"I've now been in this country for thirteen years, since I was seventeen. So this is my second home"
About this Quote
Thirteen years is a long time to still be asked where youre "really" from, and Olajuwons line quietly answers that question without begging permission. "Since I was seventeen" does more than supply biography; it locates belonging at the age when identity gets welded together. Hes not describing a layover. Hes describing formation. The sentence turns immigration into timeline, not paperwork.
Calling the U.S. his "second home" is strategic modesty. He could stake a louder claim after building an NBA legacy, but he chooses a phrase that sounds grateful, even deferential. That softens the edge while still insisting on permanence. The subtext: home is lived, not granted. Its also a preemptive rebuttal to the old sports trope where immigrant athletes are celebrated for what they deliver on the court yet kept symbolically separate off it.
Context matters: Olajuwon arrived from Nigeria to play college ball, then became a Houston icon, eventually naturalized, and spent his prime years during an era when American patriotism in sports was getting more performative. His quiet framing avoids flag-waving and resentment. It offers a model of assimilation that isnt self-erasure: "second" acknowledges origin without treating it as a disqualifier.
The intent is relational. Hes speaking as someone who has invested adolescence, labor, and loyalty into a place and is asking to be met there. In one clean, unshowy line, Olajuwon makes belonging sound like common sense.
Calling the U.S. his "second home" is strategic modesty. He could stake a louder claim after building an NBA legacy, but he chooses a phrase that sounds grateful, even deferential. That softens the edge while still insisting on permanence. The subtext: home is lived, not granted. Its also a preemptive rebuttal to the old sports trope where immigrant athletes are celebrated for what they deliver on the court yet kept symbolically separate off it.
Context matters: Olajuwon arrived from Nigeria to play college ball, then became a Houston icon, eventually naturalized, and spent his prime years during an era when American patriotism in sports was getting more performative. His quiet framing avoids flag-waving and resentment. It offers a model of assimilation that isnt self-erasure: "second" acknowledges origin without treating it as a disqualifier.
The intent is relational. Hes speaking as someone who has invested adolescence, labor, and loyalty into a place and is asking to be met there. In one clean, unshowy line, Olajuwon makes belonging sound like common sense.
Quote Details
| Topic | Travel |
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