Dog says: Just wait till next year, Master Po

In November, I wrote about the passions aroused by college-level "American football" in the United States. I compared and contrasted this sport, known as ganlanqiu or "olive ball" in China because of the ball's shape, with the system of scholastic athletics here.

For those who haven't heard, my wife's college-level team, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and my university, the Georgia Bulldogs, made it through their semifinals and recently played each other in the national championship game. It was a hard-fought game and Alabama - for years the sport's dominant team - pulled out a 26-23 win in overtime.

It was a tough loss to swallow, and those who would deny the validity of its sting because it's "just a game" clearly don't understand sports. (That said, it's clearly important to remain within the boundary of good sportsmanship. Note: My wife and I are still talking to each other.) Sports is important enough that President Xi Jinping has made it a priority to build China into a soccer contender befitting its status as a rising power.