First full-blooded Chinese athlete joins the NFL

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Published on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 01:00

By Albert Leung, Staff Writer

China can finally boast about a Chinese athlete playing professional American football.  Since the NFL’s inception in 1920, never has a full-blooded Chinese football player been drafted in the league’s annual draft of college players. Ed Wang, drafted in the fifth round at 140th pick overall, was selected by the Buffalo Bills to play offensive tackle.

By Albert Leung, Staff Writer

Ed Wang-Buffalo Bills Offensive Tackle

China can finally boast about a Chinese athlete playing professional American football.  Since the NFL’s inception in 1920, never has a full-blooded Chinese football player been drafted in the league’s annual draft of college players. Ed Wang, drafted in the fifth round at 140th pick overall, was selected by the Buffalo Bills to play offensive tackle.

At 6 foot 5 inches and 300 pounds, Wang is the NFL’s first full-blooded Chinese player to make it into the NFL. Ed’s parent’s immigrated to Virginia in 1984 from Beijing, China. Growing up in Virginia, Wang was destined to be a successful athlete. Both his parents, Robert and Nancy, were track and field stars for China and participated in the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, Calif.

Starting at age 6, Ed’s parents began instilling the hard work ethics and discipline needed for Ed to succeed in sports. Robert Wang would watch Ed practice and take notes on how to improve his son’s football skills while Ed was at home. Ed’s parents began by teaching him the training routines that helped them in their athletic careers and Wang’s father took it on his own to develop special training regimens that would benefit his son in his football career.

The training regimen wore on Wang but as he entered his teens, he began seeing the benefits of the extra work he put in with his folks. As a high school senior in 2004, Ed won Gatorade’s State Player of the Year in Virginia. While attending Stone Bridge High School, he played both tight end and defensive end for his school and was recognized as one of the top football players in the state.

Following high school in 2006, Wang enrolled at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, otherwise known as Virginia Tech, on a full scholarship to play tight end. Late in his first college football season, Ed was converted to play offensive tackle.  Wang’s father again took it upon himself to help his son improve on the hand and foot skills needed for him to succeed at the position. In his final year at Virginia Tech, Wang was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team selections after starting all 13 games at left tackle for the Hokies.

All the years of training and hard work paid off on April 24, 2010. Ed and his family watched as the Buffalo Bills selected him in hopes he would help anchor their offensive line in the future.

With his endeavor into professional football, Ed has garnered much media attention in China and Taiwan for being the first Chinese athlete to the play the sport on a professional level. Although not nearly as large of an iconic staple as Yao Ming is, Ed can still grasp the gravity of his entrance into the NFL.

“My parents remind me all the time that I’m not just playing for myself but also playing for everyone in China who looks up to me or a fan,” Ed said in an interview with Buffalo Bill’s show Bills Focus. “I do put that responsibility on my back and I welcome it.”