#6 Andre Agassi

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I am not joking when I say that I have heard several Armenians tell me that Andre Agassi’s original name was actually Agassian. This former champion is in fact half-Armenian. His father is of Armenian ancestry from Iran. Because Andre Agassi has an ounce of Armenian in him, he is automatically loved/adored by Armenians. Armenians love their own and Agassi is one of their own.

It doesn’t matter whether Andre cares much for the Armenian community or if he is at all in touch with that part of his life. It doesn’t even matter if Andre despises Armenians because affiliation covers all other sins.

If Andre were a no-name plumber, he would not be that loved by Armenians. But because Andre is someone famous, he is automatically plunged to the top of the “People Armenians Love” list. The key theme here is that Armenians love their own. They love to see their own accomplish great things. I used to watch Andre Agassi play and I did idolize him during my teenage years. But not once did I hear Andre Agassi acknowledge and embrace his Armenianness. But who cares because for Armenians seeing someone like Andre accomplish all that he has accomplished is a lesson to the younger generation that you too can be an Armenian champion when you grow up.