At just 23 years old, Christian Gonzalez, an American with Colombian roots, is living a dream in the midst of a great NFL season: playing in Super Bowl LX with the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks on February 8 in Santa Clara (California).
Gonzalez’s presence in this highly anticipated game, not only for American soccer fans but also for those curious about the spectacle surrounding the final of this sport, has also aroused expectations in Colombia itself, a country where the fans of the NFL have been growing steadily.
Christian Gonzalez’s rise in the NFL
Born on June 28, 2002 in Carrollton (Texas), he began to stand out at a very early age.
In his high school years at The Colony, also in Texas, Christian Gonzalez showed his skills as a cornerback and wide receiver.
Different universities looked at him, but it was finally Colorado University that won him over.
The son of Héctor González, who excelled in Colombian basketball with the Bogotá Pirates, will join the Colorado Buffaloes of the NCAA in 2020.
There he played 18 games in which he made 78 tackles and defended 10 passes.
From Colorado he moved in 2022 to Oregon, where he has already filled the retinas of professional recruiters.
With the Ducks of that state’s university, Christian González had 4 interceptions, 50 tackles and deflected 7 deflected passes.
This earned him First Team All-Pac-12 honors as the top corner in his conference in the NCAA.
The Draft and the Patriots
By 2023, the 6-foot-1 player and brother of Olympic athlete Melissa Gonzalez (who represented Colombia in the hurdles competition at the 2020 Tokyo Games), decided to stop his career in the NCAA college divisions.
Then, he entered the NFL draft. The New England Patriots had him on their roster.
The Boston team, where Christian Gonzalez shined for 19 seasons with Tom Brady (considered the best player in NFL history), selected him with the 17th pick in the first round.
He immediately joined the team coached by the legendary Bill Belichick, whose non-inclusion in the Hall of Fame has even elicited reactions from Donald Trump himself.
The Patriots made no mistake with Christian Gonzalez.
He has been highlighted as the Defensive Rookie of the Month in September 2023 and on the AP All-Pro Second Team for the 2024 season.
He was a key player in the Patriots’ 2025 AFC conference title.
In addition, he is in the Top 100 of the best players in the NFL, where he is currently ranked 85th.
Colombia and the NFL: a relationship of more than forty years
Está viviendo un sueño
QuéOnnda.com
The history of Colombian players in the NFL began to be written in 1981.
This was when Jairo Peñaranda from Barranquilla joined the Los Angeles Rams after being recruited from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Peñaranda also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, where he finished his professional career in 1986.
The Bogota-born Fuad Reveiz worked for three NFL franchises (Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings) between 1985 and 1995.
In 1993 he was chosen for the Pro Bowl or American Football All-Star Game.
And the list ends with Fernando Velasco, who in 2016 made the Carolina Panthers team that reached Super Bowl L against the Denver Broncos.
But he did not see minutes in the match also held in Santa Clara.
Aside from the Panthers, Velasco also served on the Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Buffalo Bills in a career that spanned from 2009 to 2016.
With information from EFE
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