Hey guys, it's Frank here!
Let's get back to it with another video featuring Filipinos in popular media.
This time, let's focus on Filipino athletes in popular sports.
For the sake of this video, I will only be featuring Pinoy athletes who are currently
or have been active in American sports league associations.
This means athletes who currently play or compete in sports teams in the Philippines
or outside of the United States will be excluded but may be featured in a future video.
Also, I won't be including Manny Pacquiao because that would be way too obvious, but
just know that he gets an honorable mention.
Also shoutout to David who suggested I make this video!
Now let's get started!
Timothy Leroy Lincecum is a professional baseball starting pitcher who pitched in Major League
Baseball for the San Francisco Giants from 2007 to 2015 and for the Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim in 2016.
Lincecum helped the Giants win three World Series championships in a five-year span.
Lincecum was the team's ace starter in 2010 and as a relief pitcher in 2012 and 2014,
winning the Babe Ruth Award in 2010 as the most valuable player of the MLB postseason.
Tim was nicknamed "The Freak" for his ability to generate powerful pitches from his athletic
but slight physique at 5 feet 11 inches and weighing 170 pounds.
This power pitcher led the National League in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings
pitched for three consecutive years in a span from 2008 to 2010 as well as shutouts in 2009,
helping Lincecum win consecutive Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009 to become the first
MLB pitcher to win the award in his first two full seasons.
Tim's mother, Rebecca Asis, is the daughter of Filipino immigrants, making him half-Filipino.
Although he wasn't close with his mother and hasn't had many Filipino traditions
instilled in him throughout his life, Tim mentions that he is very superstitious, especially
before games, a trait that most Filipinos seem to exhibit as well.
Jordan Taylor Clarkson is a professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National
Basketball Association.
After foregoing his senior year in college to enter the 2014 NBA draft, Clarkson was
selected by the Washington Wizards in the second round with the 46th overall pick and
was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In his first year, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Jordan is a dual Philippine and American citizen.
He is the second person of Filipino descent to play in the NBA since Raymond Townsend
played from 1978 to 1982.
Jordan's dad Mike Clarkson, is African American, and his mom, Annette Davis, is half Filipina.
They met in the US Air Force Reserve and Jordan was born in the United States.
His parents divorced when he was young, and his father remarried.
In 2015, Jordan was in discussions on the possibility of also playing with the Philippine
Men's National Basketball Team.
FIBA, the International Basketball Federation had ruled that Jordan was eligible to be a
member of the Philippines team due to his Filipino mother.
However Jordan ultimately passed on the opportunity due to a schedule conflict between the LA
Lakers training camp and the Philippines national team playoff schedule.
Even if Jordan had played for the Philippines, he would have missed crucial playoff games
due to the Lakers training camp taking top priority.
Tedy Lacap Bruschi is a former professional American football player who was a linebacker
in the National Football League for thirteen seasons.
He played college football for the University of Arizona, and was a two-time consensus All-American.
He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft,
and played his entire professional career with the Patriots.
Tedy won three Super Bowls and was a two-time All-Pro selection.
Tedy was the first player in NFL history to return four consecutive interceptions for
touchdowns and his career total of four interceptions returned for touchdowns ranks second in Patriots
history.
He is tied for fourth in NFL history among linebackers, and Tedy is the only Patriots
linebacker to return multiple interceptions for touchdowns in a single season (2002 and
2003).
Additionally, since 2002 Tedy's defensive play has created seven defensive touchdowns.
Although he was born in San Francisco, California, Tedy's paternal grandparents were from Bedonia
in Italy while his mother is of Filipino ancestry.
Americans usually don't use their mothers' maiden names for their middle names but Tedy
was once asked in an interview if his "unique middle name" had any special meaning to
which he answered, "It happens to be my mother's maiden name.
Her name was Juanita Lacap before she married my dad.
My sister, my brother and I all have the same middle name.
It's sort of a way of showing respect to your mother's family.
That way the Lacap name can live on."
David Michael Bautista Jr. is an American actor, semi-retired professional wrestler,
former mixed martial artist, and bodybuilder.
From the early to mid 2000s, he was signed to WWE under the ring name Batista, where
he became a six-time world champion.
In August 2012, Bautista signed a contract to fight in mixed martial arts.
He won his MMA debut on October 6, 2012 via TKO in the first round.
He was representing the Philippines during the fight.
Bautista first entered the world of acting in 2006.
As an actor, Bautista has starred in many movies.
He is best known for his role as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portraying the
character in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
His mother, Donna Raye has Greek ancestry, and his father, David Michael Bautista, is
of Filipino descent.
His paternal grandfather served in the Philippines military, worked as a taxicab driver and barber,
and held other jobs to feed the family.
Years back, Bautista, then a professional wrestler, was left dumbfounded after learning
of his massive Filipino fanbase.
He says, "I didn't really make the connection.
I couldn't understand why they looked up to me so much and it was really odd for me."
He only began to understand the fanfare surrounding him when he visited the Philippines.
"They really accepted me as one of their own, even if I was born in the United States,"
he shared.
"And they said, 'It's not often that the Filipino people get to be inspired by one of their
own.'
And from then on, I never took it for granted.
It is still so humbling to hear that."
Pointing to the tattoo he has on his shoulder, he added: "I love it and I wear the Filipino
flag on my shoulder all the time with pride."
Timothy Richard Tebow is a former professional American football quarterback and current
professional baseball outfielder in the New York Mets organization.
Tebow was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft and
spent two seasons with the team.
He also played for the New York Jets in 2012.
Additionally, he had preseason stints with the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia
Eagles.
In 2016, Tebow announced he would pursue a career in professional baseball and signed
a minor league contract with the New York Mets on September 8.
Tebow's parents—Pamela and Robert—met while attending the University of Florida
in the late 1960s.
Although they are not of Filipino descent, in 1985, his family moved to the Philippines
where they served as Baptist missionaries and built a ministry.
2 years later, his mother gave birth to him in Makati City.
In fact, Tim has a special affinity with Filipinos.
After all, he was born and spent most of his early life in the Philippines.
Because of this special connection, Tim's charitable organization the "Tim Tebow Foundation"
often conducts missionary trips to the Southeast Asian country.
Tim has said in a People magazine interview: "I love the Filipino people – they're some
of the friendliest, warmest, nicest people in the world.
And, to be able to come back here and care for them and love them, well it's truly a
dream come true."
During his most recent trip, Tebow visited an orphanage and shared inspiring messages
to people in schools and prisons.
He also visited the Tebow CURE Hospital, a facility in Davao that his foundation opened
in 2014.
It's good to see how tied into their culture these athletes are, and although they may
not be 100% Filipino, they still carry some lineage and traditions with them.
It's good to see that they have not forgotten their roots which I think has helped paved
the way in their success.
Let me know in the comments below of other Filipino athletes in American sports that
I may have missed because I'm sure there are a few.
Also, which one surprised you the most?
Leave a comment and let me know!
Also if you enjoyed this video, please visit YouTube.com/FrankBernard for similar videos.
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Thanks for watching and I'll see you guys in the next video!
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