African-American sports history (e.g., Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe winning the U.S. tennis title in 1968, etc.) is so heavily publicized that it's striking to notice how little attention is paid to Mexican-American sports history.
For example, when Tiger Woods won the Masters golf tournament to become the first (part) black to win a major championship, it was widely announced that this was a historic breakthrough for minorities in the previous lily white game of golf that would get minorities interested in the sport for the first time, etc etc. This struck me as a bit odd considering that Lee Trevino, a Mexican-American driving range pro from a dirt poor background in El Paso, had won the U.S. Open 29 years before and had gone on to win six major championships in all, in four of which the great Jack Nicklaus, who intimidated everybody except Trevino, was the runner-up. Trevino was also the likely the funniest golfer of his era -- he told the reporters after his Open win in 1968, "When I get enough money I'm going to become a Spaniard instead of a Mexican" -- and one of the biggest draws.
Similarly, Nancy Lopez, a Mexican-American fromNew Mexico
A reader wrote in recently to mention a name I hadn't heard in years, even though I live in his hometown: Pancho Gonzales, who was probably the most famous tennis player inAmerica Los Angeles
The tennis powers-that-be in LA didn't want him around but after he got out of the Navy in 1946, he got so good that they started to help him. In 1948 and 1949 he won the American leg of the Grand Slam atForest Hills . He went pro in 1950, and was #1 from 1954-1960,Back then, the Grand Slam tournaments were reserved for amateurs (unlike golf, which had Open championships for pros and amateurs alike since the 19th century), so when he went pro in 1950, and was #1 from 1954-1960, but he was locked out of the Grand Slams until they went open in 1968. At age 41 in 1969, he won the longest Wimbledon match ever, over Charlie Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9. That year, he was the leading American money winner, and remained highly competitive and a major draw for several more years. I would imagine he was the best over-40 player ever.
Gonzales was a mean son of a gun with a Ty Cobb-size competitive streak. He was a chain smoker, even on the court, dying of cancer in 1995. He had five wives (marrying one of them twice). His last wife, whom he married when he was 55 in 1984, was Andre Aggasi's sister Rita. Pancho's new father-in-law, Andre's dad, an ex-boxer fromIran
It's a helluva story, but that kind of thing just isn't very interesting to the modern sporting press. Gonzales (who looks in pictures like a mestizo weighted more toward the European than Indian side) had to deal with discrimination, but compared to what blacks had to put up with, it was kind of vague. Also, perhaps because Jackie Robinson came up with the Dodgers of Brooklyn, the black cause in sports got imprinted emotionally on a lot of young Jewish boys in Brooklyn, who went on to have a huge influence on the media. Mexicans never interested Jewish sportswriters very much. Finally, this history never really went anywhere. Today, there are 30 million Mexican-Americans, but there don't seem to be many more Mexican-American sports stars (outside of the fading sport of boxing, which Oscar de la Hoya is sacrificing his body to keep alive) than in the days of Pancho Gonzales and Lee Trevino.
For example, when Tiger Woods won the Masters golf tournament to become the first (part) black to win a major championship, it was widely announced that this was a historic breakthrough for minorities in the previous lily white game of golf that would get minorities interested in the sport for the first time, etc etc. This struck me as a bit odd considering that Lee Trevino, a Mexican-American driving range pro from a dirt poor background in El Paso, had won the U.S. Open 29 years before and had gone on to win six major championships in all, in four of which the great Jack Nicklaus, who intimidated everybody except Trevino, was the runner-up. Trevino was also the likely the funniest golfer of his era -- he told the reporters after his Open win in 1968, "When I get enough money I'm going to become a Spaniard instead of a Mexican" -- and one of the biggest draws.
Similarly, Nancy Lopez, a Mexican-American from
A reader wrote in recently to mention a name I hadn't heard in years, even though I live in his hometown: Pancho Gonzales, who was probably the most famous tennis player in
The tennis powers-that-be in LA didn't want him around but after he got out of the Navy in 1946, he got so good that they started to help him. In 1948 and 1949 he won the American leg of the Grand Slam at
Gonzales was a mean son of a gun with a Ty Cobb-size competitive streak. He was a chain smoker, even on the court, dying of cancer in 1995. He had five wives (marrying one of them twice). His last wife, whom he married when he was 55 in 1984, was Andre Aggasi's sister Rita. Pancho's new father-in-law, Andre's dad, an ex-boxer from
It's a helluva story, but that kind of thing just isn't very interesting to the modern sporting press. Gonzales (who looks in pictures like a mestizo weighted more toward the European than Indian side) had to deal with discrimination, but compared to what blacks had to put up with, it was kind of vague. Also, perhaps because Jackie Robinson came up with the Dodgers of Brooklyn, the black cause in sports got imprinted emotionally on a lot of young Jewish boys in Brooklyn, who went on to have a huge influence on the media. Mexicans never interested Jewish sportswriters very much. Finally, this history never really went anywhere. Today, there are 30 million Mexican-Americans, but there don't seem to be many more Mexican-American sports stars (outside of the fading sport of boxing, which Oscar de la Hoya is sacrificing his body to keep alive) than in the days of Pancho Gonzales and Lee Trevino.
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38 comments:
It would be better if MMA(e.g. UFC) replaced boxing entirely. Boxing yields an epidemic of scrambled brains and about 12 deaths per year.No deaths or enfeebled minds result from MMA, which is basically pre-McMahon professional wrestling without the Kayfabe and the scripting. The whole idea of professional boxing is perverse: carefully protect those valuable hands so they pound your opponent into insensibility.
Thank you for that trip down memory lane. Am I right in thinking that when Gonzales won that match it was in the days when players were not allowed to lounge about between each pair of games, indeed, I don't think they were even given chairs to sit upon. Correct me if I'm wrong.
There actually aren't many Mexicans (or Mexican-Americans) in the UFC or other major mixed martial arts (MMA) organizations. Probably the best-known is former UFC heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, whom I believe is only partly Mexican. The groups which account for the largest share of foreign fighters are Brazilian, Russian and Japanese.
I am curious as to why you refer to the UFC as "mayhem". Especially when you consider how much training they do to improve all the different techniques they need to stay competitive.
Just my 2 cents.
Doesn't this very strongly reinforce the argument I've repeatedly made, namely that during the Long Historical Nightmare of Unabashed American Racism (LHNUAR) Latinos were always regarded as "sort-of" white, much like Southern Italians or Eastern Jews.
Let's also not forget that the most famous married couple in 1950s white-bread television actually represented a "mixed marriage", with the excitable Cuban band-leader frequently breaking out in bursts of staccato Spanish when emotionally agitated.
None of this should be surprising. After all, the Latino "race" wasn't invented until the Nixon Administration, a couple of decades later.
PANCHO Gonzales puts me in mind of "Speedy Gonzales" the lovable Mexican rodent cartoon character from my childhood. There were high hopes that the character of "Speedy" would encourage Mexican Americans to enter the field of animation...
The greatest baseball player of Mexican descent? Ted Williams. His mother was half Mexican, or so I've heard.
> how little attention is paid to Mexican-American sports history
I don't get it. Is more attention paid to Irish- or German- or Polish- or Canadian-American sports history? I must be missing something. The three sports stars you write about seem to be of European ancestry.
I have trouble understanding why "Hispanic" would designate a minority to be given special consideration. "Native American", from anywhere in the Americas, sure: their ancestors were there first, and got a pretty raw deal. But what's special about someone of Spanish or Portuguese origin?
In France, Zidane's Algerian ancestry is a big deal, since Algerians arguably got/get a raw deal from the French. But Platini's Italian ancestry isn't, since Italy never was a French colony.
Mexico was a colony of Spain (and France, for a short time), not the US. So who cares about European-descended Mexicans? Sorry, I'm probably missing something.
