DeMarcus Cousins yesterday took his talent to a local hand-shaken drink store in Taipei as part of his efforts to better familiarize himself with Taiwanese culture.
The four-time NBA All-Star nicknamed “Boogie” arrived at the 19 Tea House Yongji Store in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) at about 10:30am and donned the uniform of the chain store to serve as manager for a day, handing out 100 cups of “DeMarcus Cousins Bubble Tea” for free.
Boogie shook the first couple of cups of bubble tea for his fans and asked for on-site feedback, receiving a thumbs-up.
Photo: CNA
“So far the review is seeming to be good. Seeing people enjoy it, I’m very excited that I was able to create success at my first time. It’s a cool thing,” Cousins said. “[Fans in Taiwan] are very welcoming, very hospitable. You make me feel like I’m right at home, you make this transition very very easy for me.”
The chain store publicized the scheduled event on Thursday afternoon and more than 70 fans lined up outside the store at about 9:40am to get a taste of Boogie Special. The crowd only seemed to grow bigger after 11am.
At the head of the line was Dica Yu and a friend, surnamed Huang (黃), who live in Taipei and arrived outside the store at 3:30am.
“It was rumored that he would come to play in Taiwan last year, which didn’t happen and it was such a shame, so I think I have to seize this chance to see him up close,” Huang said.
While Huang said he just hopes Cousins enjoys his time in Taiwan, Yu said he looks forward to seeing the US player argue with referees to hype up the game.
Also in the crowd was Lisa Lee, a 38-year-old mother from Yunlin County, who woke up her daughter at 6am to catch the high-speed rail to Taipei and see Cousins in person.
“I started supporting him when he joined the [NBA’s Golden State] Warriors and was heartbroken to see him get injured then,” said Lee, who has followed Cousins since then, adding that she hopes he can get back in the NBA.
Lee said she has not watched a Cousins game in Taiwan yet, but has purchased a courtside seat ticket to the Taiwan Beer Leopards’ game against the Kaohsiung Aquas today.
Meanwhile, asked about his experience of local dishes, Cousins said he is a big fan of beef noodles and “basically eat[s] it every day” since his arrival on Thursday last week, but stinky tofu is something he has “not had the courage to try yet.”
The day also marked the debut of the chain store’s newly designed cup decorated with a Cousins’ cartoon, which he described as“creative” and “unique.”
“I have no complaint,” he said.
Cups with Cousins’ image are to be used for a month until Feb. 25, 19 Tea House representative Mike Yen (嚴凱彬) said.
Cousins is to suit up for the Leopards at Taoyuan Arena at 4:30pm today and for the game with the Tainan TSG GhostHawks tomorrow, before playing a cross-league exhibition game with the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers in the P.League+ at Hsinchu County Stadium on Tuesday.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS