Roberto ‘Bobby Lu’ Luongo
Written by Carter Sequin
Arguably one of the greatest hockey goalies to ever stand between the pipes and potentially the greatest athlete of Italian descent ever, Many know him as Bobby Lu or on twitter @Strombone. Mr. Roberto Luongo was born in Montreal, Quebec as the oldest of 3 boys He eventually captained the Vancouver Canucks (Only goalie to wear the “C” since 1948). Roberto would play a total of 19 seasons in the NHL, accumulating enough wins, earning him the title as the player with the third most NHL wins of all time.
As an Italian-Canadian, Luongo was actually able to speak Italian and actually did on numerous occasions for interviews, talk shows, and other forms of media. Luongo inherited some cultural characteristics from his Italian background. Being a Goalie can be very stressful and hard work however he was always calm and collected when in the net. He is also notorious for his wit and humor on Twitter and with the media. These two attributes display the laid back but yet hard working traits that are generally demonstrated by Italians.
Even after finishing his thousandth NHL game, Luongo still stuck true to his ways. When asked how he was able to play so much and he answered “A lot of pizza and pasta.” This shows his true nature of eating cultural foods as often as possible I choose to look deeper into Roberto’s life as I felt in hockey he was overlooked not only as a goalie but as an Italian. I wanted to learn more about his connection with his heritage and how closely he actually relates to it. It was slightly difficult to find much about him being Italian. However, I did find an interview from an Italian talk show where he was interviewed. Luongo spoke fluently and answered each and every one of their questions in what seemed to be perfect Italian.
Analyzing someone with a different heritage then me made it more clear that Canada really is a melting pot. We all seem to act and behave as Canadians however every person beholds different levels of engagement with our heritage which is more visible in some compared to others. Often in today’s modern society we lose touch with what really matters in life and the constant desire for instant gratification taunts us. Luongo is able to contribute to the modern age through his twitter account which he is known for across the sports world however he still stays true to his roots and supports his heritage. After learning how in touch Bobby Lu is with his heritage it makes me wish I had some sort of community and sub culture to be a part of alongside my Canadian lifestyle. Overall my objectives were to better understand Roberto’s connection with Italy, Determine how Italian he actually is, to display him in a positive light by giving the attention he has earned. I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do and have now developed a better appreciation for Italians and their role in
December 2020
Bibliography
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Gormley, Chuck. “Florida Panthers Goalie Roberto Luongo on His Italian Heritage, Twitter Following and Poker Plans.” ESPN , ESPN Internet Ventures, 19 Oct. 2017, www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/21075579/nhl-roberto-luongo-italian-heritage-twitter-following-poker-plans.
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“Roberto Luongo on His Career, Chasing a Cup and Retirement.” Sportsnet.ca, www.sportsnet.ca/podcasts/31-thoughts-podcast/dec-20-2018-roberto-luongo-is-chasing-cups-not-numbers/.
Staff, BarDown. “Luongo Gave an Absolutely Priceless Answer When Asked about Playing 1,000 NHL Games – Article.” BARDOWN , 13 Oct. 2018, www.bardown.com/luongo-gave-an-absolutely-priceless-answer-when-asked-about-playing-1-000-nhl-games-1.1191308.
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Sequin, Carter. ”Roberto ‘Bobby Lu” Luongo.” In Archival Research of Italian-Canadian Immigration and Culture, supvr. T. Russo, issue 4: Italian-Canadians as Athletes and Community Builders: Contributions in the Sports Industry, Brock University, December 2020, St. Catherines (Sports in Italian-Canadian Communities – Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase (italianheritage.ca)). Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase (ICNS), Sandra Parmegiani and Nivashinee Ponambalum.