Maybe it's because Mexico defines itself as mestizo and (like France) has no ethnic statistics. And at most 15% of Mexicans are pure white anyway. So, for simplicity's sake, in the US, any Mexican counts as a minority, and white Mexicans get a free pass. Is that it? Honest question!
-- Puzzled in Paris
In previous comments, we learn that American Jews, that monolithic group, are eager to flood America with Mexicans. In this post, it appears that Mexicans and Mexican-Americans aren't even on the radar screen for Jewish media elites.
I'm confused.
Let's also not forget that the most famous married couple in 1950s white-bread television actually represented a "mixed marriage", with the excitable Cuban band-leader frequently breaking out in bursts of staccato Spanish when emotionally agitated.
Yet we also must not forget that the couple in question would never have been so widely accepted had Desi Arnaz not been of entirely Caucasian appearance.
It was well before my time, but I would imagine that most people in the 1950's didn't really think of Desi as a minority at all. The concept of Hispanic as a minority, one that encompasses completely white-looking people, didn't really arise until much later.
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It would be better if MMA(e.g. UFC) replaced boxing entirely. Boxing yields an epidemic of scrambled brains and about 12 deaths per year.No deaths or enfeebled minds result from MMA
MMA is still somewhat controversial and its legitimacy and legality is not yet quite assured. Should there be just one death or very serious injury in a high-profile organization (UFC, WEC, IFL, Elite XC, etc.), there's a real risk that years of progress may be undone. Cable/satellite networks may become reluctant to show fights, advertisers will steer clear, states that have not yet legalized MMA probably won't, and it's even possible that some states may change course and outlaw it once again.
So far MMA has maintained an enviable safety record, especially by boxing's standards. Light gloves, the availability of the tapout and the willingness of referees to stop fights sooner rather than later all have prevented any fighters from suffering more than relatively minor injuries. Even so, given the fact that it is a violent combat sport, there are no assurances.
Joe Jimenez, 81, pro golfer - captured the 1978 Senior PGA Championship
http://www.mysanantonio.com/
sports/stories/
MYSA081207.10C.NZ.State.
GOLFJoeJimenezObit.en.2e95432.html
...It was more than that, of course. Like Charlie Sifford, and his longtime buddies, Lee Trevino and Chi Chi Rodriguez, Jimenez initially toiled a bit as an outsider.
"Joe was Spanish, and I was African-American, and the rest of the guys didn't talk to him much," Sifford, 85, said recently from his Cleveland home. "He's the kind of guy who understands that but wants someone to come to him and love him. I was that for him, and he was my best friend on that golf tour."
Yet we also must not forget that the couple in question would never have been so widely accepted had Desi Arnaz not been of entirely Caucasian appearance."
It was more than appearance. He was of "Caucasian" race, correct?
There was also "Make Room for Daddy" with Lebanese American Danny Thomas. Two popular 1950s shows with dark ethnic White race men in the leads.
And don't forget "The Cisco Kid" 1950-56 with Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo as Pancho.
Also, perhaps because Jackie Robinson came up with the Dodgers of Brooklyn, the black cause in sports got imprinted emotionally on a lot of young Jewish boys in Brooklyn, who went on to have a huge influence on the media. Mexicans never interested Jewish sportswriters very much.
This is slightly naive.
Mexican/Hispanic/Latino victimology can't be leveraged against whitey to anywhere near the extent of black victimology. That is an important factor in the interest level of "Jewish boys in Brooklyn" who go on to have influence in the media.
Steve, there is no more left wing demographic in the country than "Jewish boys in Brooklyn" who go on to have influence in the media. It's reasonable to very cynical about the motives of leftists in the media.
The greatest baseball player of Mexican descent? Ted Williams. His mother was half Mexican, or so I've heard.
