The document discusses the stereotype that Hispanics are naturally skilled at soccer. While many famous soccer players have Hispanic backgrounds, the author believes ethnicity does not determine skill. The stereotype persists because Hispanic families and communities often view soccer as a central part of their lives and culture. However, people of all races can be talented soccer players. The author hopes that in the future people will recognize soccer skill is not limited by ethnicity.

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Jose Martinez Jr.
English 101-01
10-03-11
Essay #3
Soccer Skills or Nature…?
For a long time, people with a Hispanic background were always seen
to naturally have skills in the sport of soccer. I believe that for a long times,
many of the top famous soccer players around the world mainly had some
type of Hispanic background which might’ve started this stereotype. In
many people’s opinion, the fact that more new soccerplayers nowadays are
usually all people with a Hispanic background, probably explaining why the
stereotype never dies. Luis Suarez of Uruguay says “In Latin America the
border between soccer and politics is vague. There is a long list of
governments that have fallen or been over thrown after the defeat of the
national team”. That is how serious some of the Hispanic soccerplayers take
soccer which easily can cause a stereotype towards Hispanics.
So many players that are basically the faces of professional soccer
that are looked up to around the world are Hispanic. My favorite player is

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Lionel Messi who is a world famous soccerplayer from Argentina. There’s a
list of hundreds of famous players that are all Hispanic, when you think of
the racial diversity you usually look at the top players around the world. In
soccer it just happens to be majorly full of Hispanic players more than any
other race.
When you look at high school soccer teams, more than likely with my
experience I have usually seenthe top player of the team for the most part is
Hispanic. So many people notice this and cause the creation of more
stereotypes every day. In some Hispanic families, soccer is seenas “religion”
instead of a sport, which causes them to usually make it part of their life and
become very good at it. It gets to the point where in society people judge
Hispanic people as “looking like a soccerplayer”, which can cause a
controversy and increase racism.
In many Hispanic families that I have encountered, usually the male
leader of the household is the one that believes in soccer to be a way of life.
They have so much passion for the sport that they have the children focus
more on playing soccer than their education. It’s wrong to put a sport in
front of education, but some people find it that important in their lives to
play soccer. In some ways the stereotype has its factors that have some truth

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in it. So many times you will see Hispanic people who have never played
soccer in their life, while many people who are Caucasian, African-
American, evenAsian are very talented at soccer, and also ethnicity has
nothing to do with skills.
If the majority of the famous soccer players weren’t Hispanic then
maybe this stereotype might not have existed. In all reality people need to
realize that there are many people of every race who are very skilled at
soccer and that it isn’t only Mexicans that are good at soccer. I think in the
future the stereotype will only grow stronger to the point that people will
always just assume anyone who is Hispanic plays soccer as their main sport.
If nobody challenges this stereotype then soccer will always be known as “A
sport for Hispanics” when that isn’t necessarily true.