The Dutch Touch in the NFL by Corliss Waitman

Denver Broncos player Corliss Whiteman An NFL match at Wembley Stadium is like coming home. Born in Belgium, Whiteman then lived in Holland until he moved to America with his father to attend high school.

“It’s going to be really weird,” Whiteman told ESPN. “I never expected to play in front of my friends and family in Europe. Before I went to America, I didn’t even know the sport. It is so special now in Europe that you play a match with so many friends and family in the stands.”

mother in the stands
Whitman holds American and Dutch citizenship. “Before we left, I asked what passport they wanted to see.” For the mother of the NFL player, who lives in Amsterdam, it is especially special, she was not able to admire him in real life during an NFL game. In total, Whiteman bought eighteen tickets for family and friends.

In February, he moved from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Denver Broncos. The Broncos are keeping their struggle and running as a gambler this season, ranking high in these stats at 39 points. The team has scored only eight goals this season. “Corliss is a man of great talent,” said George Patton, general manager of the Denver Broncos. “He has a strong, precise and athletic left leg as well.”

University of South Alabama
Father Jose Whiteman was a professional basketball player in Europe for fifteen seasons and was named the best player in the Eredivisie in 1987. “In the Netherlands, I always lived with my mother. When my father moved to Florida, I moved to live with him.” Father Jose passed away in 2013 at the age of 49 due to complications of stroke. Whitman lived until he went to play at the University of South Alabama. with his grandfather. When Whiteman was still living in the Netherlands, he was mainly involved in football and basketball. “I didn’t do anything with American football. I already knew Michael Vick. He was fairly well known in Europe and I also had a feeling that everyone knew the Hawks.”

“I was very nervous when I moved to America. I had no idea what high school would be like there. I only knew the picture from the movies. When I was a teenager you thought famous kids were bullying less famous kids.” It wasn’t long before Whiteman discovered American football. “Football was the most important thing here.” When Whitman arrived as a sophomore, he began doing some starting homework for the Milton High School football team. In his final year, he was chosen as the All-States Resist.

From soccer to soccer
“Football in Europe is the most important. Nobody I know played anything else. It was different in Florida. Nobody plays football there. At first I didn’t take American football seriously because I played soccer and basketball myself, but that changed. In my final year when they needed a hunter.” This led him to the University of South Alabama, where his father also played basketball. It was hard work. It takes years for a killer or hunter to earn a spot in the NFL. “Since college, I’ve been on my own.”

Meanwhile, Waitman has already played for four different teams in the NFL and is a regular player for the Denver Broncos. On Sunday he will play his team in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The match will be broadcast live on ESPN4 from 2.30pm, with broadcasts starting at 1.30pm.