-tvoh
Ted's mom was Basque. Basques are a tough, laconic sort of people. They remind me of the Welsh, to whom they are evidently related. Not only have I been to their homeland in the Pyrenees, I've seen them herding sheep in the Targhee National Forest in southern Idaho. Now there's some real American diversity for you!
>>The three sports stars you write about seem to be of European ancestry.
Not at all. They all would be seen as racially mixed in Mexico. If you want an European looking Mexican you can take for instance Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico City’s Mayor.
>>Maybe it's because Mexico defines itself as mestizo and (like France) has no ethnic statistics.
Mexico is officially a Mestizo a country when it comes to race and culture and the establishment likes to brag about the great indigenous past. However, in real life people in Mexico are conscious about the race and racial differences.But I agree with you, Hispanic as a racial term is an American meaningless creation.
By the way, Mexico was never France’s colony. There were two governments back then. One was a puppet government with Maximilian as the Emperor and Juárez’s Republican one on the other hand.
Cántabro: OK, they looked white to me, but my race-dar can be pretty poor.
I'm curious, do they have anything like affirmative action in Mexico?
And my bad about calling Mexico a French colony! I knew it was a stretch, I just thought it was interesting that the famous Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo commemorates a victory against French troops. But now I find out Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day and isn't even celebrated that much in Mexico... So much to learn.
>> If you want an European looking Mexican you can take for instance Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico City’s Mayor.
Hmm, he doesn't look that Spanish... Oh, that's because he's of French descent!
>>I'm curious, do they have anything like affirmative action in Mexico?
There’s no such thing as affirmative action in Mexico. There are special scholarships for Native Mexicans given by private institutions and the Goverment, but Universities aren’t required to have ‘minorities’ among their students. But now that you mention there are (private)universities that are almost completly ‘white’ and , think about it, ‘whites’are a minority here so....
>>And my bad about calling Mexico a French colony! I knew it was a stretch, I just thought it was interesting that the famous Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo commemorates a victory against French troops. But now I find out Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day and isn't even celebrated that much in Mexico... So much to learn.
Cinco de mayo isn’t a big a celebration here.There are some parades and stuff like that but Independence day on September the 16th is much more important in the Mexican mind. The way Mexican-Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo is completly foreign to us.Americans tend to forget that Mexican-Americans aren’t Mexicans, they are just that, Americans that happened to have Mexican ancestry.
Your recollection of Pancho ain't too good. You're allowing your Mexican crap to cloud your mind. He got his clocked cleaned by Jack Kramer almost every time they played. They toured in the first pro circuit and I was a ball boy. I think the final talley of wins and losses was something like 96-27 Kramer. Gonzales couldn't touch Kramer. In fact Kramer invented Gonzales. Kramer had killed everybody for years but his back was bad and he needed a "new face" for the pro tour. He brought Gonzales back from the dead and built the new tour around him. Gonzales was just good. Kramer was great, and in fact invented the game of serve and volley which was the only way to play until the metal racquets and Bjorn Borg came along.
Yet we also must not forget that the couple in question would never have been so widely accepted had Desi Arnaz not been of entirely Caucasian appearance.
It was more than appearance. He was of "Caucasian" race, correct?
No doubt. Back then there was no concept of Hispanic as a biological race. Today, of course, it's a different story, at least in America. If I Love Lucy were a contemporary show, the ethnic - more accurately today, racial - angle would never be far from the surface, as opposed to being used only occasionally for comedic effect.
There was also "Make Room for Daddy" with Lebanese American Danny Thomas. Two popular 1950s shows with dark ethnic White race men in the leads.
Today we have Monk, with the Lebanese American Tony Shalhoub. His character has no particular ethnicity.
"No deaths or enfeebled minds result from MMA"
MMA hasn't been around very long and it's still done on a smaller scale than boxing. Dementia doesn't hit a lot of boxers until they are into their 40s, so we can't say that it doesn't cause scrambled brains. While it is likely that mma is safer than boxing, the bottom line is that the brain doesn't like being bounced around the skull. MMA still results in a lot more damage to the head than football or hockey, which are both sports that have produced their share of the permanently concussed.
