La Celebración

Starting Monday night, when the Dallas Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL will begin its annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which also coincides with National Hispanic Heritage Month. While it is not an officially sanctioned NFL event for the celebration, Chad Johnson decided to pay his own tribute to those fans on Hispanic ancestry by giving himself the nickname "Ocho Cinco." He has since taken it a step further and has had his name legally changed to Chad Ocho Cinco; and while it cannot be confirmed if he did this because he loves the Hispanic community or if he just loves himself, on some small level there are some that enjoy and perhaps even appreciate his actions.

As for what the NFL has done to honor the players, past and present, who represent Spanish-speaking nations across the world, the league will have performances in stadiums throughout the month by Spanish artists and will feature Hispanic players currently in the NFL on the league's Spanish website.

But as the NFL will feature current stars like Tony Romo, Tony Gonzalez, Anthony Gonzalez, Roberto Garza, and others, it is important to pay homage to those that came before and paved the way for these players:

• Tom Flores was the first Hispanic player to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. During his career as a player and coach, he was fortunate enough to be a part of four Super Bowl winning teams.

• Jim Plunkett made history in 1971 by becoming the first ever Hispanic player to be the #1 pick in the NFL Draft. And even though he did not live up to all the hype that he received coming out of college, he did lead the Raiders to Super Bowl XV victory.

• Tom Fears was the first Hispanic player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was also the first Hispanic head coach in the NFL.
  

These players' accomplishments on the field are no match for what they have done to pave the way for the future of the NFL. Current quarterbacks like Romo and Jeff Garcia (even though he is riding the bench right now) are bonafide stars in the league. There are also a number of good college football players, led byMark Sanchez, quarterback at USC, that are destined for future stardom in the NFL. Flores, Plunkett, and Fears opened the door for Hispanic-Americans to succeed where very few had done so before.

Now there are those that are deeply upset by the NFL's decision to promote Hispanic Heritage Month by playing commercials entirely in Spanish, seen here. This is just one of many that share this sentiment; a simple Google search will produce many more comments like this and, sadly, even worse. Cries of "learn English" can be heard all over the country, but the ignorance and bigotry of some can not stop the momentum of the Hispanic culture and language in the United States. In a country with an ever growing Hispanic population, it is very important to recognize these people and appreciate the accomplishments they have made. Although professional football may seem like a small arena for making strides for increased diversity and equality, but with the immense popularity of professional sports accomplishments in these areas can be the undertaking for further change in other areas (see: Jackie Robinson).

So as you enjoy watching the Cowboys and Eagles play another game in their long NFC East rivalry, take some time to appreciate the large Hispanic population that is contributing positively to the US in professional sports and a variety of other important areas in society.

The NFL certainly will be.