#8 Most Athletic Tennis Family - The Tsongas
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From Ali to Zog, these guys could compete
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If your family ever has some sort of dispute with the Tsonga family, a word of advice: Don't try to settle things with an athletic competition.
From father Didier to brother Enzo to second could Charles N'Zogbia, the Tsonga family tree is strong as oak when it comes to cranking out phenomenal male athletes.
The only thing more uncanny than Jo-Wilfried's resemblance to Muhammad Ali is the fact that Didier Tsonga was on hand for Ali's greatest fight ever, the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire in 1974.
Living in the Congo at the time, Didier was one of hundreds of fans who braved crossing the Zaire River to see the fight. It wasn't the last time Didier would travel for the love of sport.
In the 1970s, he moved from the Congo to Lemans, France to pursue his career as a professional handball player. He also studied chemistry at university, meeting his wife, and having two sons with her.
The older, Jo-Wilfried, has become a top player on the ATP Tour, while the younger, Enzo, is a top-flight basketball player, having played for France's Junior National team on two occasions, as well as playing professionally in the country.
But all those pale in comparison with the success of N'Zogbia, a prominent soccer player who put in six seasons with Newcastle United in the English Premiere League, growing so popular that he was the recipient of one of the coolest cheers ever concieved.
Newcastle is in the Tyne region of England, and the fans began to chant "Zog on the Tyne" each time Charles entered a match or did something well, a clever play on the popular 1970s English song "Fog on the Tyne."
Check back Saturday as we count down to #7!
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Posted by
Nick on
7/23/2010 3:30:16 PM
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