Personally, I have a hard time seeing boxing being entirely replaced by MMA. Anyone can appreciate a boxing match, but people have to know something about grappling to know what's going on in an MMA match or else it just looks like two guys rolling around with each other. There's a reason why judo or the olympic styles of wrestling aren't big pay per view sports.
The upper divisions of boxing are on the wane. Americans have the option to play sports were brain trauma isn't completely inevitable if not entirely the point and can make a lot of money doing it now. That's probably bad for both boxing and MMA in America. One of the interesting things about this, though, is that the crop of eastern european champions who currently dominate the heavyweight division look a lot like champions from 100 years ago, the last time whites really dominated the sport. They aren't flashy but they're big, tough guys and heavy punchers. 6'7" Vitaly Klitschko has definite stylistic similarities to 6'6" Jess Willard (the second largest figher to ever be a real champion after Klitschko), who knocked out Jack Johnson in 25 rounds to become the champion in 1915.
On the other hand it has been a good year for the lighter divisions. And in the long run, 5'6" guys who are world class athletes will always need a sport too. A lot of the blue collar jobs these guys would end up doing probably aren't that much safer than boxing anyway.
MMA hasn't been around very long and it's still done on a smaller scale than boxing. Dementia doesn't hit a lot of boxers until they are into their 40s, so we can't say that it doesn't cause scrambled brains. While it is likely that mma is safer than boxing, the bottom line is that the brain doesn't like being bounced around the skull. MMA still results in a lot more damage to the head than football or hockey, which are both sports that have produced their share of the permanently concussed.
MMA's relative lack of heavy head punching probably will keep most fighters safe from brain damage as they age. Whaling away at an opponent's head is a risky proposition when you're wearing 4-ounce gloves. Not to mention the fact that MMA fighters, by and large, don't punch as well as boxers - they don't need to, given the other "tools" in their arsenals.
Also, at least some of the inarticulateness of some retired boxers may be due not so much to traumatic brain damage, but to the fact that traditionally many boxers weren't the sharpest tools in the shed, so to speak (that may be changing to some extent). MMA fighters, especially in the upper-level organizations like the UFC and WEC, tend to be from more affluent backgrounds and are much better educated.
I submit the disparity in reporting black vs Hispanic athletic achievements reflects the fact that blacks dominate sports in a way Hispanics can’t approach. Many of the Hispanics that do achieve fame are more stereotypical African (Sammy Sosa) or European (Jose Canseco) in phenotype.
The examples of Robinson, Ashe and Woods were popularized because they broke the color barrier or were the exception to the rule in white sports in addition to helping weave the dominate PC metanarrative of their times. Whites that break the traditional color barriers in sports can also have slightly more media exposure like those in NFL speed positions (Jason Sehorn, Tim Dwight).
Boxing is the only sport of interest to Americans that I can think of where typical Meztico Hispanics excel. Not only does boxing seem to be in decline but typical Mezticos generally dominate in the non-heavy weight divisions where there is usually far less interest.
With the recent rising level of competitiveness in soccer worldwide, I suspect we’ll see Mezticos increasingly eclipsed as they are bound by genetic limitations in ways Americans, Africans, Middle Easterners, etc are not. The Brasilians, with more African admixture, a huge population and cultural obsession with the beautiful game are not necessarily a counter example.
Right, there were more than twice as many blacks as Hispanics on US World Cup soccer team last year, which is pretty interesting.
The athletes who would make the best boxers are all in the NFL now.
