Roberto Garza

Chicago Bears offensive guard Roberto Garza used to pick cotton as a teenager, seven days a week, for $5 an hour. The 27-year-old now has a street named after him in Texas. The 6-foot-2, 305-pounder who says he got "too fat to play soccer" is one of 19 Latinos in the NFL, a league with almost as many players (1,600) as there are people in his hometown of Rio Hondo, Texas. In a sport where players' identities can get lost in a sea of helmets, Garza's exploits on and off the field have made him a familiar face.

Garza's parents are Mexican immigrants who instilled in their kids a strong work ethic and love of fútbol. But the heavy-set Garza chose football instead. The notion of a Latino football player was so unthinkable in the early 90s that a military recruiter once told Garza, a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, to forget about playing professionally because "there's no Latino players in the NFL." Fast-forward to 2007: Garza is playing in the Super Bowl with the Bears, conducting most of his interviews en Español.

The mild-mannered Garza also works hard off the field, participating in a number of charities, which prompted the NFL to nominate him for the 2006 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Garza is also using his star power to help The United Way, which tapped the bulky lineman to star in one of their TV spots. A celebrity in the Latino community, he also hosts a Spanish-language television show in Chicago, aimed at teaching Latino youth the fundamentals of football. Garza hopes his story can be an inspiration for future Latino football players: "[I]t gives kids hope that someday they can reach their dreams."

Garza's family shares those same deep community roots: they still live in Rio Hondo – on Roberto Garza Drive – where they celebrate "Roberto Garza Day" every 2nd of December.