Dat Nguyen

Dat posing when he played college football. (http://www.vhkhvn.org/vhkh/leader_dev/images/Dat_Nguyen_football.jpg)

In the USA, 0.05% of American males make it into the NFL. That’s only 5 out of 10,000 people. Dat Nguyen was part of that 0.05%. His family started as Vietnamese refugees and adapted to the American lifestyle. Dat Nguyen was born in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, and his family moved to Texas, where Dat lived his childhood and teenage years. His parents began as shrimpers and then opened a restaurant called “Who Dat”, named after Dat and his brother Ho. No one thought Dat could play anything, especially football. Through middle school and High school, his classmates called him small and weak. I compare Dat to Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela because they were both in the shadows and were laughed at due to just being different. But with his drive to succeed and his heart and passion, Dat Nguyen is not only the first full-Asian to play in the NFL, Dat Nguyen is a real example of a hero.

Works Consulted:

"Nguyen, Dat (1975-)."UXL Asian American Reference Library. Irene Natividad. 2nd Detroit: UXL, 2004. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL. 6 May. 2010.

Piore, Adam. "Breaking Down Barriers. " Newsweek International. (Jan 8, 2001): 54. General Reference Center Gold. Gale. DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL. 11 May 2010.

Sherrington, Kevin. "The foreman of the wrecking crew. " The Sporting News. 222.n35 (August 31, 1998): 53(3). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL. 11 May 2010.

"What is the percentage chance of getting into the NFL?." kgb answers. kgb, 30 Aug 2009. Web. 14 May 2010. .

Dat in his Texas A&M days. (http://www.vietopia.com/dat-tan-nguyen-profile/)

Dat Nguyen shows in his life his drive to be a better person, player and family man. But his life started in Vietnam. His parents lived through the Vietnam War. Through Dat Nguyen’s Childhood, he was made fun of by some of the white kids and Dat was on a Vietnamese refugee soccer team. “It was the 1980s, and back then tensions were so high in the small south Texas coastal community that white shrimpers and their Vietnamese competitors sometimes carried rifles into the bay and took potshots at one another from their boats. Dat Nguyen's domination on the soccer field (he scored as many as 10 goals a game) didn't make his team any more popular with the locals. ‘We weren't wanted in that community,’ Nguyen recalled. ‘They wanted to kick us out. There was so much hatred between the two cultures. My parents told me we couldn't trust anybody outside our family.’”(Piore). Dat Nguyen with his protective instincts brawled and defended others against people with those racist comments. At 5”11’ , he would obviously teased and beat down. Dat was made fun of because of his race. Others would say that Dat and his “friends” didn’t belong. But Dat never talked back. Dat always kept his head away from those people, and focus on what makes him happy. This is compared to American’s Martin Luther King Jr. Dat didn’t use violence, only on the soccer field. Dat is considered a hero because heroes don’t start by changing the world, same with Mr. King. Heroes start with the small things. As he was more comfortable with other people and the community overall, Dat widened his opinions others. Dat Nguyen went on to play high school football, and quickly became a football and community celebrity. “Though basketball was his first love, he soon found his niche on the football field at Rockport-Fulton High School. There he excelled, becoming a starting player in his sophomore through senior years. During those years he played three positions—fullback, middle linebacker, and kicker. Dat was named "defensive player of the year" (1994) for his district, and was named a "Texas Top 100" football prospect after his senior year. Even in high school, Dat was already a role model for other Asian Americans. When he started playing football, only 5 percent of the Vietnamese American boys at his high school were involved in athletics; by his senior year, the number of Vietnamese American athletes had increased to 30 percent.” [Nguyen, Dat (1975-)] Dat realized in high school, racial discrimination was worse. People said that he couldn’t do anything in sports. But he used that anger from those comments to improve and beat others in basketball and football. He earned the respect of his peers. He used the comments to drive himself to be a respected man. While earning his respect, he gave more confidence in other Asian kids to try for sports and drive themselves away from the hateful comments. Dat was called names and was told that he couldn’t do anything in life, but now he was a starting linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. Dat’s heart and passion for football all the other things he does, is something only he could explain.

Dat Tackling! (http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/81341831/Sports-Illustrated)

Dat’s heart and passion on and off the football field shown through his accomplishments. After high school, a Texas A&M Aggies scout gave Dat a full ride scholarship for his achievements in Texas High School Football. He was rewarded for his passion for the game. “Aggies recruited him mostly as a novelty, something the coaches could brag about at their annual convention: Generic coach. ‘We signed a kid who's bigger than a Subaru and twice as fast." Aggies coach: "Yeah? Well, we got a kid who's Vietnamese!’”(Sherrington) Now this wasn’t a racial comment but it relates to it. When he got to college, all the others players and coaches were saying that he wasn’t fast enough, he wasn’t strong enough and he wasn’t the football player to lead the Aggies (Texas A&M). Players said that he was Asian and “what could an asian do?”(Piore). But that year when Dat played, the Aggie defense was well known around the nation as the Wrecking Crew. Dat showed the coaches and his teammates that he had the heart to get better. When Aggies Head Coach told Dat that he needed to lose 20 pounds in one month, Dat did it. Dat showed the commitment a football player needs to have. Dat never gave up just like Nelson Mandela did. He fought apartheid in South Africa with the passion even when he knew he would end up in jail. Nelson’s heart was in the right state as is Dat’s. But heart doesn’t always mean passion. Heart could be taken as its literal meaning, giving back or caring. “Nguyen has never forgotten the way communities reached out to help his family. He has tried to do the same for others, especially for other Vietnamese immigrants. While in college, Nguyen befriended a Vietnamese elementary school student, Quang Pham, who had only recently moved to the United States. Dat helped him to acclimate to his new surroundings. As an NFL player, he's been heavily involved in the Dallas community. He lends his support to such programs as the Children's Cancer Fund Fashion Show, the Dallas Race for the Cure to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation). He has been a popular guest flag-football coach for the Cowboys' Let Us Play! Camp for girls.”[Nguyen, Dat (1975-)]. Dat never forgot where he came from, refugees from the Vietnam War. Dat never forgot that other people helped him out in his journey to the NFL. Dat never forgot that there are others kids just like him. He knew his heart was telling him to help out. Dat has coached youth football and has helped out with the NFL’s youth programs. He also coaches the Dallas Cowboys because his heart and drive always belonged to football. The biggest thing he has done is that Dat has helped kids like himself, Vietnamese kids, to adapt to the American life. He has helped kids that struggle with family and school. Dat still encourages kids to play a sport and stay active. Dat has shown the world the heroes can come from the impossible of places.

Dat Coaching a Dallas Cowboy. (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/080508dnspocowlishaw.439c15f.html)

Through Dat’s drive and heart, he shows what a hero is and a story to back him up. Dat’s high school shows his heart to prove everyone wrong about his success. Dat’s college and NFL years have shown the world that Nothing is Impossible, but you have to drive yourself to get there. Dat has inspired me and many others that anyone can do anything if they drive and put their heart into it. He also showed that Asians can do a lot more than what some peers think of them. Dat is like a Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., just in a smaller dilemma but with the same result. Dat broke barriers, changed the nation, and proved himself as a hero.