EMBRACING HIS HERITAGE
First-Round Pick Gonzalez Embraces Cuban Background
INDIANAPOLIS – A week ago, he knew little about Indianapolis.
Anthony Gonzalez, a wide receiver from Ohio State University, knew the city had an NFL team for which he very much wanted to play.
But he didn’t know much else, and he particularly didn’t know the city had a growing Hispanic community.
But know this about Gonzalez:
Now that he does know, he’s happy about it.
Gonzalez’s father, Eduardo, is from Cuba, and Cuban heritage, tradition and language has been a huge part of Anthony Gonzalez’s life since he can remember.
And he said he sure won’t ignore it. Far from it.
“It’s been a part of my family,” Gonzalez, the Colts’ first-round selection in last weekend’s 2007 NFL Draft, said this weekend during the Colts’ 2007 rookie mini-camp, which will continue through Sunday at the team’s practice facility.
“It’s who I am. I don’t want to hide the fact that I’m Cuban or turn away from it. I want to embrace it. That’s how I’ve been brought up. . . .
“I talk about it when I’m asked. It’s something that’s a part of me.”
Minutes after the Colts made him the 32nd overall selection in the draft, Gonzalez was asked specifically about his heritage, and his new town’s growing Hispanic community.
“I didn't know that about Indianapolis, but that's something that’s very exciting to me,' Gonzalez said. “My Hispanic background, my Cuban roots, are something that's very important to me. If you walked into my house and smelled the food, you couldn't mistake it for any other nationality but Cuban.”
This past October, during Hispanic Heritage month, ESPN.com featured Gonzalez on its website with a story detailing Gonzalez’s story. How he is the son of a Cuban immigrant. How his grandfather went to school with Fidel Castro, and helped overthrow Fulgencio Batista. How in Gonzalez’s house, Spanish was spoken when relatives visited.
How he cooks Cuban food from a cookbook. How he hopes for the fall of the Castro regime soon so his grandmother can visit her homeland. How he plans someday to move to a Spanish-speaking country so he can learn the language.
And while Gonzalez’s focus this weekend is very much on football, he said he considers it an honor when and if people of Hispanic heritage identify with him.
“I’m not sure to what level it does happen, but to whatever level it is the case, it’s something I’m proud of and I’m excited about,” he said.
What Gonzalez said he is most excited about this weekend is being with the Colts, the team for which he said he most wanted to play before the draft.
His primary focus this weekend:
Learning the Colts’ way of doing things, particularly an offensive scheme that is not only one of the NFL’s most innovative, but most productive, too.
The toughest thing about the early days of the NFL?
“Just getting your steps down within the concept of the scheme,” Gonzalez said. “You run a particular offense for four years in college, you get very used to it.
“You know what steps you’re making your breaks on and what depth to insert yourself into. In a new offense, it takes a little bit of time just to get that feel.”
Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy and President Bill Polian each have stressed the rookie class that the rookie camp is about getting oriented, and that no evaluation will take place until the preseason. But after one practice Friday, Dungy said he likes what he saw from Gonzalez.
“He’s what we thought he was going to be,” Dungy said. “No question. He’s a good player. He can run and catch the ball. He works hard – all the things we thought when we drafted him.
“I think he’s going to fit in, like a lot of the guys in this class.”
The process of fitting in this weekend, Gonzalez said, has been about adapting what he learned at Ohio State to college. “There are only so many things you can do on the football field,” he said. “It’s not like your putting a 12th guy out there. A lot of things are similar. They’re just called different things.”
A lot of this weekend, he said, is about getting used to the subtle difference between college and the NFL.
“You have to speed everything up, you have to be a little more efficient,” he said. “You even have to get used to if your knee hits the ground you can still run. It’s just a little bit different – different enough to keep you one your toes for a while, but similar enough where you’re not completely awkward.”
Gonzalez, who caught 87 passes for 1,286 yards and 13 touchdowns at Ohio State, said he worked extensively in the slot-receiver position during Friday’s practice. That’s where he mostly played at Ohio State, and it’s a position that has been played in Indianapolis the past four seasons by veteran wide receiver Brandon Stokley.
The Colts released Stokley in a salary-cap move earlier this off-season. He signed with the Denver Broncos. During the draft last weekend, Dungy and Polian each spoke of Gonzalez as a perfect replacement for the productive veteran.
“It’s kind of a non-issue for me, really,” Gonzalez said of the pressure replacing Stokley. “The expectations that I place on myself are such that as long as my teammates and coaches are pleased with my contributions, that’s all I really care about. Being that that’s the case, my work is centered around making them happy.”
The same, he said, is true of fitting into an offense that includes five Pro Bowl players, including two receivers – Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.
“I don’t think there are any cons to that – I really don’t,” Gonzalez said. “When I got into this situation, this was honestly – and I’m not talking just to say it – but this is honestly the team I wanted to go to, because of the veteran presence and the winning tradition that’s set here. . . .
“It’s certainly an honor to play alongside two great receivers, two of the best in the game. It’s one of a million reasons why I’m so pleased with the situation I’m in, the fact that I’ll get to work with these guys.”
Gonzalez, after his first Colts practice, was surrounded by reporters wanting to hear from the first-round selection of the defending Super Bowl champions.
Was it unusual, he was asked, being the center of attention?
“Once the vets get here, I don’t think you guys will be talking to me,” he said with a laugh. “It will be business as usual.”
It’s a business Gonzalez said he has waited his whole life to begin, and now that it is here, “to finally have the opportunity, to finally be here, is very rewarding,” he said.
“My goal is to win a Super Bowl, and to contribute to the best of my ability in whatever capacity I’m able to contribute,” he said. “I’ve never been a statistics guy. In all honesty, I don’t even know what my stats were in college. To me, what’s important is whether or nor your teammates appreciate your contributions. . . .
“So as far as outside pressure goes, I don’t think I’ll really feel much of it. It’s not something I’ve ever paid attention to.”
The Official Website of the Indianapolis Colts