The woman said she first become interested in the game while watching the Super Bowl two years ago and found out as much information as she could about the sport.

“She went to our website earlier that week and found out we had games going on in Beijing,” Ho said. “She found out the time and the date and the location and traveled two hours from where she lived to go to the game by herself, just to watch the university flag football. I was really touched by that. I was really encouraged and surprised.”

Long before he showed up in Beijing, Ho’s experiences at Harvard helped give him confidence in his ability to sell a sport to the uninitiated. Before his senior year, Ho, along with the help of several other students, founded People of the Crimson, a student group dedicated to increasing student attendance at athletic events, particularly basketball games.

Fellow founder Hugh Archibald, a senior, said Ho was crucial in the group’s success.

“Cheng was a big part of why People of the Crimson worked properly,” Archibald said. “He is incredibly outgoing and did a lot of the legwork with boosters and others. The best way to describe him is always passionate.”

Harvard coach Tim Murphy said that Ho is now the perfect salesman for the game.

“He’s the perfect guy for a lot of reasons,” Murphy said. “If there is a better salesperson/ambassador for football, I don’t know who it would be. Cheng could sell anything, and I mean that in the most positive way.”