In its 91 year history, no one of direct Chinese ancestry has ever played in the National Football League. That is likely to change by week’s end.
Ed Wang, a 6’ 5”, 314-pound offensive lineman from Virginia Tech, whose Beijing-raised parents were members of China’s national athletics team during the mid-seventies, will likely be selected in the NFL’s annual draft that begins this Thursday and concludes on Sunday.
While it remains to be seen which round and to which team he goes to, the former Hokie left tackle, born and raised in Virginia, has the potential to take America’s most popular sport into heretofore relatively untapped markets – namely China and the myriad Chinese-American communities across the U.S.
“Ed Wang has the prototypical body for a left tackle in today’s NFL and enough of a mean streak to play the position..”
“…Wang is a fine athlete that shows very good footwork…”
Looking at the words from professional scouts – Wang has the tools to succeed in the NFL.
Developing those tools began early in a strict household.
“Ed didn’t have a typical American childhood,” says Andy Ross, Wang’s agent at Octagon, “His parents were former athletes and life was about training and discipline.”
But early on the boy’s parents thought their son would grow to become a professional athlete in a different sport.
“Nancy (Ed’s mother) and I dreamed Ed would one day play basketball in the NBA. That was our dream for our son, “says Robert, Ed’s father who recalls that ‘Ed was a big and tall kid even at age 7. Back then we didn’t know much about football, but neighbors convinced us to give it a try. Ed played both sports well through high school.”
But Mr. and Mrs. Wang’s NBA dreams for their son changed forever after a family trip to China. During the summer after his freshman year in high school, Ed trained with the junior national basketball team. After the team physician did an xray and ran skin and joint tests, the results revealed that Ed would not grow over 6’ 7”.
“Playing center in high school is one thing, but while he still played the sport, our focus was for Ed to succeed in football, “says Mr. Wang.
Dominating since playing on the high school varsity as a freshman, Wang grew into an imposing figure and a very successful college career as well including second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors.
But being “the first” at the pro level won’t have a lot of merit by itself- as the engine that drives everything else will be the young man’s performance on the field – something his advisors remind him of constantly.
“I reminded Ed recently that he is carrying more weight on his shoulders now because with China looking at you, you better do well. You don’t have a choice, you have to succeed on the football field. He understands there is more pressure to come,” says his father.
Young Wang is well aware that commercial opportunities are dependent on his athletic skills, something he’s been honing for a long time.
“What it comes down to is performing well at something I’ve been doing all my life and that is playing football. I am feeling comfortable because at the end of the day it is just football and you can’t really get anything if you’re not good”, states Ed.
Should Wang play well in the NFL, his agent feels Ed has the tools to do for football what Yao Ming has done for basketball.
“Ed speaks fluent Mandarin. He is big in stature, standing out wherever he goes. He has a dual affinity for both America and China and really wants the people of his heritage to embrace football, ‘notes Ross.
“Ed wants to be that first person to bring that sport into the Chinese communities here and to the kids overseas,” adds Ross, who already has major corporations inquiring about his client to potentially head up some of their global ad campaigns.
But Ed has to block those out until he gets his blocking right in the NFL.
“It comes down to playing well,” says the prospective rookie NFL lineman.
