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Latino Athletes in American Sports

One of the up and coming fields of study across the nation is Latino Studies; however this study of the Latino and Latina culture is lacking an approach to the ways in which sports have interacted with the Latino/a community in the United States. For the sake of this article, a Latino/a is anyone who can trace ancestry back to any country in Central or South America, as well as Caribbean Islands that speak Spanish, however the majority of this article will be focusing on athletes who hail from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Latinos have had a large impact on American sports in a variety of ways and in varying sports. In baseball, Latinos make up the largest minority group and many Latinos have become stars in the league. In 2008, twenty seven percent of MLB players were of Latino heritage. Other sports such as basketball, hockey, and football are seeing a rise in the participation of Latino/a athletes, although they still remain a minority within the leagues. Latino/as have also been able to make their mark on other sports such as golf, women’s basketball, and soccer, showing that they are a force across many sports and have had a definite impact on their respective games.

Soccer

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It is also the most popular sport in the majority of Latino countries. The world cup is arguably the most prolific tournament for a single sport in the world. Since 1930, there has been a competition every four years to see which country is the best at soccer (excluding 1942 and 1946 due to World War II). The first world cup actually took place in a Latino country, Uruguay. This specific completion involved thirteen teams including eight countries from South and Central America, so more than half of the tournament involved Latin American Countries. Uruguay ended up winning the world cup that year and in 1950. The only other Latin American country to win the world cup is Argentina, who was victorious in 1978 and 1986. Having mentioned that, only seven countries in the world have actually won the world cup, so Latino countries have put for more than their fair share of representation. Latino countries that have hosted the event besides Uruguay are Chile in 1962 and Mexico in 1970 and 1986. It is evident that the world cup is the sport’s greatest stage, and Latino Countries have had a great impact on its history and growth.

Latino Impact in the MLS

Latinos impact on soccer within the United States has a greater impact on soccer’s impact on Latinos because of the United States. Basketball, Baseball and Football were all created in the United States, so the sport took time to spread throughout these Latino countries to gain popularity. Soccer, on the other hand, was invented much earlier than these sports, and was not created in the United States. This is one possible explanation for why soccer is not quite as popular in the United States as it is in the majority of the world. One problem for soccer within the country is the fact that the MLS (Major League Soccer) has not been nearly as successful as other countries’ premier leagues. In this way, the United States does not have as many people immigrating to the country to play soccer, because the best player will want to travel to better leagues, such as those of England, Spain and Italy. The fact that the MLS is not as prolific of a league is enlarged by the fact that the payrolls of other leagues are much greater. Most salaries in 2008 for those playing in the MLS were below $100,000 per year, a very low figure for a professional sport. These combined truths have made kids either dream about playing soccer abroad, or just play an entirely different sport. Few dream about having great careers in the MLS <refname="MLS">(mlsplayers.org)</ref>. There is plenty of potential growth for soccer in the United States. The easiest route would be for the United States to get the Latino community more involved with the MLS. As Latinos are now the fastest growing minorities in the country, the initiative to get them more involved would show promise. As it stands now, there are fifteen teams in the MLS while one of them is located outside the United States in Toronto, because Canada does not have a national league. Of these fourteen U.S. teams, seven of them are located in areas with a high Latino concentration. Los Angeles is home to two teams, while Chicago, New York, San Jose, Dallas and Houston also boast teams in the MLS.

