AMERICA’S GAME?
By Steve Hanlon
[email protected]
nwitimes.com, IN
Sept 29 2006
International players are making an impact on Region football
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Friday, September 29, 2006 12:45
AM CDT
Mark Hoffman arrived at Butler in 1968. The Andrean lineman was a
walking poster for American football: big, strong and tough.
He was fingering through a second-hand textbook at the Indianapolis
school when he noticed a shocking name, Garo Yepremian. The Armenian
was born in Cyprus, before a 15-year career in the NFL, plus three
Super Bowls.
“He’d been at Butler,” said Hoffman, the head coach at Valparaiso.
“Someone wrote an article about this kid kicking 50-yard field goals
and he was gone.”
Yepremian was one of the first international players in the NFL,
before his famous line “I keek a touchdown” was said on Johnny Carson.
Today, the international player isn’t such a comedy routine. This
past summer there were a record 109 foreign-born players in NFL camps.
“It’s global now,” said Hoffman, who’s had several foreign-born
players on his roster through the years.
[rest of article omitted]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
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