Spanish: The comparison of Javier Chicharito Hernandez and Diego Maradona to Omar Linares the baseball player.

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Comparative Essay
Sports such as football and baseball have grown to become symbols of unity around the world. Many people come together in the big stadiums to watch players showcase their skills and strengths in the different sporting categories. For a very long period of time, football has been one of the most popular sports among the people from South America. With players such as Diego Maradona, who played for Argentina national team in the 1970s and 80s, and Mexican player, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who is one of the skilled players in the modern football, have made football a unifying factor in their respective countries. However, other sporting events such as baseball have been prominent in South America, especially in Cuba, where the great baseball player Omar Linares, rose to the limelight. It is clearly evident that Diego Maradona and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez help create an imagined national community through soccer in their respective countries just as Omar Linares did through Cuban baseball. Both Maradona (Argentinian) and Chicharito (Mexican) promote their nationalism, they both choose to play for their respective countries, and are symbols of national strength and pride for both of their countries, as is Linares.
Due to the extensive skills possessed by Diego Maradona and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, the Mexican people and Argentines love to watch these players, and as a result, many people would pay stadium entrance fees just to see them display their skills in football matches.

This was the same case with Omar Linares in the Cuban baseball league. Omar Linares grew to become one of the greatest third basemen in the field of baseball. He rejected the opportunity to play in America’s prestigious baseball league so as to remain in the Cuban League (Jamail, 31). His love for Cuba and the game made him reject bigger offers from the United States. Some authors describe him as a player who rejected a twenty-six million offer for a chance to play his career in the United States (Jamail, 31). With such heroic achievements gained by these three athletes, they grew to become the fans favorites in their respective nations and every young child had the ambitions to be like them.
Despite the fans supporting other football clubs in the Argentine league and the Mexican league, they all had similar views regarding Maradona and Chicharito. Fans would fill the stadiums when their national teams played other nations in the World Cup and the Confederations cup. The love for their respective countries and their respective game made them great icons in their respective countries and the entire world. In the case of Diego Maradona, many people have always described him as a football god after the controversial goal he scored with the aid of his finger (“Diego Maradona | Argentine Soccer Player”). On the other hand, Omar Linares took his country to the heights of winning the 1996 Olympic gold medal, which was a surprise to many people in the competitions. Despite the country discouraging people from singling out players as stars, Linares level broke the mold and every Cuban national accepted the fact that Linares was unquestionably the best ever baseball player the island has ever had (Jamail, 32). Although he was not very famous around the world as Diego Maradona and Chicharito, many authors had described him as a magnetic presence when he stood on the field (Jamail, 31). Many people would feel the stadium any day Linares and his team were to play a league match or when he represented the country.
All the three athletes have been given nicknames by their fans in their respective countries at their tender ages, which they eventually embraced as their names. Diego Maradona was appointed as the Golden Boy, Javier Hernandez was nicknamed “Chicharito” and Omar Linares was nicknamed El Nino. Being awarded such nicknames with significant meanings shows how the entire nation adores their sports icon. However, Diego Maradona and Chicharito moved to Europe to advance their careers, but this never affected their support base in their respective countries since they continued to shine for Napoli and Manchester United respectively (“Diego Maradona | Argentine Soccer Player”) (“Mexico: Javier Hernandez Balcazar, “Chicharito””). The latter eventually moved to Germany where he currently plays or Bayern Leverkusen. On the other hand, Omar Linares chose to remain in his country and unify the people during the revolution.
The social and ethnic backgrounds of Omar Linares, Diego Maradona and Javier Hernandez fuel the romance of baseball and football while simultaneously silencing the issues related to racism and class exploitation, thus generating tales that produce national heroes from below. At the level of popularity, these three athletes mirror the processes of nation formation with a horizontal integration and emblematic possession of heroes. Although these three are big icons in their respective countries and around the world, it is evident that their skills in the different sporting activities has made them become symbols of national strength and pride since many people come together under one roof to watch them display their expertise and cheer them as they represent their countries with passion. Sports have been described as excellent tools for promoting national unity and creating imagined national community.
Works Cited
Jamail, Milton H. Full Count: Inside Cuban Baseball. SIU Press, 2000.
Diego Maradona | Argentine Soccer Player”. Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.
“Mexico: Javier Hernandez Balcazar, “Chicharito””. Soccer Politics / The Politics of Football. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.