Future Latino Impact in the MLS

Some of these areas have already started to increase the involvement of surrounding Latinos. Take Houston for example. The Houston Dynamo has a fan support that is about fifty percent Latino. Of the areas local youth talent, about ninety percent are of Latino descent. Yet the team itself only has a few players that have any sort of Latino background. <refname="Soccer Needs">(http://juantornoe .blogs.com/hispanictrending/2009/07/us-soccer-needs-hispanic-talent-to-succeed.html)</ref>. They insist that support from Latinos must go beyond the ticket sales as they try to create a Latino friendly atmosphere within the stadium. Houston is not the only team who is trying to accommodate their Latino fan base. The Columbus Crew, a team in an area that is not known for having a huge Latino population, has started broadcasting its games on Spanish Language Radio. Executives in the front office of the MLS are hoping that other teams follow such initiative. In the past there have been Hispanic Heritage Nights to help promote the league to new levels of popularity <refname="hmw">(http://www.hispanicmarketweekly.com/featureArticle.cms?id=1558)</ref>. FIFA has actually changed restrictions that make it easier to play in the U.S. but still play for your home country. Arturo Alvarez was born in America and plays for San Jose in the MLS. Yet in international play, he is allowed to represent El Salvador, where his parents are from. In this way, he is allowed to play for a country where he has never resided. Maybe, there will be more players like Alvarez, who will stay in the United States professionally, but will use his parents’ country for pride and glory in international play. He does not feel the need to try to play overseas and get the better recognition. <refname="culture of soccer"> (http://cultureofsoccer.com/2009/11/02/united-states-importer-or-exporter-of-talent/#more-821)</ref> The MLS is missing something key elements that it must get before it is among the world’s elite. Most of those missing components would be helped if there was increased popularity of the sport within the United States itself, and the country can look to its Latino citizens to help the process. Sports figures such as Lebron James and Tiger Woods, are highly marketable players in their respective sports basketball and golf. Along with their impeccable talent, their name brings in plenty of recognition with sponsors and such. Many kids wear Air Jordan Basketball shoes, after the famous Michael Jordan. Even the National Hockey League, the least popular of the four major U.S. sports (soccer is not one of the four major professional sports in the United States), has had mild success by choosing such a poster child. The popularity of Sidney Crosby, who was tabbed as the next great one, and a very successful video game in NHL 2009, have helped increase interest in the sport of hockey in the United States. MLS thought it was onto something when David Beckham signed a deal with the L.A. Galaxy. Unfortunately, things have not panned out as hoped with Beckham and the MLS is still looking for its “Tiger Woods”. A player with potential to become an icon for the MLS is Mexican Cuauhtemoc Blanco. As a striker for the Chicago Fire, he earned over 2.8 million dollars last year and led the league in many statistical categories. As for marketing in video games, FIFA 09 was very successful as well. Compared to the NHL 09, their focuses within the U.S. are very different. MLS is below many leagues in skill level on the video game as well, so kids are more likely to choose teams in Spanish or English leagues, or just countries themselves. It would be better to market a specific MLS video game to increase this popularity, and with Cuauhtemoc Blanco on the cover, it would stand a fighting chance to become successful. There have been plenty of other Latino influences in the present, and potentially in the future for the sport in the United States. One team in the MLS recently changed its name to Chivas USA, which is comparable to Chivas Guadalajara in the Mexican National League. It is also important that this team was the second team to reside in Los Angeles, a city with a high concentration of Latinos. The MLS has recognized what it needs to do in the future to succeed, and our hoping to do so, with the help from the Latino population.

The NBA

The NBA is the premier basketball league in America. For a long time it was a sport dominated by white Americans and it wasn't very popular amongst Latin American countries. That all changed with the arrival of the Nuyoricans. They were Puerto Ricans who had immigrated to New York in search of a better life and while there discovered the sport of basketball. They brought the sport back with them to the island and it became immensely popular. For many young Latino/as who come to the United States as immigrants, sports is one way to connect with people their own age, both of their race and of other races. Sports is also a universal unifier, even if two people speak different languages, they can both speak the language of basketball when they are on the court. Sports became a way for many Latinos to immerse themselves in American culture and not feel so alienated. It helped Americans realize that Latinos enjoy the same sports that American’s do, and sports even made it possible for many of the role models of young Americans be Latinos. Names such as David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Manu Ginobli are easily recognizable by a large portion of America’s youth, regardless of ethnicity. Today, programs like La Liga del Barrio, a youth basketball league in Philadelphia are created to encourage Latino/a youth to participate in sports, and to teach them the importance of discipline and education. [1]

• Basketball in Latin America

One of the countries hit hardest by basketball fever is the tiny nation of Belize. Even though it is one of the smaller countries in Central America, it has one of the strongest basketball followings. The sport is so popular that NBA TV is offered as part of basic cable packages in Belize, whereas in America NBA TV is a premium channel that must be specially ordered.

