American football is breaking its national boundaries to win over millions of fans in a country not known for its prowess in team sports

As NFL superstar Peyton Manning emerged from behind a black screen on an auditorium stage, hundreds of fans dressed in American football attire and brandishing an assortment of paraphernalia went wild with raucous cheers and deafening applause.

While this would not be an unusual scene in the United States, this particular event took place last Sunday in Metro City, a shopping mall in Shanghai's Xuhui district. Furthermore, the majority of those in attendance at this one-hour fan forum were Chinese.