Meet CES Client Ed Wang

Meet Ed Wang, left tackle for the Buffalo Bills and the NFL's first player of full Chinese descent.

Written by Charolette Hsu

The air inside the Buffalo Bills’ autograph tent was hot and sticky, pregnant with the humidity of late July. This was not where rookie left tackle Ed Wang wanted to be. Nevertheless, he hunched his 320-pound frame over a table and went to work, initialing a football, a sports glove, and a few other items.

He gripped a Sharpie in his hand, but his mind was elsewhere. When he lifted his head to survey the remaining fans, he seemed relieved to discover they were waiting for the other linemen attending the pre-season signing session, and not for him.

His handlers, sensing his sour mood, okayed his early departure.

“I had two bad days in a row,” he sighed as he made his way to the locker room. Sweat soaked his hair, which tumbled halfway down his back in tangled, dripping strands. Practice had gone poorly that afternoon. He had struggled, giving up mock sacks.

From there, his luck worsened. The next day, he hurt his thumb. The injury would require surgery. As he readied for the operation, he wondered how long it would take to recover. Two weeks? A month? Training camp had started less than a week before, and he could not afford to sit out. He had already lost valuable practice time in June to a high-ankle sprain. What else could go wrong?

Wang bears a scar on his thumb from the Aug. 2 surgery that has kept him on the sidelines. (photo by Christina Shaw)

Wang, a fifth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech, is the NFL’s first player of full Chinese descent, though he has nowhere near the star power of Asian sports heroes like Houston Rockets center Yao Ming or Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. The Bills brought Wang on to add depth to their roster, and even if he survives pre-season cuts, he’ll likely see few minutes on the field this year.

But Wang never expected to be famous. He just wants to play.

Friends say Wang is the kind of athlete who, even in college, refused alcohol during the season. At parties, he volunteered as designated driver. His parents, track-and-field professionals who once held spots on China’s national team, started coaching him at age six for a future in the NFL. He grew up on whole milk and steak—fat slabs of beef for dinner three times a week.

His life has been one of expectations, and now he is looking to prove himself one more time. He can’t let the opportunity slip away—not after all he has weathered, after all his parents have given to catalyze his dreams.

Charlotte Hsu is a freelance contributor to Artvoice. A former reporter for the Las Vegas Sun, she now works in the University at Buffalo’s communications office. She writes about Buffalo at cjhsu.wordpress.com.

Read more: http://artvoice.com/issues/v9n34/making_the_cut#ixzz0xjYQ6Tu
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