Argentina has quickly emerged as one of the premier Latin American basketball playing countries. With NBA stars like Manu Ginobli and Andres Nocioni the Argentinean National team was able to capture gold medals at the 2004 Olympics. The dominance of the Argentinean team showed the world that the sport was no longer just dominated by Americans, and it opened the door for other Latin American countries to increase interest in basketball. World wide recognition of basketball began in 1992 when the American "Dream Team," the name of the Olympic basketball team, swept the Olympic games blowing out every country they played. The team was made up of the best players America had to offer and because they won the gold medal so handily, the rest of the world took notice and the sport of basketball was spread to more cultures than ever before. Since then, the NBA has taken steps to build on and increase the Latino fan base.

Future of Latinos in NBA

Due to the increase in Latino participation and interest in the sport of basketball, the NBA has begun new marketing programs to capitalize on the oppurtunity.

• Noche Latina

This is a Latino/a themed event put on by the NBA in the highest Latino markets around the country. In 2008 Noche Latina visited Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Chicago, and New York . Each of the teams from these cities wore special jerseys to commemorate the night in which the team names were translated into Spanish. Aside from the uniform changes, the night includes Latino themed NBA events that incorporate music food and other aspects of Latino culture. This is a large step for the NBA which was once a predominately white league, although with the large increase in Latino participation and cities such as San Antonio having large Latino populations the NBA has decided to capitalize on the market.

• Ene-Be-a

The Ene-Be-a is the spanish translation of "NBA," and is a multimedia marketing campaign targeted specifically at Latino/a NBA fans. By taking the time and money to create an entirely separate marketing campaign, the NBA is showing the Latino community that it values it as a fan and supporter. On the wesbite for Ene-Be-A, fans can buy jerseys of their favorite Latino NBA stars such as Manu Ginobli and Francisco Garcia.

• Fiesta Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers play in one of the most heavily populated Latino cities in the country and as such have devoted a yearly festival to celebrate the Latino community. It is a city wide party that incorporates the Lakers' organization along with the culture of the Latino community. The event began in 2001 when former Laker Mark Madsen was addressing the predominately Latino crowd following the Lakers' 2001 Championship Parade. Madsen decided to address the crowd in Spanish, a skill he picked up as a missionary, and the response was tremendous. Since that day the Lakers have decided to celebrate the Latino community that supports them every year with a specifically Latino celebration. By conducting an event specifically targeted towards the Latino fan base, the Lakers show that they value Latinos as individuals and don't just see them as part of the Los Angeles population.

• The Minnesota Timberwolves

The Lakers aren't the only team showing their appreciation to the Latino community, The Minnesota Timberwolves have unveiled a plan to partner with a Spanish language radio and television broadcasting company to broadcast select Timberwolves games entirely in Spanish. Actions like this allow the Latino community, all of which might not speak English, to better connect with the sport.

Current Latinos in the NBA

Manu Ginobli-Born and raised in Argentina, he is arguably the best Latino player in the NBA today.

Carlos Arroyo is from Puerto Rico and was the leader of the 2004 Puerto Rican national team which defeated the United States team in Olympic play, becoming just the second country ever to defeat the United States. This is symbolic because the sport of basketball was brought to Puerto Rico by immigrants from the mainland.

Eduardo Najera is from Mexico and initially intended to play professional basketball in his home country. However at the age of 17 he signed a contract with a Mexican League at only $3,000 month, not nearly the amount of money he could make in The United States. So at age 19 he moved to Texas and enrolled at The University of Oklahoma. There he starred in basketball and wound up being drafed. In 2003 he signed a contract worth 24 million, something he couldn't have achieved playing basketball in Mexico.

The accomplishments of these Latino basketball players show that not only is sports a good way for Latinos to make a living in a new country but its also a way to build a positive self identity and be identified across the country as Latino, not Latino-American. These athletes accomplishments have put their ancestry and home countries in the public eye increasing awareness of Latinos in America.

The NFL

National Football League-The predominant football league in the United States. American football is very popular in the United States, but not nearly as popular worldwide. There is a low percentage of Latinos in the NFL, only twenty four players total in the league currently. Interestingly, the first Latino quarterback to win a Super Bowl, Jim Plunkett, did so seven years before Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. The first Latino coach to win a Super Bowl, Tom Flores, also did so before the first black coach, Tony Dungy, won a Super Bowl. And the first Latino player in the league, Joe Aguirre, entered the league before Kenny Washington and Woody Strode became the first black players to play in the league.