“I’m trying to be one of the best in the league. I feel that I am on the right path and I hope I can continue like this,” says Jake Ferguson, who spoke exclusively to Diario AS by video call, speaking for the first time with a Spanish media. The one from the Cowboys, who carries some notes on his family’s history, speaks from the first moment with great pride about his Spanish roots, which he reached thanks to his grandfather Barry Alvarez, a former coach who is a college football legend. . “My grandfather has been a very important part of my life. He has always been by my side when he was growing up, he is still by my side. “He has always talked to me about Spain and has been very proud of his Spanish heritage,” says Ferguson before explaining its origins. “My great-grandfather was Spanish and emigrated to the United States, he spent time going and coming back. “We still have family there in Ranón (Asturias), next to the airport.”
Jerguson celebrates a touchdown with teammate Brandin Cooks.
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
“My grandfather has always talked to me about Spain and has been very proud of his Spanish heritage”
But the story goes further, and Ferguson’s interest in knowing where he comes from is outstanding. “I went to a website about ancestors and looked a little more. My great-great-grandmother, Elvira, was married to Ángel Molina, they emigrated to the United States in 1921 and there they also had my great-grandmother, Elvira. My great-grandfather, Antonio, was born in the United States, although he went to Spain when he was little,” he says about his grandfather’s father, the last of the immediate family to live in Spain. “Later he returned to the United States. In World War II they wanted him to fight and he said no, so He was sent to a prisoner of war camp. His older brother, Luis, got him exchanged for a French prisoner, so they released him on French soil. When he managed to have money, he bought the land that my family still has in Ranón, next to the airport.”
Despite being born in Rapid City, 7,264 kilometers from Ranón, Jake has always heard his family talk about Spain and Asturias. “I met my great-grandfather Antonio when I was very young, he died when I was five years old. “When we were all together, he didn’t talk about the World War, he just chatted about how much he loved Spain,” says a Ferguson who has indeed visited the country, although not the land from which he comes. “I have been to Marbella and Seville, but I have not yet been able to go north to see my family. “It’s something I really want to do.”
A story unknown to the general public and to which Ferguson has shown total commitment. “I have grown up listening to my grandfather talk about his visits to Spain and so on, it has always been something that has intrigued me and he feels completely Spanish. It’s incredible to me, I say ‘okay, you’re Spanish and I’m your grandson, so I’m Spanish’, and I believe it. I carried the flag of Spain because I wanted to show that I have love for my Spanish roots. It may not be a 100% inheritance, but I have a little bit of Spain in me,” he describes about an action that aroused the attention of many. “It reached the people there and they sent me quite a few messages. I have a distant relative, I think he’s my third cousin, who wrote to me and said ‘I know you, you’re great, I think our great-grandparents were family’ and we talked a little.”