Juan Soto and Karl-Anthony Towns are the face of New York sports
For the first time in history, the two main sports figures in the “Big Apple” are from Quisqueyan roots.
New York is, without a doubt, the home away from home for the culture of the Dominican Republic. Being the city with the most Dominicans in the world outside of the Caribbean country, what happens in the “city that never sleeps”, has important repercussions for the territory.
Trends in New York directly affect what happens in the Dominican Republic, from things like fashion, to topics of conversation, styles, foods and of course, the same goes for sports. That is why a significant number of professional teams from the city of New York have an abundant fan base in the Caribbean territory, especially when it comes to baseball or basketball.
For example, despite having decades without winning, the New York Knicks They are, without a doubt, one of the NBA teams that enjoy the greatest popularity among Dominican fans, while New York Yankees is the most popular foreign sports organization in the country, while New York Mets He also has a good number of Quisqueyan followers.
That is why the arrival of two high-level athletes with Dominican roots to New York City is something that has significantly impacted the culture.
After a year together with the Yankees, Juan Soto took over the heart and soul of the city, helping the team achieve its first World Series in 15 years and being an important factor throughout the entire postseason, despite the fact that the mission of winning the championship could not be completed, made him an icon of the city, despite heading to free agency.
With his signature for 15 years and 765 million dollars with New York Metsbecomes one of the greatest figures of professional baseball in his city, rivaling Aaron Judgedespite being on a team that is considered “inferior” by many.
Although names like Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Canowho enjoyed a lot of popularity in their time as members of the Yankeeswere present for a long time with the team, their popularity, in general terms, cannot be matched by what they did in just one year Soto.
On the other hand, in 2024 we were surprised when Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks reached a deal that involved Karl-Anthony Towns going to the “Big Apple”.
The arrival of Towns It marked the first time that a player of his caliber and of Dominican descent established himself as one of the main faces of one of the most historic basketball franchises in the country. NBA. The performance that the Dominican has had so far has undoubtedly positioned him as one of the most visible faces of the current configuration of the franchise, along with Jalen Brunson.
Towns and Soto They are two young people who have not yet turned 30 years old and whose talents have positioned them among the elite of their respective sports, so it is fair to say that, for the first time in history, the face of New York sports is Dominican.
