I almost cried when I saw the jacket with the flag

Christian Gonzalez made history last Thursday by becoming the fourth Colombian to play in the NFL regular season. The athlete born in the United States but of Colombian parents was chosen in the Draft for the Patriotsone of the most powerful clubs in the tournament.

Hector Gonzalezfather of Christian, spoke in Sports Caracol Saturday about the entire process that his son went through to fulfill his dream, the pride he feels for the country (which was demonstrated in the iconic presentation of his jacket) and what is coming in his nascent sports career.

Happy for the achievement that he reached, that was always his dream, but like all dreams you had to work on it. Thank God things were given to him.

He had been playing several sports, he always had the talent to do it: basketball, American football and football / soccer. The thing was that things are happening here, almost all the boys practice various sports because they play depending on the seasons. When he was in high school, it was seen that he was better at soccer and universities were recruiting him. Besides, he didn’t grow that much for basketball, I’m 2 meters tall and he’s 1.85-90 around.

The connection with Colombia has always been there. We went a couple of times when I was little, my daughters have gone more, but always at home is salsa, Colombian food, I have several Colombian friends. You meet them and always talk about the country. I have seen that when you are outside, you feel more proud. Here July 20 is felt more than when you were in Colombia. We go to parks and they (their children) always have t-shirts, they listen to the games with me at home. They feel and are Colombian. If you ask any of them, they tell you that they are Colombian, they feel it in their hearts.

We have talked very little because immediately after the Draft, they leave. He traveled to Boston that night, he hasn’t seen much of what happened. About the jacket, when he was waiting for the Draft, he sent me a message saying that he had a surprise for me and it was the photo of the suit. Nobody told him, he made the decision to do it, he felt it was something he had to do. He was waiting when he was up on the dais to show off the jacket. I think that other players in baseball have done that and he wanted to surprise me. He feels proud to be Colombian, it is something he was born to do. He almost made me cry when I saw the flag, the pride he gave me was so great. I knew he was going to be very pretty, but I didn’t imagine that much. He is a person who felt like doing something out of love for the country, he was not born there but in his mind he is Colombian.

The Draft is very stressful. They invite about 18 families and each one is sitting in different positions. Players don’t know who is going to pick them until they make a call. In the first round they have ten minutes. Teams have so many strategies that even the people representing the players don’t know. One only sees the cameras moving. One only realizes minutes before which team he chose. Christian was in the top 10 and time was stressful, but thank God he was given a team with the best defensive coach in history.

He only arrived, but here is arriving and now it’s time to work. He begins to put on his overalls, helmet and boots. To work. Nothing is guaranteed because this is very competitive. He is aware, he has the skills and he only has to work. Getting there is not the goal, but staying because he wants to play and do his best.