英语畅谈中国文化 50 主题 第 50 章 NBA：Popular or Privileged？NBA：大众还是精英？A: Last year, a group of us went to Miami for a vacation. The hotel receptionist suggested we should go and see a NBA game. I was surprised when she said it only cost S 10 per person. When the Sacramento Kings, and Houston Rockets, came to China for a pre-season game in 2004, it cost well over 1, 000 yuan for a ticket. That's about $ 120, and, even at that price; they were very difficult to buy.B: NBA is part of American culture. There are different kinds of tickets to cater to different needs. The season tickets, and group tickets, are fairly inexpensive but, the VIP tickets do cost a lot of money. A: I remember watching some Chinese businessmen discussing NBA's marketing strategy in China with an American NBA representative on TV last year. One of the businessmen displayed some expensive NBA souvenirs he had received, when visiting the US as an NBA guest. The TV host asked the audience if they were willing to pay for such expensive gifts and a couple of, 20-something, young men said they'd buy them anyway. Only one person said the souvenirs were too expensive and he would never buy them. The businessman explained that NBA was a costly sport and that's why the souvenirs were expensive. When asked about his opinions, the NBA representative replied that, NBA is a very popular sport. Various kinds of souvenirs are available, from a few dollars a piece to, over, one thousand dollars an item. Everyone can find something to meet their budget.B: Using a staggered pricing strategy to attract different customers is a normal characteristic of a market economy. A: It is different from a class-conscious society where people are segregated by social status, as was the case in medieval Europe, and ancient China. At that time art products were for the exclusive consumption of the privileged. Ordinary people were denied access to those things because they lacked power and money. Even today,some people in China still seem to be under the influence of this status mentality. Ironically, it is not the bureaucrats but, the so-called elites, who hang on to this idea. These people are well educated, have a successful career, and are very vocal in the public arena. They are interested in cultural events that are exclusively for the privileged and the wealthy. For example, tennis used to be a sport for the privileged and now, it is golf. So much so that some University Presidents feel obliged to play golf in order to become a member of the elite class.
