Ed Wang: (Soon To Be) First Chinese American Player in the NFL

By Kevin | Friday, April 23, 2010 | 7 Comments

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As an avid football fan, the NFL Draft marks one of my favorite days of the year, on par with opening kickoff for my beloved Green Bay Packers and the weekend of wild card games marking the beginning of the playoffs. It sets the beginning of the future for each individual franchise, the true ray of hope for each team before the season begins. Today was the first day of a new beginning for all 32 NFL teams, tomorrow will be the first time a Chinese American is inducted into the National Football League.

Virginia Tech’s starting left tackle this past season Ed Wang declared for the NFL draft and is projected by CBS to be the 11th best offensive tackle, hoping to be selected in the third round. At 6’5, 315 pounds, Wang owes much of his athletic prowess and physical gifts to his bloodline, as both of his parents were Olympics track athletes in the 70′s, whose strict guidance helped him earn a scholarship to Virginia Tech years before, thereby beginning his conversion from tight end to offensive lineman.

In reality, Chinese-Jamaican safety Patrick Chung of the New England Patriots broke barriers just years before, but if Wang is drafted, he would be the first player of 100% Chinese descent to be the NFL, granting Asian Americans another role model in the NFL; putting him in the likes of Hines Ward, Vietnamese Dat Nguyen and Korean Eugene Chung (also a former Virginia Tech player)

Personally, I think it would be awesome if Green Bay drafted him. I would instantly purchase his jersey if the Packers selected him tomorrow. Despite the resigning of long tenured offensive lineman and the drafting of Iowa star Bryan Bulaga, the Pack still have a very great need at offensive tackle.

The draft resumes tomorrow at 6PM EST. It might be a marathon, but if you have enough patience, you just might see history being made.

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teeoenn

another player worth mentioning is Eugene Amano, an O-lineman for the Titans since 2004, and the starter since around 2007. He was born in the Philippines and is a full-blooded Pinoy. Roman Gabriel, a QB for the Rams and Eagles in the 60s/70s had a Filipino father and he was considered the first Asian-American QB, and one of the best ever. Haruki Nakamura is the safety for the Ravens, and his father was Japanese. Chris Gocong, a former Eagle LB recently traded to the Browns looks at least half Asian, and sports a Native Filipino surname. I’m sure there are some others, but that’s a surprisingly decent amount, might be the largest Asian American population in the 4 major sports. You figure as the years go by these numbers will only go up.
http://www.8asians.com/author/ancientone95131/ jeffat8asians

Good catch on the Filipino/part Filipino NFL players. Also, as mentioned here, NFL running back Steve Slaton is part Filipino.
http://twitter.com/BevsBookstore Bev’s Bookstore

hopefully, this guy will be as good as a lineman as Hines Ward is a receiver.
Taishohoops

Wallace Yonamine first asian america A two-sport star, he played running back on the San Francisco 49ers in their second season (1947), becoming the first football player of Japanese ancestry to play in the NFL.
MissVampireDiaries

Samoans and half black/Korean football players no longer Asians?
chineseamerican

look up a guy back in 1973-1976 i believe he was on the NFL… he was drafted by the houston oilers then played with the philladelphia eagles… sorry to tell you he is full chinese american football player. believe or not. for you to say he is the 1st full blooded chinese-american pro football player is incorrect. how i know this because this guy is my uncle, ron lou. thanks for the recongition people. difference to now and back then is back then they played because they like too not for the money! im not saying that ed wang is in it for the same thing but i guess we never know.
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