by Jason Cruz
Northwest Asia Weekly
Welcome to another version of layup drills. In this installment, we’ll be looking at the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and Major League Baseball (MLB) on strike.
Tyler Rapp wins Super Bowl, proposes
Taylor Rapp and his fiancé Dani Johnson on the day they proposed (photo via Rapp’s Instagram)
The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals on February 13 in Super Bowl LVI (56 games). The Rams did just that at SoFi Stadium, home of Carson, California. This is only the second time an NFL team has been able to play in front of their home fans. The first happened in 2021, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl. After the win, Rapp, 24, still in uniform, proposed to his longtime girlfriend Danny Johnson on the field.
Rapp had four tackles and another three assists in this big game. Luckily for him, he had to miss a few games to return to the Super Bowl after suffering a concussion against the San Francisco 49ers a few weeks before the big game.
Rapp’s mother is Chinese, and he and Johnson have been dating since high school. It was a big moment for Rapp, as he was able to get a championship ring and give away an engagement ring in one afternoon.
Nathan Chen Self Salvation
Nathan Chen after winning gold (photographed by Olympian Evan Bates, posted on Chen’s Instagram)
Nathan Chen returned to the Olympics to salvage a disappointing 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. This time, he won the gold medal in Beijing. Chen won the free skate with five quadruple jumps at the Olympics. Chen also won a silver medal in short-program skating for Team USA.
With an Olympic gold medal, Chen became the first Asian-American to win an Olympic medal. With his gold medal performance in Beijing, he has become the holder of the highest score in the men’s short program, the highest score in skating and the highest overall score in the Olympic Games.
Chen’s performance took place during the first week of the Olympics, and he was able to enjoy the moment with multiple TV interviews celebrating his achievements.
Chen appeared in a commercial for the U.S. Olympics during the Super Bowl and became one of the face of the U.S. team. He also has long-term endorsement deals with brands such as Visa, Nike, Toyota and Bridgestone Tire.
At just 22, Chen is likely to return to Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Chloe Kim returns to the Olympics in dominant fashion
Chloe Kim at the Beijing Winter Olympics (photo via Kim’s Instagram)
Chloe Kim, 21, returned to the Olympics with back-to-back gold medals in the snowboard halfpipe. Kim scored high in the first round of the finals and used her last two rounds to practice tricks that were eliminated because she already knew her first score might be enough to win the game.
Similar to Chen, Kim also uses her success in sports to advertise. One of her partners, Procter & Gamble, launched a campaign called Always There, in which she paid tribute to her parents.
“It’s an honor, and it’s very important to me to be able to do what I love and bring more attention to my community,” Kim told InStyle magazine in a recent interview. “It makes me very happy to know that there is an Asian American girl out there looking up to me and trying her best to make those dreams come true.”
Mr Gu wins three medals for China
Eileen Gu (photo via Gu’s Instagram)
Gu Ailing may be the most-watched athlete for the Beijing Olympics. Although living in San Francisco, California, Gu became a Chinese citizen and competed in freestyle skiing. The 18-year-old decided to change her nationality, citing her desire to inspire young Chinese girls.
Gu won two golds and one silver in her three freestyle events: halfpipe, downhill and big air. She became the first freestyle skier in the sport to win three medals at the Winter Olympics. Her first medal came from a major air event, then the women’s freeski halfpipe. She won a silver medal in the slope-style competition.
Locals as well as American friends and family cheered Gu throughout the race. She was accepted to Stanford University last month and is likely to go to her mother’s alma mater.
However, we should expect Gu to return to multiple Olympics in the years to come.
Edman’s holiday gets tough as baseball shuts down
Tommy Edman (photo via Edman’s Instagram)
Major League Baseball is at a standstill at this point, with owners and players at an impasse over a new collective bargaining agreement. As a result, spring training was suspended and MLB canceled the first week of the regular season due to the shutdown.
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman spent the holidays with his siblings, making things awkward because some of them are employed by Major League Baseball.
Due to the lockout, MLB employees were unable to speak to active players. Edman’s mother is Korean and has two siblings who work in the analytics department of a major league team.
Edman’s older brother worked in R&D with the Minnesota Twins, while his younger sister worked as an engineer with the Cardinals before leaving recently.
As a result, the Edmans’ vacation was a bit odd. In fact, the 2021 Golden Gloves second baseman reportedly sat in another room while his siblings sat in another.
Jason is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
