While many Chinese are still apprehensive about trying out a sport that they consider too violent and foreign, amateur American football teams have intriguingly been sprouting up across the country

American football players from the Shanghai Warriors practice scrimmaging. Photos by Alywin Chew / China Daily

As the confetti and streamers shot up in the air, tears of jubilation rolled down the cheeks of the players from Shanghai Warriors.

To Owen Yan, the team's 6-foot-3 defensive end, the triumph over local rivals Shanghai Nighthawks in the American Football League of China (AFLC) Championships on January 16 this year was redemption three years in the waiting.

"We were the favorites to win the very first season but the Chongqing Dockers narrowly beat us in the championship game. We've waited a long time for this," said Yan, one of the Warriors' co-founders.

"But that's football - it's like life. There are times when you win and times when you lose. It's about accepting failure and learning how to stand again when you're down."

Though there was a gamut of emotions on the field, this was hardly an event that could be mentioned in the same breath as the Super Bowl. After all, there were only 4,000 people in attendance at Shanghai's Yuanshen Sports Centre Stadium.

Taking a step back, one would however realize that this was merely an amateur league championship for American football. In China, no less.

Of all the events that China had medaled in at this year's Olympics in Brazil, only volleyball and synchronized swimming could be considered team sports.

Yan, a 32-year-old pharmaceutical sales professional from Chengdu, Sichuan province, needs to pay an annual team membership fee of about 1,000 yuan ($149.76). When he travels to other Chinese cities for competition, the cost of train tickets and motel stays is his to bear.

The Shanghai Warriors only has one sponsor at the moment - a sports bar in Shanghai called Big Bamboo that's better known for its nachos than endorsements.

And then there's the fact that the crowd attendance at the inaugural 2013-2014 championships was a dismal 100 people.

On the ground, this year's turnout has been heralded as an achievement that is nothing short of phenomenal.

Spicy origins in China

The roots of the AFLC, the first amateur league for the sport in China, could be traced back to 2012 in Chongqing where Chris McLaurin began his foray into the world of American football in China.

McLaurin, one of the AFLC's cofounders and a former tight end for the Michigan Wolverines, was first introduced to the Chongqing Dockers, a group of local football enthusiasts, by the liaison from the State-owned private equity firm he worked at as part of his Luce Scholarship exchange program.

"No one had equipment back then. They were just practicing their throws, learning how to line up and get into stance. It was all fundamental stuff," said McLaurin.

"After practice they would hit the hot pot joints. I still remember going to practice after a night of eating hotpot and losing guys to the bathroom."

But things got serious soon after McLaurin joined. After a few months, the American was appointed head coach of the team. He even went on a recruitment drive in shopping malls dressed in football gear.

By November 2012, the Chongqing Dockers were playing proper football, even beating the Hong Kong Warhawks 32-0. A month later, the Dockers played the Chengdu Mustangs and won again.

But McLaurin was not content. He opened his phone book and called up several contacts he knew were playing American football in China and arranged for a get-together in Shanghai during the summer of 2013.

As it turned out, everyone was keen on playing in a league. McLaurin and James Fitzgerald, another American who was coaching the Dockers, then started creating rule books and draft schedules. In October that year, the inaugural AFLC season kicked off with eight teams.

McLaurin went back to the United States in 2014 and later became the commissioner of the AFLC. He is currently based in Shanghai as the CEO of the American Football Association, a new company established this year which is backed by an American investor.

Potential of the Chinese market

The fourth and latest AFLC season (2016-2017) which kicked off on August 27 features 14 teams and the biggest representation in Chinese mainland comes from Shanghai which has three outfits.

The Nighthawks, Warriors and Titans have always been known to be hard to beat, mainly because of their local-foreigner ratio, a result of the city's cosmopolitan nature. To level the playing field, the AFLC has mandated that only five foreigners per team are allowed on the field at any point in time.

Yan wasn't shy to admit that part of the reason his side managed to win the championship was due to the slight edge they have in terms of experience, provided by their foreign players which make up half of the 60-strong team.

Membership numbers across most teams in the league have risen considerably since the first AFLC season. Yan said this is due to a rapidly rising interest in the sport, thanks to the country's economic progress.

"Now that China is wealthy, more people are interested in experiencing all sorts of arts and cultural activities. It's the same for sports," said Yan.

Other factors that have played a part include the central government's efforts to promote sports as an integral part of modern lifestyle, as well as the promotional efforts of NflChina, the Chinese arm of the American football governing body.

According to NflChina, the Chinese fan base for the sport had soared by more than 400 percent since it entered the country in 2007. Richard Young, managing director of NflChina, was quoted earlier this year saying that the average views for the Super Bowl in China over the past five years have been around 12 million.

The organization also flies big names into China such as Nfllegends Joe Montana and Barry Sanders. If everything goes according to plan, the Nflcould be hosting its first ever regular season game in China in 2018.

Mark Dreyer, the founder of China Sports Insider, said that it is very unlikely the Nflwill ever become as popular as the NBA, though he does believe that American football can nonetheless garner a significant fan base in the coming years.

"It will be very interesting to see how the long-rumored first game in China will be received by sports fans here. The Nflhas targeted only a handful of countries outside the US rather than going for growth all around the world, and this should allow them to localize the product better for China," said Dreyer.