The 4.5/5ozs(?) is all over the knuckle on an MMA glove, though, where as an 8 or 10oz boxing has the padding distributed throughout the glove. As such, I doubt there's a lot of difference in actual hand protection between the two. Dempsey used 5oz gloves which presumably had less knuckle protection than MMA gloves, and he punched very hard. The MMA fighter will be throwing a lighter fist at you, but when a man lands a solid punch with all his weight behind it, a few ounces one way or the other are probably academic. Actually, I've heard MMA people who want to reform the rules so that only bare knuckled fights are allowed for the the reason you mention, it forces the fighters to pull their punches a little. I'd further say that the the problem with MMA fighters isn't that they're bad punchers but rather that they're lousy boxers. They're more likely to get nailed square on with a punch than a boxer would. You don't have to be punched 10,000 times in the head over a period of several years to scramble your brains. Once is enough, given the right circumstances.
I doubt boxers start with less mental horsepower than anyone else in their respective ethnic groups -IQ and masculinity are two different things. To give some prominent examples: Gene Tunney was an articulate speaker and opinion writer during his time and was famous for being very well read. Corbett had a college degree and worked as a banker. Dempsey grew up poor, but his parents were from upper middle class, eastern families. He ran a successful business for years and wrote some of the best combat manuals ever written. Moran was a dentist. Morales has no formal education, but he runs his own website. Barrera was from an upper class, arts family in Mexico City. Calvin Brock was a banker, and the Klitschko brothers both have PHDs. George Foreman is another successful business man. Jack Johnson wrote several books. You can tell that he wrote them himself because they are awful, but I don't think that he was a stupid man. Bobby Cyz is a mensa member, and there was a prominent boxer in England awhile back (I can't remember his name at the moment) whose IQ was over 150.
Having a low IQ is entirely different from being inarticulate. Mohammed Ali had a low IQ but he was incredibly articulate.
I would agree that boxers are generally less educated. This is actually a talent pool problem for MMA, though, in the short term anyway. People who are likely to be interested in becoming pro fighters are unlikely to be able to afford the exorbitant fee that a MMA gym charges. Boxing instruction is cheap or free almost anywhere in the world.
What is this BS about boxing going bad? If a big mouthed black American was champ right now, no one would be saying that.
People just can't stand to see whites win. And Americans want to go home and cry when they don't win(which is usually unless it's a sport no one else plays).
Remember that the success of eastern European boxers has caused an explosion of young men over there to take up boxing. So this is trend that will grow stronger and last at least a generation.
Ecuador started an almost all black team too. And I mean coal black, not Sammy Sosa/Pedro Martinez mulato black.
Mohammed Ali had a low IQ but he was incredibly articulate.
Ali was charming and witty (and fiendishly cruel), but I definitely wouldn't say he was "incredibly articulate". Most of his one-liners, poems and speeches where written by his trainer/hypeman Bundini Brown who, unlike Ali, actually was both articulate and highly intelligent.
/Tailgunner
I would agree that boxers are generally less educated. This is actually a talent pool problem for MMA, though, in the short term anyway. People who are likely to be interested in becoming pro fighters are unlikely to be able to afford the exorbitant fee that a MMA gym charges. Boxing instruction is cheap or free almost anywhere in the world.
Our old friend Title IX may have some adverse effects on the MMA talent pool in the near future. Former college wrestlers have been entering MMA in significant numbers. Unfortunately, many colleges have been dropping their wrestling programs in order to comply with Title IX dictates. This is not only bad for MMA but also for aspiring MMA fighters, for as you point out private MMA training is very costly.
Actually, I've heard MMA people who want to reform the rules so that only bare knuckled fights are allowed for the the reason you mention, it forces the fighters to pull their punches a little.
Fighters were bare-knuckled in the early years of the UFC. While the use of gloves may actually be counterproductive in safety terms, it did help the sport get legalized in more jurisdictions. Fighting with bare knuckles may be safer but looks barbaric.
"Ted's mom was Basque. Basques are a tough, laconic sort of people. They remind me of the Welsh, to whom they are evidently related. Not only have I been to their homeland in the Pyrenees, I've seen them herding sheep in the Targhee National Forest in southern Idaho. Now there's some real American diversity for you!"
Interesting, Bill, as Williams is generally a Welsh name.
