Sam Bradford Supported by Sports Hungry Native Americans

Sam Bradford is the winner of the 2008 Heisman Trophy and the star quarterback for the University of Oklahoma (OU). He is also a registered member of the Cherokee Nation. This fact has brought him much support from the Native American community. Though Sam Bradford is only 1/16th Cherokee and did not grow-up in Native culture, he has always known he is Cherokee, never was ashamed to say otherwise.

One reason Sam Bradford has garnered so much support is that Indian Country is hungry for a sports hero. There have been American Indian standouts but they have been few and far in between. Most notably there was Jim Thorpe who was voted greatest athlete of the first half of the twentieth-century. Billy Mills had a spectacular win to grab the gold medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Sonny Sixkiller was quarterback for the University of Washington in the early 1970's. Most recently, Jacoby Ellsbury, outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, made a splash with a .438 batting average in the 2007 World Series (which Boston won). One can see that Native sports heroes come around rarely.

Another reason Sam Bradford has attracted tremendous support is that he play for the University of Oklahoma. Oklahoma has the second largest Native American population in the United States and native culture permeates the state. Oklahoma was formerly called Indian Territory until statehood in 1907. Therefore, coupling a strong Native American contingent and a very popular sports college in the University of Oklahoma, Sam Bradford was tailored made the Native American adoration.

The Cherokee Nation, led by Principal Chief Chad Smith, has been a strong supporter of their Cherokee Son Sam Bradford. During the 2009 BCS National Championship Game the Cherokee Nation gave away free t-shirts supporting Bradford before the game. The t-shirts had both English and Cherokee printed on them. The Cherokee Nation also had an honoring ceremony for him at the Cherokee Nation's boarding school Sequoyah High School. The ceremony held in the Spring of 2009 brought a large attendance and a good amount of representation from many tribes.

There are times when Sam Bradford has been surprised by sports journalists who inquire at odd moments about his heritage, but that says more about the state of media's understanding of Indian Country. Once, immediately after winning a game Sam Bradford was surprised with a question about how proud he is about being Cherokee, he answered, "Uh, very." Imagine the same journalist asking Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Viking's Past Rookie-of-the-Year Running Back and former OU standout) how he feels about his African-American heritage immediately after winning a game.

Regardless, news reports have been plenty with shows of support from all quarters of Indian Country. The Internet is a buzz with positive fan support of Sam Bradford as leader of the Oklahoma Sooners and as a Native American sports hero.