Roberto Garza (born March 26, 1979) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft, and in 2005, joined the Chicago Bears, spending ten seasons with the team. Despite being an offensive lineman, a position not typically glorified in American football, Garza was a fan favorite among

Hispanic Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify a ...

across the United States.

High school years

Garza attended Rio Hondo High School in

Rio Hondo, Texas Rio Hondo is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,356 at the 2010 census. It may be included as part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas. Geography R ...

and was a letterman in football and track and field. He was also a member of the school's National Honor Society.

Post-high school

The son of Roberto Garza Sr., and Ofelia Garza from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Garza was encouraged to join the Marines after high school. A Marine recruiter interested in Garza ridiculed his desire to play professional football, allegedly stating that "Mexicans do not play in the NFL". Roberto was not discouraged. He kept on working. He ended up playing for the

Texas A&M University-Kingsville Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

Javelinas as a " walk-on". In addition to playing football, Roberto worked to pay for school. Garza's hometown of Rio Hondo, Texas established December 2 as "Roberto Garza, Jr. Day", and subsequently named a street after him. He is fluent in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Professional career

He was originally selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 99th overall pick of 2001 NFL Draft from

. Garza played with the Falcons up until the 2004 season when his contract was up. He signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears in 2005, after also visiting the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

, and he signed a six-year contract extension in 2006. In that season, the Bears reached a 39–14 victory over the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, which allowed them to claim the

NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Amer ...

and advance to Super Bowl XLI. However, they fell short of the championship, losing 29–17 to the Indianapolis Colts. Among the almost 1,700

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

players in the 2006 season, Garza was one of only 19 Hispanics. Garza became a free agent after the 2013 season, but was resigned to a 1-year contract on February 27, 2014. On April 2, 2015, Garza was released by the Bears, ending a ten-year tenure.

In the media

He was chosen to be the cover athlete of the Spanish version of '' Madden 09 En Español''. In 2012, Garza, along with teammate and defensive end Henry Melton were named to the

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

2012 All-Joe Team. He also served as sideline reporter for

Fox Deportes Fox Deportes (formerly Fox Sports en Español and stylized in all caps as FOX Deportes) is an American pay television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming in Spanish, aimed at the Hispanic population in the United States ...

' broadcast of

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

. Garza later served as a commentator for

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications ...

' broadcast of

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...

. He was also featured in a Modelo Beer commercial alongside fellow former Hispanic football players

Tony Gonzalez Anthony David Gonzalez (born February 27, 1976) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is the NFL's all-time leader ...

and

Anthony Muñoz Michael Anthony Muñoz (born August 19, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 13 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for t ...

Charitable work

Garza is a supporter and member of the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

, a group of charitable organizations dedicated to helping less fortunate children and the elderly. In 2006, Garza was named the Chicago Bears' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. He has previously worked with the Empty Stocking Fund, the Atlanta Falcons' Feed The Homeless Campaign, and the Hall County Boys & Girls Club. He also supports Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago.

References

External links

Official website

Official Chicago Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garza, Roberto 1979 births Living people People from Cameron County, Texas Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football players American football offensive guards American football centers American sportspeople of Mexican descent Players of American football from Texas Ed Block Courage Award recipients