Gamblers are betting on AAF
Despite newness of league, bettors excited
Sohei Oshiba leaned over the second-story railing at The Bluff restaurant looking around his photographer to catch a glimpse of Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway.
His red Memphis Hustle hat still had the sticker on its brim, and on his face was an ear-to-ear grin. Oshiba had already been in Memphis for almost a week, but Hardaway's weekly radio show would be his final taste of college basketball before heading home to Japan.
The editor of Japanese basketball magazine Dabudori then spilled his disbelief through broken English. The trip that he planned just three months earlier lived up to everything that he imagined, and turned out to be well worth the risk.
"We did not even know if we would be able to do a cover shoot when we left. We've just been saying, 'please' every day. And, we are here," Oshiba said laughing and shaking his head.
The only thing Oshiba knew for sure he could depend on was that he had a writer, designer, photographer
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Almost no one knows the players and there’s virtually no history to look back on.
But that’s not stopping gamblers from making – and bookmakers from taking – bets on America’s newest professional football league, the Alliance of American Football (AAF).
With one weekend of games under its belt, the league has already drawn interest from some bettors – not nearly the
and translator willing to make the journey halfway across the world to the place they considered to be the Mecca of basketball — Memphis, Tennessee.
It's home to Yuta Watanabe, the second Japenese-born player in the NBA. It's home to James Wiseman, the No. 1 high school recruit in the country. It's home to Hardaway, who to this day stands as one of the most popular basketball figures in Asia.
"That's all I needed," Oshiba said.
How Japan noticed Penny Hardaway
Basketball's popularity spiked in Japan after the 1992 Summer Olympic games that featured the United States' "Dream Team," according to NBA Japan writer Reo Onishi, who doubles as the magazine's translator.
At the time, Hardaway was in his second season with Memphis State, but would soon rise to NBA stardom at the same time Japan was beginning to express more interest in the sport.
"At first, the Chicago Bulls were really big," Onishi said. "But after Jordan's retirement, the NBA fans in Japan were looking for the next Jordan, someone they could root for. Penny had a really good image because he had been to Japan to do Nike (basketball) camps."
In 1996-97, the Orlando Magic played two games against the New Jersey Nets in the Tokyo Dome — typically a baseball stadium — in front of over 38,000 fans. Hardaway led all scorers in both games with 23 and 29 points.
"They were passionate," Hardaway said. "I remember they stayed for the entire game no matter what the score was. They didn't leave individually, they left as entire rows."
Even Hardaway's miniature alterego, Lil Penny, made an appearance on Japanese television leading up to the game, and his signature Foamposite One shoes were available for sale on the island. That fandom eventually expanded away from the basketball court to avid Japanese card collectors. To this day, Hardaway's card has more value in Japan than the United States.
A popular Japanese basketball comic titled "Slam Dunk" has a character who Onishi said was modeled after Hardaway as a tall point guard and a playmaker. As of last year, the comic had sold over 157 million copies worldwide, according to The Japan Times.
"Penny is the superhero of my generation," Oshiba said on the FOX Sports Grizzlies pregame Tuesday. "It was a huge honor to meet him. He was so kind."
Why Japanese media came to Memphis
So it only made sense that Dabudori's first international issue would focus on Hardaway's hometown.
"In Japan, (Hardaway) is as big of a star as any other NBA player," Onishi said.
In each of the five previous volumes, only Japanese players have graced the cover. The sixth will be no different, as Memphis Grizzlies forward Watanabe will be the cover athlete, with Hardaway a centerpiece of the magazine's content.
"We usually don't go by town, we just pick random players," Onishi said, "but for this one, we're making it all about Memphis."
"Currently, (in Japan) Penny is still higher than Yuta, popularity-wise," Onishi said. "A lot of people still don't know about Yuta yet."
Unlike most Japanese magazines, Dabudori emphasizes writing more than photos, sometimes printing stories as long as 20 pages. The coach's featured article will paint what it's like to return to his former school in front of some of the country's most passionate fans.
"We went to the Tigers' game against Cincinnati and we were just astounded by the atmosphere," Onishi said.
Just like Hardaway's radio show Monday night.
"It's better than I expected," Oshiba said.