosh.

Then there's the matter of finding a willing opponent. It's hard to believe that Boise State University, currently scheduled to open the 2009 season at home against the UO, wouldn't jump at the opportunity to play in China - and the lucrative TV contract that might come with it.

Anyone looking for other justifications needn't look hard. Hundreds of athletes, cheerleaders, band members and others would gain international exposure that might otherwise be unavailable to them. There might be opportunities to promote the UO's academic programs, something the university already has done in China with marked success.

There also may be ways to expand already substantial economic ties between the state of Oregon and China.

And, who knows, perhaps there's a 390-pound Chinese high school kid who can run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.5 seconds and who, after watching the Ducks thrash the Boise State Broncos, might decide that American football is just the sport - and the UO just the school - for him.

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