Fighters were bare-knuckled in the early years of the UFC. While the use of gloves may actually be counterproductive in safety terms, it did help the sport get legalized in more jurisdictions. Fighting with bare knuckles may be safer but looks barbaric
This is an example of applied stupidity or ignorance in the guise of reform. Other examples are BSL(Breed Specific Legislation) that aims to outlaw "dangerous breeds" of dogs (when the problem is obviously dangerous people), most gun control laws and "campaign finance reform".
"Other examples are BSL(Breed Specific Legislation) that aims to outlaw "dangerous breeds" of dogs (when the problem is obviously dangerous people)..."
Interesting that you should bring this up, wily marmot, I'm considering doing a study on assumptions of ectomorphy. For instance, have you ever seen any attempt to ban whipets due to what often amounts to fear of the looks of dogs?
You could also put pictures of a person with a mesomorphic or even endomorphic body type side by side with pictures of someone roughly the same age, same gender (maybe even the same race) who has the ectomorphic body type. Then have a series of questions. Which person is probably more intelligent, athletic, artistic, violent, greedy, selfish, lazy, spiritual, evolved, deserving, worthy, the victim, the perpetrator...
I haven't decided whether lack of girth or musculature is an advantage because it reminds one of the frailty of childhood or if it relates to the mind/body dualism prevalent in Western culture - less body = more mind & spirit. Certainly, science fiction has used the ectomorphic body type to depict the more evolved aliens.
Trail lawyers are awaiting the results of my study with baited breath.
Interesting, Bill, as Williams is generally a Welsh name.
I don't know much about Ted Williams, but I assume he didn't get his last name from his mother.
Ecuador started an almost all black team too. And I mean coal black, not Sammy Sosa/Pedro Martinez mulato black.
And their coach, when interviewed, straightforwardly attributed the team's recent success to it being greater than 75% black.
I watched one of their world cup games on a big screen in London's Ecuadorian community. Not one of the spectators (Mostly Amerind/mestizo, shorter than my 5'8") looked anything like the players they were raucously cheering.
Anonymous 8/14/2007 1:13 PM said:
"In this post, it appears that Mexicans and Mexican-Americans aren't even on the radar screen for Jewish media elites.
"I'm confused."
Let me clear that up for you.
The "Jewish media elites" (your term) are certainly pushing for Mexicans flooding the country.
Remember Bush/Kennedy's little plan from a month or so ago? I thought you would. Leaving aside the ethnic composition of the leadership of the major committees, the organizations, the institutions, lobbyists, the think tanks, etc. behind amnesty, and looking only at the media side of that game, just remember "No human being is illegal, you racist Nazis!", a characteristic meme.
Now, just because ESPN hasn't gotten around to celebrating Latino vibrancy (much) is, as much as anything, an indication of a division of labor.
The black angle is working very well in the sports world, so why mess that up? The theory being that blacks are less WASP than Latino/as. Why use a peashooter when a nuke would do?
But in other areas - music, cuisine, lettuce-picking (horrors, a day without Mexicans! my arugula jumped 5 cents a pound!) - they're pushed. Oh, are they pushed.
Results have varied. Selina got shot. Sosa is juiced. The only thing spicy about Mexican food is the hot sauce. Once you've heard one Latino/a drum machine, you've heard them all.
But as the nation dumbs down further, maybe this striking level of blandness and mediocrity (i.e. the culture of the Mexican lower-classes) can be put over as wonderful more successfully - and cock-fights etc. will have their own slot on America's sports channel. Give the "Jewish media elites" time, willya? After all, it took 'em 50 years to get from the exception of Jackie Robinson to the ubiquity of Vick and thug-life b-ballers.
Wallach was-is, he's one of the last MM co-stars living-a Jew of the type that could play Italian, Greek, French, any "ethnic white" besides Anglo-Saxon/Germanic.
He was "Guido" in The Misfits.
Perhaps boxing is "fading" now that it is increasingly dominated by whites?
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