Clint Dempsey, U.S. soccer hero, an Irish rags to riches story
Posted on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 10:45 PM
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Clinton Dempsey's ancestral name in Gaelic means 'proud' and this grandson of Irish immigrants certainly felt that way after scoring the golden goal that earned the United States a precious draw with England yesterday .
No doubt the Irish ancestors would have been especially happy that the goal came against the 'old enemy' in England.
Dempsey grew up near the Mexican border in a trailer park in Texas. His story is a true rags to riches one
He and his brother Ryan learned their soccer skills playing every day with Hispanic neighbors and friends on a patch of ground and the two Irish American kids learned a more skillful and creative game than most U.S players as a result.
His older brother Ryan was offered a tryout for the Dallas Texans, one of America's best youth soccer clubs, but it was young Clint, who had come along to accompany his brother was noticed and recruited while passing time juggling a ball on the sidelines.
Dempsey became a standout on the team at an early age, but had to quit due to his family's poor financial condition and money constraints as his eldest sister Jennifer was becoming a ranked youth tennis player.
But several parents of his teammates with the Texans offered to assist the Dempseys with expenses and travel, allowing him to rejoin the club.
Soon he was on his way to the big leagues, a move confirmed in 2006 when English Premier League side Fulham paid a $4 million transfer fee for Dempsey, then the largest amount ever offered for an MLS player.
Now he has scored the most famous goal since the U.S. defeated England in the 1950 World Cup. Sure it was a lucky strike, but the luck of the Irish worked just fine for Clint on this occasion.
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scotthill88 | Jun 12, 2011, 02:35 PM EDT
clint dempsey is my cousin,our great-grandfather Dempseys great-grandfather came to the U.S. in the 1850s.though i live in the U.S.[nacogdoches,texas] my heart and fellow kin still live in ireland!
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GeorgeDillon | Jun 19, 2010, 07:50 AM EDT
citizen and the other guy--Gaelic Football reuires the use of both hands AND feet. It's the perfect football.
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citizen69 | Jun 16, 2010, 12:31 PM EDT
Costaprint, Billions of people around this earth would NOT agree with you. Oh, and the sport called American Football... How many times do they actually use their feet against the ball in a game? There is only one game on this planet legitimately called Football, and it ain't American!
BTW, well don to the USA FOOTBALL team in getting a result against England!
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Costaprint | Jun 15, 2010, 02:29 AM EDT
I think that soccer is one of "sports" most ridiculous games. It is accompanied by violence and verbal garbage everywhere it is played (tends to have an uneducated following like the players). Also, it demonstrates a lack of knowledge of the human body whereby fans don´t know the chest and head (and sometimes hand) from the foot and they call it FOOTball.
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dicanio71 | Jun 15, 2010, 12:53 AM EDT
a) dempsey is not irish, hes an american, he plays for the UNITED STATES.. b)the US didnt "beat the brits".. last time i checked it was a 1-1 draw... c) stop the stage oirish nonsense of clinging to anyone with an irish sounding name..and a hearty congrats to all involved with the US soccer team, they done all americans proud on sat and best wishes for the rest of the tourney... johnny vaughan..
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Realist | Jun 14, 2010, 03:57 PM EDT
McNamara31: My friend, it's comments like your last 'contribution' that only reinforce my point and keep you an international emotional charity case and laughing stock. "it's in our soul"? Lol....
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paul22b | Jun 14, 2010, 03:33 PM EDT
Just goes to show, if you put the ball on the net good things happen. keep it rolling Dempsey!
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Liamkeyes | Jun 14, 2010, 03:06 PM EDT
If you did'nt know that Dempsey was an Irish Name, you could begin by looking up Jack Dempsey.
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betsyross | Jun 14, 2010, 11:52 AM EDT
Go USA!
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McNamara31 | Jun 14, 2010, 10:07 AM EDT
Realist....Listen loud. Being Irish, is not only in our DNA, it's in our soul, it has no borders.
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Realist | Jun 13, 2010, 05:44 PM EDT
An Irishman who wasn't born in Ireland, has never been to Ireland, and is a citizen of another country? Ah, you mean an "Irish-American". Lol....priceless.
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edwardkeating | Jun 13, 2010, 05:12 PM EDT
thank god there was a irishman on the american team. every wee bit helps in beating the brits in soccer.
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WoundedKnee | Jun 13, 2010, 03:20 PM EDT
In response to "I did'nt know dempsey was an irish name ?? -- Yes it is. -- - In fact Dempsey was eligible to have played for Ireland.
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pat52rk | Jun 13, 2010, 01:35 PM EDT
I did'nt know dempsey was an irish name ?
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