By Arash Arabasadi, VOA, Washington
For many, sports are recreational fun; a way to pass the time. But for
the few both lucky and good enough to compete as adults, sports can be the
gateway to a lucrative career playing at the professional level. Many
professional athletes embody the rags-to-riches story of kids who grew up with
nothing only to become wealthy, international stars. Recently, VOA's Arash
Arabasadi met with one of these athletes in Louisville, Kentucky.
Futbol: the game with the most fans, played in the
most countries and watched by the most viewers, is the sport of choice around
the world. But in the United States, a different kind of football is
king. The National Football League (NFL) draws the most fans of any
spectator sport in the country. Its 16-game schedule -- full of fast
paced, flashy and often-painful displays -- keeps fans on edge week after
week.
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| T.J.
Houshmandzadeh |
Touraj
"T.J." Houshmandzadeh is a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Touraj's father is Iranian; his mother, who named him, is black. "I mean,
it was the name that was given to me, you know? My mom named me
that. Why? That was her choice."
Houshmandzadeh is among the league's most productive
receivers, consistently ranking in the league's top 20, and his jersey is a top
seller for the Bengals organization.
His head coach, Marvin Lewis, says Houshmandzadeh is
an energetic member of his team. "He brings, obviously, a lot of ability.
He's made a lot of plays through his career here, and just done a fine job. He's
a great team guy. He sacrifices a lot; plays physical, and tough inside,
and he's been an excellent third down receiver. He brings some fire to the
game."
The 29-year-old California native says he never knew
his Iranian father. Houshmandzadeh says he talked to his father for the first
time this summer, and the two have spoken several times since, but says his
parents went their separate ways shortly after they started dating. "It was just
a situation where he met my mom, and they were together, and he wanted her to go
back with him, from my understanding, and she wasn't going to do that. So,
he left and that was it. So, it wasn't, you know… I guess you could say we
parted ways, but I didn't know of him, I didn't know him, so… he chose to leave
and that's what happened."
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| T.J. |
T.J. never
finished high school, because he says education was not a priority. "I just
didn't like school. I was out all night, doing what I wanted to do, and I
just got behind and I just said, 'Forget it. I'm not going to go
anymore'."
His career in the NFL almost never happened, but this
future star's life changed when he enrolled in junior college.
He says he learned he was good at the game when he
impressed coaches enough to play at the University of Oregon. "You get to
college and you start doing well and the coaches kind of let you know that if
you stay healthy and go to school, you got a good shot. So that's when you
start to, you know, I did, anyway, in college."
Life has changed for the kid from California who
dropped out of school before realizing his dream. He is currently in the
third year of a four-year contract worth $13 million. His team, the
Cincinnati Bengals, is expected to make a run at the playoffs in 2007, and T. J.
will most likely play a key role.
